Acronyms Are Hard: PLC and HMI
Acronyms can be hard. We are working to make this industry more accessible by removing gatekeeping when we find it. So, we are demystifying what all the acronyms mean.
To make sure that we are all on the same page, we’ll start from the beginning:
PLC: Programmable Logic Controller
A PLC is a Programmable Logic Controller. It’s a long term to describe a box of hardware and software inside it that is designed to replace the relays and timers everyone was using until Dick Morley invented and started mass producing the “Modicon” PLC in 1968.
To say the Modicon PLC was a revolutionary is an understatement.
The PLC is the basis of everything that systems integrators do. Most PLCs are programmed using a language called Ladder Logic. Ladder Logic is the most common language used to program PLCs, and can be found in the IEC61131-3 specification. Designed as an equivalent replacement to relay logic, Ladder Logic looks very similar to electrical drawings and diagrams. Other languages you might see in the wild on PLCs include Function Block Diagram and Structured Text.
HMI: Human Machine Interface
HMI is short for Human Machine Interface, a really fancy sounding term for a software program you use to interact with a machine or manufacturing process. The right design will allow an HMI to show you the important things that you need to see and interact with live, when and where you need it. Bad design will overload you with information and let’s your operators to touch and adjust things that you wouldn’t want them to be able to on the fly.
HMI design is important, and is something we take very seriously. We have designed interfaces for basic machines all the way up to production lines spanning across multiple buildings with tens of thousands of data points to manage.
Generally, Corso Systems follows the High Performance HMI programming viewpoint, the goal being to give you the most intuitive, best performing interfaces. If you want to learn more, we highly recommend checking out The High Performance HMI Handbook.
Stay Tuned for more Acronyms Are Hard.
Updated - 6/16/2022