PLCs for Beginners: An introductory guide to building robust PLC programs with the Structured Text language (Paperback or Softback)

Unleash the power of PLCs by understanding and applying essential programming concepts such as structured text, programming logic, and technologies like ChatGPT

Key Features

• Unleash the power of structured text by understanding its syntax, features, and applications
• Harness the power of programming logic and design by taking a design-first approach to PLC programming
• Leverage advanced concepts and technologies such as cybersecurity and generative AI with PLC
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

As smart factories and advanced technology become more prevalent, the demand for PLC programmers with expertise beyond ladder logic is growing. This book introduces a new approach to PLC programming, preparing you for future challenges by exploring automation programming through computer science and text-based programming.

The book begins by exploring the basic components of PLCs and how they integrate with other modules, giving you a clear understanding of system functionality. As you progress, you'll delve into PLC program execution, learning about flow and essential components for effective programming. Next, you'll understand program design with pseudocode and flowcharts, vital for planning programs. You'll then explore Boolean logic intricacies, harnessing logical functions and truth tables for precise control statements. Later, you'll delve into structured text, gaining a comprehensive grasp of syntax and features crucial for efficient programming. The journey continues with a focus on advanced topics like cybersecurity in PLC systems and leveraging generative AI (GenAI), such as ChatGPT, to enhance productivity.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to design real-world projects using pseudocode and flowcharts, and implement those designs in structured text.

What you will learn

• Explore and understand how to implement PLC programs in structured text
• Experiment with common functions in structured text
• Control the flow of a PLC program with loop and conditional statements
• Discover how to design a PLC program with pseudocode and flowcharts
• Implement common sorting algorithms such as bubble sort and insertion sort, and understand concepts such as Big O
• Understand the basics of cybersecurity to protect PLC-based systems
• Leverage ChatGPT for PLC programming
• Understand the basics of troubleshooting hardware and fixing common problems

Who this book is for

This book is for automation engineering students and individuals seeking entry-level knowledge of PLC programming with structured text and other modern computer science concepts to excel in the advanced automation landscape. No prior knowledge of PLC programming is required.

Table of Contents

1. Computer Science Versus Automation Programming
2. PLC Components – Integrating PLCs with Other Modules
3. The Basics of Programming
4. Unleashing Computer Memory
5. Designing Programs – Unleashing Pseudocode and Flowcharts
6. Boolean Algebra
7. Unlocking the Power of ST
8. Exploring Variables and Tags
9. Performing Calculations in Structured Text
10. Unleashing Built-In Function Blocks
11. Unlocking the Power of Flow Control
12. Unlocking Advanced Control Statements
13. Implementing Tight Loops
14. Sorting with Loops
15. Secure PLC Programming – Stopping Cyberthreats
16. Troubleshooting PLCs – Fixing Issues
17. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)
18. The Final Project – Programming a Simulated Robot

M. T. White has been programming since the age of 12. His fascination with robotics flourished when he was a child programming microcontrollers. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics, a master's degree in software engineering, and an MBA in IT management. He is currently working as a software developer for a major US defense contractor and is an adjunct CIS instructor, where he teaches Python, C, and an array of other courses. His background mostly stems from the automation industry where he programmed PLCs and HMIs for many different types of applications. He has programmed many different brands of PLCs over the years and has developed HMIs using many different tools. Other technologies that he is fluent in include Linux, Ansible, Docker, AWS, C#, Java, and Python. Be sure to check out his channel AlchemicalComputing on YouTube.