April 2011 - Control Global

R E S O U R C E S
Where to Go for Help with Your PLCs and PACs
Control’s Monthly Resource Guide
Every month, Control’s editors take a specific product area, collect all the latest, significant tools we can find,
and present them here to make your job easier. If you know of any tools and resources we didn’t include, send
them to wboyes@putman.net, and we’ll add them to the website.
PACs FOR COMMUNICATIONS
AND DATA HANDLING
cONTROL
w w w.controlglobal.com
Many process control applications require
much more than just real-time
control, and extensive communications
and data handling can tax the
functionality of PLCs. In these instances,
a programmable automation
controller (PAC) can be a good fit.
Most PACs are derived from the PC
world, hence, their relative strength
when it comes to communications
and data handling. Control’s senior
technical editor, Dan Hebert explores
some PAC basics. Go to www.controlglobal.com/articles/2008/026.html
for
his insights.
PLCs, PACs AND POWER OVER ETHERNET
Advantech
880/205-7950 w w w.advantech.com
Field level wiring used to be very simple.
A sensor was either powered or
passive. But, when networking PLCs
and PACs coming into the control system
network became both practical
and popular, engineers started thinking
about how to provide power over
the same set of wires as the network
connection. This white paper discusses
how Power over the Ethernet is
fast becoming the standard. The link
to the free registration page is http://
tinyurl.com/47mvsqm.
DESIGNING PLC MODULES
Analog De vices
w w w.analog.com
This webcast deals with the requirements
and challenges associated
with the design and implementation
of analog input/output modules used
in industrial control applications,
with a particular focus on programmable
logic controller (PLC) modules.
Design and applications tips
and techniques will be presented,
and examples of Analog Devices’
solutions will be discussed. A direct
link to the webcast is at http://
tinyurl.com/4kg28z8.
GUIDE TO PLCS AND OTHER DEVICES
work .com
w w w.work.com
This link-rich page provides the user
with basics for determining whether
you need a programmable logic device,
tips for finding training, and
lists of available sources. A direct
link to the pages is at http://tinyurl.
com/4jlodm5.
PLC/PAC PDFs
pdf4me.ne t
w w w.pdf4me.net
This site contains dozens of downloadable
PDFs on a variety of PLC
and PAC subjects, including “Understanding
PACs,” “A Controller
System for Industrial Automation,”
“The Design of a Portable Programmable
Logic Controller,” “Introduction
to Programmable Logic Control,”
“Logic Control Systems” and
“Embedded and Industrial Automation.”
Each selection offers both a
full download and a preview page to
aid in selection. The direct link is at
http://tinyurl.com/4sqatud.
HOW TO RECONFIGURE A CONTROLLER
Control
w w w.controlglobal.com
Process control expert F. Greg Shinskey
discusses the power of external-reset
feedback in this article from Control
magazine. He says that preventing
windup requires reconfiguration of the
controller, and external-reset feedback
is the most satisfactory method of accomplishing
it. The article includes
techniques and equations for this process.
The direct link is at http://tinyurl.
com/4lwngsg.
PLC/PAC TUTORIAL
The PLC Tutor
w w w.theplctutor.com
If you have the desire to learn about
programmable logic controllers and/or
programmable automation controllers,
or if you need a refresher or some tutoring,
then this is the place to go. Chapters
include coverage of I/O wiring and
interactions, number systems, memory
structure, bit instruction, timers and
counters. There is also a list of external
links to more resources.
PLC/PAC EBOOK SHELF
Ebookbrowse
ht tp://ebookbrowse.com
This site holds a collection of ladder
logic and PLC/PAC tutorials from a variety
of sources. All are free, although
registration is required. The site contains
links to white papers, tutorials,
ladder logic diagrams, simulations and
more. Documents come in .doc, .docx,
PDF, .rtf, .xls, .ppt, .pptx and .pps formats.
The direct link is at http://tinyurl.com/4b7ltzz.
A p r i l / 2 0 1 1 www.controlglobal.com 31