Timer and Counter Instructions

Dr. Manjula Sutagundar

Dept. of E&IE, BEC,
Bagalkot
 Introduction
• Major enhancement to original PLC – Timing
and counting capabilities
• Earlier PLCs – Timer cards
• Modern PLCs – Timers and counters included
in the instruction set
• PLC timers are output instructions. They
provide the same function as
electromechanical and solid state timers
 Allen Bradley Timer Instructions
• Allen Bradley SLC-500’s, ControlLogix and
LogixPro have three timers available:
 TON – Timer On-Delay
 TOF – Timer Off-Delay
 RTO – Retentive TON
 Timer Parameters
• Timer
 The address of the timer. Timers are stored in data file #4 and
use a file designator of ‘T’. Valid range of timers is: 0 to 255.
• Time Base
 The number of “ticks” on the clock. The SLC-500 series can be
set to 1.0, 0.1, or 0.01seconds
• Preset Value (PRE)
 The preset value is the length of time the timer should time
before its contacts change state. The valid range is: 0 to 32,767.
 The total time of the timer is determined by:
Total_Time = Preset_Value * Time_Base
• Accumulator Value (ACC)
 Stores the current time of the timer.
 Timer Memory
• Each timer, of any type, requires three, 16-bit words
in timer memory.
 Word 0 – Stores the status bits of the timer
 Word 1 – Stores the preset value
 Word 2 – Stores the accumulator value
• Timers have three status bits that are stored in word
0:
 Bit 13 or Bit (DN) – Done Bit
 Bit 14 or Bit (TT) – Timer Timing Bit
 Bit 15 or Bit (EN) – Timer Enable Bit
Timer Memory Map
 Timer Addressing
• Timers, by default, are stored in data file #4 and
has a file designator of ‘T’. Therefore, timer
number zero is addressed as T4:0
• There are two main forms of addressing in AB;
Bit level and Word level. To address the status
bits of a timer use bit level addressing as follows:
 T4:0/13 or T4:0/DN = Done Bit
 T4:0/14 or T4:0/TT = Timer Timing Bit
 T4:0/15 or T4:0/EN = Enable Bit
 Timer Addressing
• Word level addresses are used to address the value of a
16-bit word. Therefore, to read the value of the timer
accumulator or preset use a word level address as
follows:
 T4:0.1 or T4:0.PRE = Value of timer zero’s preset
 T4:0.2 or T4:0.ACC = Value of timer zero’s accumulator
• Almost any word in the AB memory structure can be
addressed to bit level, here is an example:
 T4:0.ACC/8
 This is a bit level address that is referencing bit-8 in the
accumulator word of timer zero.
Timer On Delay
Timer On Delay
Timer On Delay
Timer Off Delay
Timer Off Delay
Timer Off Delay
Timer Off Delay
Retentive Timer On Delay
Retentive Timer On Delay
Retentive Timer On Delay
 Maximum Amount of Time a Timer can
Time To
• What is the maximum amount of time that a
SLC500 can time to?
 SLC500 Timers
1.0 Second * [(215 – 1) or 32,767] = 32,767 Seconds
Which is: 9-hours 6-minutes 7-seconds
Cascading Timers
Self Resetting The Timers
 Programming Examples
• Develop a PLC program to control two motors
M1 and M2 using two push buttons S1 and S2.
The motor M1 should start immediately when
push button S1 is activated. Motor M2 should
start after a delay of 10 Sec. When push
button S2 is activated both motors should turn
off immediately
 Programming Examples
• Develop a PLC program to control two motors
M1 and M2 using two push buttons S1 and S2.
The motor M1 and M2 should start
immediately when push button S1 is activated.
When push button S2 is activated motor M1
should go to off status immediately, whereas
motor M2 should go to off status after a delay
of 10 sec.
Programming Examples
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
 Counter Instructions
• High speed counter
 Used when the transitions are happening at a rate
faster than scan time
 Works in a way similar to CTU
Counter Instructions
 Counter Instructions
• Only one HSC is allowed per program
• Address is fixed – C5:0
• Works in a way similar to CTU
• Does not count the rung transitions, but transitions
are counted directly from the input
• A separate hardware accumulator is used in
conjunction with HSC – image accumlator
• Setting UA bit will cause the counters image
accumulator to update the processor accumulator
Counter Instructions
Counter Instructions
 Comparison Instructions
• EQU
• NEQ
• LES
• LEQ
• GRT
• GEQ
 Comparison Instructions
• EQU – checks for equality of two values
 Comparison Instructions
• NEQ – Checks for inequality of two values
 Comparison Instructions
• LES – checks whether one value is less than
other value or not
 Comparison Instructions
• LEQ – checks whether one value is less than or
equal to other value or not
 Comparison Instructions
• GRT – checks whether one value is greater than
other or not
 Comparison Instructions
• GEQ – checks whether one value is greater
than or equal to other or not
 Data Handling Instructions
• MOV
• MVM
• FRD
• TOD
• COP
• Logical instructions
• LIM
• SCP
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Status bits – MOV instruction
 Carry bit – not affected
 Overflow bit – not affected
 Zero bit – set if the result is zero
 Sign bit – set if the result is negative
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Status bits – MVM instruction
 Carry bit – not affected
 Overflow bit – not affected
 Zero bit – set if the result is zero
 Sign bit – set if the result is negative
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Carry bit is not affected by the TOD instruction
• The overflow bit is set at 1 if the result value is
larger than 9999
• The zero bit is set, if the result is zero
• The sign bit is set if the source word is
negative
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Carry bit is not affected by the FRD instruction
• The overflow bit is set at 1 if the value
contained in the source is not a BCD value
• The zero bit is set, if the result is zero
• The sign bit is not affected by FRD instruction
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Logical Instructions
 AND Operation
 Data Handling Instructions
 OR Operation
 Data Handling Instructions
 XOR Operation
 Data Handling Instructions
 NOT Operation
 Data Handling Instructions
• Limit Test Instruction
 Programming Examples
• A classroom has a capacity of maximum 120
students. There are two doors, one for Entry and
the other for Exit. When number of students in
the classroom is less than 120, Entry door has a
Green light on it which remains ON. When
number of students in the classroom is 120 or
more than that, Red light goes ON turning OFF the
Green light which indicates that the classroom has
reached its maximum capacity and is full.
