Part 1- Programming the Siemens S7-1200 to control Factory I/O
In this training video I demonstrate how to program the Siemens S7-1200 PLC to sort boxes of different heights on a conveyor system using the revolutionary 3D simulation software for industrial automation, called Factory I/O.
If you would like to purchase Factory I/O to help you learn the latest PLC programming techniques and at the same time, help me produce more training videos like this one for you to watch, then please use this link: https://factoryio.com/url-action?ref=mariocrispino
The Siemens PLC starter kit I use during the training is an S7-1200 CPU 1212C AC/DC/relay with KPT400 HMI which I purchased from Underwoods Electrical Distributors Ltd. in High Wycombe.
Although the basic idea for the PLC code came from the factory I/O website. See https://docs.factoryio.com/tutorials/…, I input and develop the code, step by step, explaining why each piece of the ladder logic program is entered as I go along, while carrying out tests and sorting out issues before moving on to the next stage of the development process. This is where the power of FactoryI/O comes into its own, as you will see when watching the videos.
Factory I/O is a great tool for training, developing and testing your Siemens S7-1200 PLC code without having to go to site and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get into the automation industry and in particular, PLC programming.
At 7 minutes into the video I mention the blank program I open to start coding. I state that it has already been setup for FactoryI/O, in that the input offset has been entered and saved so that it can be called up to start new projects. For an explanation of this please see the document https://docs.factoryio.com/tutorials/… Setting up the Siemens S7-1200 to work with FactoryI/O.
At 17 minutes and 30 seconds into the video you will see the Drivers page in Factory I/O on the right of screen. If you are unfamiliar with Factory I/O, the connections to the PLC that you can see at this point in the video will be explained in a another video shortly. Be sure to look back at these notes in the weeks to come for the link.
Here is the link to watch Part 2 of Sorting Boxes by Height