Due to worldwide modernization, many people have come across a process, which is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). Automation and programming have already become a part of everyday life and they are also involved in our educational system. But since PLC is a rather expensive tool, there is a clear need to carefully evaluate its purchase decision and define whether it will bring the expected results. PLC’s high price is unfortunately still an unbridgeable obstacle for many schools. Consequentially, not many students have the opportunity to test their skills in developing applications for PLC’s. Thus, many potentially innovative ideas are still left unrealized. However, the arrival of the cheap Raspberry Pi computer and its PiFace Digital 2 expansion module has made the world of automatization more accessible not only for schools, but for home projects as well.
In my thesis I have described the Raspberry Pi computer and the PiFace Digital 2 expansion module, which together form a PLC, and tested both in practice. Furthermore, I have described all settings and activation steps that are required for their successful boot and operation. For the purpose of testing how the Raspberry Pi computer functions as a PLC, I have developed and also successfully tested an application in CODESYS environment, which controls a model barrier.
|