 Programming Examples
• Considering the availability of two separate doors for Entry and
Exit, two separate Proximity Switches can be used to detect entry
and exit of students.
• One proximity switch is mounted at the Entry door and the other
at the Exit door.
• Both the switches will generate two different outputs which can
be then fed to PLC to operate the lights according to the Ladder
Logic Program written in its memory.
• Counter must be used to count the number of students entering
and exiting.
• Comparator must also be used to compare the count value with
the given maximum capacity of 120.
Programming Examples
 Programming Examples
• Material A and Material B are collected in a
tank. These materials are mixed for a while.
Mixed product is then drained out through
Outlet valve. Implement this in PLC using
Ladder Logic programming language.
 Programming Examples
• To detect level of Material A and Material B, two separate level
switches are used.
• And to detect low level, one more level switch is used at the bottom of
the tank.
• These give output in digital terms that is when corresponding levels are
detected.
• To control level of this system, Single Acting Piston valve can be used
which has two states, either fully open or fully close.
• To control mixing, agitator is used which is connected with Motor shaft.
• Particular time delay is generate to mix the materials for a definite time.
• Control inlet valves on the basis of Level Material switches A and B.
• Outlet valve is then operated to drain the mixed product.
Programming Examples
 Programming Examples
• Parts are moved on the conveyor. Count the
number of parts collected at the end of the
conveyor and display it on the display in PLC
using Ladder Diagram programming language.
Programming Examples
 Programming Examples
• There are total four number of outputs which
should be run one by one with a particular
time delay. Implement this in PLC using Ladder
Diagram programming language.
 Programming Examples
• Generate Master Start and Stop buttons to activate the
sequence and define four outputs.
• Use TON timer to generate a particular time delay, same or
different.
• Use Done bit of first timer to energize other output and
activate second timer.
• Repeat this process until the final output is energized and
last timer is activated.
• Reset timers after the completion of first cycle if necessary.
• Use LEDs as output to test the program.
 Programming Examples
• Display the time taken to move an object from one
end to another on a conveyor
 Programming Examples
• Two different sized particles are being moved
on the conveyor belt. To pack these particles,
two different boxes are used separately. These
products must not be packed in the same box.
Separation of these particles is to be
controlled. Implement automation to perform
this operation in PLC using Ladder Diagram
programming language.
 Data Handling Instructions
• Scale with parameter instruction
 Analog input needs to be scaled before it can be
processed
 Input data from a field device needs to be scaled
 Analog outputs need to be scaled before it can be
sent to analog output module
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
Data Handling Instructions
 Data Handling Instructions
• Input: Input value to be scaled. It is address where
input value to be scaled is stored
• Input Min: The input minimum is the minimum input
value
• Input Max: The input maximum is the maximum input
value
• Scaled Min: This represents the scaled minimum value
• Scaled Max: This represents the scaled maximum value
• Output: Address where the scaled data is to be stored
 Sequencer Instructions
• Controls a predetermined sequence of events
• Three sequencer instructions available in Allen
Bradley:
 Sequencer output
 Sequencer compare
 Sequencer load
Sequencer Instructions
 Sequencer Instructions
• Sequencer output (SQO)
 Programmed as an output on a ladder rung
 Each false to true rung transition causes the
sequencer output instruction to increment to the
next sequence step
 Each step of the sequence is stored in a sequencer
file
 Sequencer file: user defined file
 Length of file determines number of sequence steps
Sequencer Instructions
 Sequencer Instructions
• Example:
 Four step process
Four outputs are to be energized on one 16-point output
module for each of the four steps
 All the output points must be on a single output module
 Sequence
 Step 1: Outputs 0,1,2,3 will be energized
 Step 2: Outputs 4,5,6,7 will be energized
 Step 3: Outputs 8,9,10,11 will be energized
 Step 4: Outputs 12,13,14,15 will be energized
Sequencer Instructions
Sequencer Instructions
Sequencer Instructions
 Programming Example
• Develop a PLC ladder program to control a
stepper motor using sequencer output
instructions. How the speed can be controlled
 Programming Example
• There are total 3 tanks of which level is being
controlled. Display level of these tanks for
5secs of one by one. Implement this in PLC
using Ladder Diagram programming language.