Have you ever wondered how the digital and
analog signals, coming from devices such as valves or sensors, are connected to the PLC's
input and output modules? In this video, using a practical example, you're going to learn
exactly how these field devices are wired and connected to the PLC's input and output
modules. Okay as you can see, here I've got a few different
PLC input and output modules. Each one of these modules is wired to different devices
in the field such as switches, valves, temperature or pressure transmitters.
In this video we're
going to explore how these PLC input and output modules are wired to these devices.
To get started let’s take closer look at this input module here.
This is a S7-300 analog input module. When you order this module from Siemens and open
the box you'll see something like this. Now if you open the front door for the first time,
you'll be surprised because you'll see that there is nowhere you can wire anything to
this module and that's where you'll say what the heck?!!
Now what should you do? To be able to wire your control signals to this module you simply
need to buy an additional accessory called a "front connector".
Now how does this work? To use the front connector you first need to wire the control signals
to these terminals and then install the front connector on the PLC module.
To install the front connector on your PLC module you should first hold down this module
lock here and then simply push the connector into the module to install it.
As you can see, the wires coming from the field devices are connected to the front connector
via wire ferrules.
You always need to use these wire ferrules while wiring the control
signal to the front connector but before that you should first connect the wire to the ferrule.
So you first put a wire ferrule on your wire and then connect that to the front connector's
terminal. Now let’s see how to do this.
The first thing that you need to do to connect a wire to a wire ferrule is to remove a chunk
of insulation from the end of the wire using a wire stripper and then connect the ferrule
to the wire like this. When you have the ferrule on the wire you
should crimp the ferrule using the crimping tool to make sure that the ferrule is firmly
attached to the wire. Now the wire is ready and can easily be connected
to the front connector. Now here's what I want from you in the comments bellow this video . What have you learned from watching this video? Can you imagine implementing something from this video in your next PLC programming project? A great motivator for us to produce free valuable content for you is the audience’s acknowledgement that they found this video useful.
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