LabVIEW and Arduino as a gateway to PLC programming

Wesley B. Williams

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Instrumentation Technical Session III
Tagged Division: Instrumentation
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 23.846.1 - 23.846.12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19860
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/19860
Download Count: 1872

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Wesley B. Williams P.E. University of North Carolina, Charlotte

visit author page

Dr. Wesley B. Williams is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Williams joined the department in 2011, teaching courses in the mechanical engineering technology and electrical engineering technology undergraduate programs as well the facilities management graduate program. His research interests include additive manufacturing, instrumentation, controls, and lapping. His professional experience also includes work in the pharmaceutical industry where he designed custom instrumentation and automation solutions for pharmaceutical researchers. In addition to his professional and academic activities, Dr. Williams is active mentoring students through programs such as the UNC Charlotte Senior Design Program and US FIRST Robotics.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

LabVIEW and Arduino as a gateway to PLC programmingThe key topics of an instrumentation and controls course are a) the transducers that convert thephenomenon of interest into a predictable signal b) the actuators that influence the process inquestion and c) the hardware and software that control these outputs based the measured inputs. Common candidates for these control systems are data acquisition (DAQ) systems,microcontrollers, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Outside of the electricalengineering technology curriculum, engineering technology students at UNC Charlotte do notcover any of these devices until senior year (if then). In a graduate course focused on facilitiesinstrumentation and controls, National Instruments DAQ systems, Arduino microcontrollers, andAllen Bradley PLCs were introduced in that order to quickly bring students up to speed on thestrengths, weaknesses, and suitable applications for each device.The graduate students in the class came from both civil engineering and constructionmanagement undergraduate programs. As such, they had limited backgrounds in electronics andprogramming. This assessment was reflected in an initial course survey where students ratedtheir abilities in electronics theory, electronics hands on, LabVIEW, and MATLAB as beingweak, slightly weak, or average (the three lowest categories on the survey). Conversely, theyrated their abilities in math and physics as being average, strong, or very strong (the three highestcategories on the survey).National Instruments LabVIEW and a NI USB-6009 multifunction DAQ were chosen as astarting platform given the graphical programming environment, readily available tutorials, andintegration with the hardware. Students were shown demonstrations involving simplebreadboard circuits before the students worked in small groups to replicate and extend theLabVIEW code and breadboard wiring to include measurements circuits with voltage dividers,RC filters, thermocouples, operational amplifiers, and controlling outputs with pulse widthmodulation and transistors.After completing the breadboard exercises with LabVIEW and the USB DAQ, they werereplicated using the Arduino 1.0 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and an ArduinoUno microcontroller. As a high level programming language, students viewed the Arduinosketches as easy to follow given a limited introduction in lecture and access to the the Arduinowebsite (www.arduino.cc ). The abundance of published sketches made it easy for students tosee the versatility of the microcontroller platform. Other key skills that were acquired throughthe Arduino exercises included effective documentation of code, addressing inputs and outputs,and understanding the difference between analog outputs (available on the NI USB DAQ) andthe emulated analog outputs utilizing PWM (available on the Arduino Uno).Allen Bradley PLCs programmed with RSLogix software were the third platform introduced tothe students. Relay ladder logic was presented with a focus on the similarities to the graphical,‘wiring’ approach to programming. The Arduino skills of addressing inputs and outputs anddocumenting code were also reemphasized. Finally, relays were compared and contrasted to thetransistors used with Arduino, and the utility of normally open (NO) and normally closed (NC)contacts in relay ladder logic was highlighted.

Citation
Format

Williams, W. B. (2013, June), LabVIEW and Arduino as a gateway to PLC programming Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19860

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -               LabVIEW and Arduino as a gateway to PLC programmingThe key topics of an instrumentation and controls course are a) the transducers that convert thephenomenon of interest into a predictable signal b) the actuators that influence the process inquestion and c) the hardware and software that control these outputs based the measured inputs. Common candidates for these control systems are data acquisition (DAQ) systems,microcontrollers, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Outside of the electricalengineering technology curriculum, engineering technology students at UNC Charlotte do notcover any of these devices until senior year (if then). In a graduate course focused on facilitiesinstrumentation and controls, National Instruments DAQ systems, Arduino microcontrollers, andAllen Bradley PLCs were introduced in that order to quickly bring students up to speed on thestrengths, weaknesses, and suitable applications for each device.The graduate students in the class came from both civil engineering and constructionmanagement undergraduate programs. As such, they had limited backgrounds in electronics andprogramming. This assessment was reflected in an initial course survey where students ratedtheir abilities in electronics theory, electronics hands on, LabVIEW, and MATLAB as beingweak, slightly weak, or average (the three lowest categories on the survey). Conversely, theyrated their abilities in math and physics as being average, strong, or very strong (the three highestcategories on the survey).National Instruments LabVIEW and a NI USB-6009 multifunction DAQ were chosen as astarting platform given the graphical programming environment, readily available tutorials, andintegration with the hardware. Students were shown demonstrations involving simplebreadboard circuits before the students worked in small groups to replicate and extend theLabVIEW code and breadboard wiring to include measurements circuits with voltage dividers,RC filters, thermocouples, operational amplifiers, and controlling outputs with pulse widthmodulation and transistors.After completing the breadboard exercises with LabVIEW and the USB DAQ, they werereplicated using the Arduino 1.0 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and an ArduinoUno microcontroller. As a high level programming language, students viewed the Arduinosketches as easy to follow given a limited introduction in lecture and access to the the Arduinowebsite (www.arduino.cc ). The abundance of published sketches made it easy for students tosee the versatility of the microcontroller platform. Other key skills that were acquired throughthe Arduino exercises included effective documentation of code, addressing inputs and outputs,and understanding the difference between analog outputs (available on the NI USB DAQ) andthe emulated analog outputs utilizing PWM (available on the Arduino Uno).Allen Bradley PLCs programmed with RSLogix software were the third platform introduced tothe students. Relay ladder logic was presented with a focus on the similarities to the graphical,‘wiring’ approach to programming. The Arduino skills of addressing inputs and outputs anddocumenting code were also reemphasized. Finally, relays were compared and contrasted to thetransistors used with Arduino, and the utility of normally open (NO) and normally closed (NC)contacts in relay ladder logic was highlighted.
AU  - Wesley B. Williams P.E.
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - LabVIEW and Arduino as a gateway to PLC programming
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/19860
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19860
ER  -