PLCs
Industrial automation computers
PLCs is the plural of PLC, an abbreviation with two common meanings.
In business, a PLC is a public limited company—a British corporate structure whose shares trade publicly, equivalent to a publicly traded corporation in the U.S.: Barclays PLC, Tesco PLC.
In engineering, a PLC is a programmable logic controller—an industrial computer that automates manufacturing processes: The factory floor runs on PLCs.
Device producing controlled motion
- sensorInput-detecting device
- relayStage-by-stage transmission
- feedbackReturned response data
- interlockJoin by overlapping
alarm · setpoint · redundancy
Industrial product creation
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- packagingProtective product enclosure
- bottlingPackaging liquids in containers
- CNCAutomated machining via code
robotics · conveyor · water treatment · HVAC · oil and gas · power generation · food processing
Prescribed conduct rules
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- master-slaveControl hierarchy pairing
- gatewayPoint of access
- data exchangeTransmission of information between parties
Main computing chip
- backplaneMulti-slot connector board
- input/outputSystem's data flow directions
- rack-mountedFixed in standardized enclosure
- memoryMind's retention capacity
firmware · chassis · power supply · slot · terminal block · LED indicators
actuator
Device producing controlled motion
interlock · alarm · setpoint · redundancy
manufacturing
Industrial product creation
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- packagingProtective product enclosure
- bottlingPackaging liquids in containers
CNC · robotics · conveyor · water treatment · HVAC · oil and gas · power generation · food processing
protocol
Prescribed conduct rules
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- master-slaveControl hierarchy pairing
- gatewayPoint of access
CPU
Main computing chip
- backplaneMulti-slot connector board
- input/outputSystem's data flow directions
- rack-mountedFixed in standardized enclosure
memory · firmware · chassis · power supply · slot · terminal block · LED indicators
sequencer
Orders signals chronologically
rung · coil · contact · subroutine · watchdog · interrupt · variable · tag · addressing