Basic electrical design of a PLC panel (Wiring diagrams) Bisccoienreneneering portaLcomiseoeatsesgnsi-parebuiig-asgrans Googles arrest Building the PLC pane! It's uncommon for engineers to build ther own PLC panel design (but not impossible ofcourse). For example, once the electical designs are complet, they must bo bull by an ebscrcian, Therefor, Ris your responsibilty to effectely commune your design inlntons tothe electrians trough drawings. In ome factories, the elecricans also ener the fide” ogc andl do dedugaing, “This arto discusses the dosig issues in implementation that must be considrad by the designe. Electrical wiring diagrams of a PLC panel In an industrial geting @ PLC ie not simply ‘plugged into a wall socket’. The electrical design for each machine must include atleast the follwing components, 1 Teansformers—to stop down AC supply vliagus to lower vols 2, Power contacts ~ to manually enablecisable power tthe machine wth e-top butlons 5. Terminals ~ to connect devices 4. Fuses oF eltcult breakers — wil cause power to fal 120 much current drawn 5. Grounding ~ to provide a path for currant to flow when there fs an elactical faut 6. Enclosure —to protect the equipment, and users trom accidental contact ‘Aconiol system of a PLC panel wilnormaly use AC and DC power at siferent vot ‘220/440/580V. or twa phase AC at 220/440V AC, or trae phase AC at S30/550V. levels. Control cabinets are often supplied wih single phase AC at “This power must be dropped down toa lower volage level for the controls and DC power supplies. 110Vac is common in North Americ, and 220 VAC 18. common in Europe and the Commonwealth counties. tis also common fora contral eabine to supply a higher voltage to other equipment, uch as motors Motor controller example ‘An example ofa wiring diagram fora motor controller is shown in Figure 1. Note that symbols aro discussed in deta iar). Dashes inos incicate a single purchased component. Ths system uses 3 phase AC power (Lt, L2 and L) connected tothe trminals. The three phasos aro then connocted toa power intrruper. Nox, all thre phasos ae supplod te a motor slartr that contains three contac, M, and three thormal overload relays (breakers)| | | | | | | | | I motor 1 3 phase | | AC | | LY) | | | | step down transformer 0020 0030, Figure 1 ~ AMotor Controller Schematic The contact, M, willbe controled by the col, M.The output ofthe motor starter goes toa three phase AC motor. Power Is supped by connecting @ step ow ‘sansiorme to the conta latronies by connecting to phases L2 and 2, The lower vakage fs then used o supply power to the left and ght al ofthe lager below. The neutral ralis alo grounded ‘The logic consists of two push buttons: + Slat push buton is normally open, so tha something fais the motor cannet be started + Slop push button i normally closed, 8 that wire or connection fats the system halts safe “The systom controls the motor starter col M, and uses a spare contact on the starter, M, to seal inthe motor starter. ‘Asie: The voltage forthe stop down transformer is connected between pha ‘magnitude of the voltage on 9 single phase. 2 and L3, This will increase the effective voltage by 50% ofthe “The clagram alsa shows numbering for he wires inthe deve, This essential for industrial control systems that may contain hundreds or thousands of wires “These numbering schemes are often particular to each faci, but thre ar tool help make wee labels that wll appear inte nal controls cabinet,. Contactors Main Breaker Overload Transformer Start Stop Terminal Block Figure 2 ~ APhysical Layout forthe Control Cabinet (Once the elactrcal design is comal considered, and adequate space yout for the conttls cabinet is developed, as shown in Figure 2. The physical dimensions ofthe devices must bs ‘needed to run wires between components, Inthe cabinet the AC power would enter atthe terminal Bock, ane be connected tothe main breaker. Trwouls then be connectas tothe contactors and overioad relays that constitute the motor starr. Two oft phases are alko connected tothe transformer to power the loi. The start and stop buttons are atthe let of the box (note: normally these are mounted elsewhere, and a separate layout drawing would be needed) ‘The final xyout Inthe cabinet might ook lke the one shown In Figure 1ro----n-H + | stop | | o!l1o | ro D! ¢ T bolo oT les PAs O& motor 3 phase 3 phase AC Xe Figure 3~ Final PLC Panel Wing ‘When being bit the system wil follow certain standards that may be company pakcy, or legal requirements. Tis often includes items such as; + Hold downs tho wil sacure the wire 80 they don't move + Labels — re labels help troubleshooting + Strain rollefs— these il hold the wire so tha wll ot be pulld out of screw terminals + Grounding - grounding wires may be needed on each metal pace for safety [Aphotograph of an industrial controls cabinet is shown in Figure 4Figure 4 ~ An industrial contro cabinet wih wire rune, terminal tp, buttons an PLC pana rant, tc ‘Wien including a PLC ln the ladder diagram sil remains. But, 1 does tend to become mare complex. Figure S below shows a schematle dlagram fora PLC based ‘moter control system, similar othe previous mator contol example “This figure shows th E-stop wired to cutoff power to allot the dovicas in tho crcut, ncusing the PLC. Al rca safety functions should be hardwired tis way.Figure 5~An Electical Schematic wih a PLE Electrical control panels including PLCs and HMIs Roference Automating manufacturing systoms wih PLCs by Hugh Jack