Scaling is used to convert PLC ADC or DAC

value to instrument display

range. Scaling helps in using the sensor/
instrument data to visualize and control the
value. The signal from field instruments and
sensors is in the form of electrical signal, either
in current or voltage

Welcome to another to another blog post on

industrial automation and PLCs. In this lesson,
we are going to be talking about PLC Analog
Inputs.
What do we mean by PLC analog inputs?
Analog values are continuous values, such as
temperatures and pressures.
While we tend to think of them in digital terms,
at some point we have to convert them from the
continuous world into our digital world, and this
is where PLC analog inputs come in.
Voltage signals in the range of plus or minus 20
volts or so and current signals in milliamps are
commonly used as both analog inputs to PLCs.
Every PLC manufacturer has I/O modules to
deal with these kinds of signals, along with
other, more specialized modules.
The simplest of these types is the voltage input,
so we will tackle it first.

Voltage-Mode Analog Inputs

In the image below we have a simple circuit that
converts the position of a 0 into a 0 to 5 volts
signal and connected to a generic PLC voltage
analog input.
When the knob is on zero, the input to the PLC
will be zero volts, and at the other end of the
knob’s rotation, the PLC will see 5 volts.

What the PLC program sees as the result of the

conversion of the voltage to a number depends
on the PLC and its configuration.
For instance, some of the older Allen-Bradley
SLC models would return an integer ranging
from 0 to 8191 for an input of 0 to 5 Volts.
Usually, the newer models of PLC will allow
more flexibility in how the value is returned, so
that you can scale the numeric value to
whatever your application needs.
The PLC program can use this input to control
(for example) the brightness of a light bulb, the
output of a heat source, the speed of a motor,
or how fast a counter counts.
Current-Mode Analog Inputs
While the voltage input is capable of almost
everything we need in general applications,
because of electrical noise interference from
other devices, current mode signal transmission
is a better choice for signals that need to travel
over any real distance. For this reason, many
applications use current inputs.
From the PLC end, a current mode interface is
generally a voltage mode interface with an
added high-precision resistor.
While the resistor is often inside the PLC
module and switched in by a jumper or
connection position, it is effectively the same.
Below you can find an example of a device
powered current source. The field device is
getting its power from another source.
The current signal is sourced from the positive
terminal on the measuring device, traveling to
the positive terminal of the PLC.
Since there is a limit to how much voltage is
available in the loop; we usually limit the overall
resistance on the measuring end of the loop to
500 Ohms. Often this is called out as part of the
field device installation instructions.
Another common type of analog device uses
the 4 to 20 milliamps signal as its power source,
reducing the required complexity on the field
end.
Below is an example of a “loop-powered”
arrangement. The main addition to the circuit is
the separate power supply on the PLC end.
Note that the positive and negative measuring
device connections are different from the
previous example.
The current comes from the power supply in the
positive terminal of the loop-powered device
and out the negative terminal and into the
positive PLC terminal.
What we have covered so far have been
generalized inputs, used where the field signal
is set up as a conditioned input for the PLC.
The next types of inputs we will cover are
specific to two different types of common
temperature measurement devices that are
common enough to be worth building specific
modules for. There are thermocouples and
resistance temperature detectors (RTDs.)
Thermocouple Inputs
The older type of temperature device is a
thermocouple.
This type of device generates a small signal, in
the millivolt range, depending on the
temperature at the “junction” the point where
two different metals touch to create the voltage.
A thermocouple measurement module is
designed to process these tiny signals into
temperature readings, and they have several
somewhat picky features.
The wires used to connect the thermocouple to
the module must be made specifically for that
type of thermocouple – the wrong kind of wire
will make the signal useless.
Because the signals are at such a low voltage,
the wires need to be well shielded and carefully
routed away from higher voltage wiring.

Finally, these sensors need “cold junction

compensation,” a feature which is built into
most thermocouple modules, but some require
external devices for this purpose.
The temperature range of a thermocouple is
specified by a single letter, I.e., a “Type J”
thermocouple is a common variety with well-
known characteristics.
RTD or Resistance Temperature Detector
Inputs
The newer RTD or resistance temperature
detector is generally more robust and accurate
than the thermocouple, but the older sensors
are still quite common because they are both
designed into older equipment, and capable of
operating at temperature ranges that RTDs are
not made to handle, including up to white
heat (1600°C) in unique applications.
As the name implies, the resistance of the
device changes with its temperature, so
measuring the output is relatively
straightforward.
They generally come in three- and four-wire
configurations, and several temperature ranges.
This lesson has been a basic introduction to the
most common sorts of analog inputs used in
PLC-based applications.
Each of the types covered here has its quirks,
and the ways the PLC analog inputs are built
differ between manufacturers and PLC models,
so we have just covered general principles
without enough detail to implement them in any
given PLC system.
We have also not attempted to cover every type
of device. Each manufacturer has unique ways
of handling measurements, and there are many
other sorts of sensors that we have not included
here.

We at RealPars hope you have enjoyed this

introduction to PLC analog inputs, and hope
that you will come back and watch our other
automation lesson.
We are working diligently to cover more topics
and improve the information available, so feel
free to let us know if you want us to include a
specific topic