Design and Development of a Low-Cost PLC Trainer Using Siemens Logo for Educational Purposes

Abstract

Due to the significant importance of PLC in the industries, there are many PLC trainers that available in the market, but they are very expensive. However, in many cases, the cost of providing class-quantity PLCs for student laboratory use is prohibitive. So the main goal of this article is to design and develop a low-cost PLC trainer. The hardware of the proposed PLC trainer consists of PLC (Siemens LOGO) unit, 220V AC 60Hz power supply, connected to a switch (on/off), then a fuse as a protection, after that the PLC was connected to the line, neutral, 8 input (4 solid switches and 4 bush buttons) and 4 relay output. It was installed and coordinated on a panel made of aluminum and plastic due to its low cost and light weight and it is installed with thick enough bases to carry the panel. The total cost of the developed trainer is about 500 US Dollars. In addition to being low cost, it is also characterized by ease of use, ease of programming and more portable. The developed training system gives one the flexibility to wire and program any type of inputs and outputs of one’s choice. The paper is also meant to beginners and experienced PLC users to build themselves PLC trainers which can enhance their understanding of the theoretical knowledge. The experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed PLC trainer system.