Automating Manufacturing Systems - Process Control and ...

plc glossary - 35.17
ladder diagram - a form of circuit diagram normally used for electrical control systems.
ladder logic - a programming language for PLCs that has been developed to look like relay diagrams from
the preceding technology of relay based controls.
laminar flow - all of the particles of a fluid or gas are travelling in parallel. The complement to this is
turbulent flow.
laptop - a small computer that can be used on your lap. It contains a monitor ad keyboard.
LAN (Local Area Network) - a network that is typically less than 1km in distance. Transmission rates tend
to be high, and costs tend to be low.
latch - an element that can have a certain input or output lock in. In PLCs these can hold an output on after
an initial pulse, such as a stop button.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) - a fluid between two sheets of light can be polarized to block light. These are
commonly used in low power displays, but they require backlighting.
leakage current - a small amount of current that will be present when a device is off.
LED (Light Emitting Diode) - a semiconductor light that is based on a diode.
LIFO (Last In First Out) - similar to FIFO, but the last item pushed onto the stack is the first pulled off.
limitswitch-amechanicalswitchactuatedbymotioninaprocess.
line printer - an old printer style that prints single lines of text. Most people will be familiar with dot matrix
styleoflineprinters.
linear - describes a mathematical characteristic of a system where the differential equations are simple linear
equations with coefficients.
little-endian - transmission or storage of data when the least significant byte/bit comes first.
load - In electrical system a load is an output that draws current and consumes power. In mechanical systems
it is a mass, or a device that consumes power, such as a turbine.
load cell - a device for measuring large forces.
logic - 1. the ability to make decisions based on given values. 2. digital circuitry.
loop - part of a program that is executed repeatedly, or a cable that connects back to itself.
low - a logic negative, or zero.
LRC (Linear Redundancy Check) - a block check character
LSB (Least Significant Bit) - This is the bit with the smallest value in a binary number. for example if the
number 10 is converted to binary the result is 1010. The most significant bit is on the left side,
with a value of 8, and the least significant bit is on the right with a value of 1 - but it is not set in
this example.
LSD (Least Significant Digit) - This is the least significant digit in a number, found on the right side of a
number when written out. For example, in the number $1,234,567 the digit 7 is the least
significant.
LSI (Large Scale Integration) - an integrated circuit that contains thousands of elements.
LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) - a device that can detect linear displacement of a central
sliding core in the transformer.
35.13 M
machine language - CPU instructions in numerical form.
macro - a set of commands grouped for convenience.
magnetic field - a field near flowing electrons that will induce other electrons nearby to flow in the opposite
direction.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) - a network designed for municipal scale connections.
manifold - 1. a connectors that splits the flow of fluid or gas. These are used commonly in hydraulic and
pneumatic systems. 2. a description for a geometry that does not have any infinitely small points
or lines of contact or separation. Most solid modelers deal only with manifold geometry.
MAP (Manufacturers Automation Protocol) - a network type designed for the factory floor that was widely
promoted in the 1980s, but was never widely implemented due to high costs and complexity.