PLC circuits
Box Size Sorting with a PLC
What is box size sorting with a PLC?
It is a PLC application in which boxes on a conveyor are detected by sensors at different heights and sorted by size. Separate lamps light for small, medium and large boxes.
Where is it used?
It is used on packaging, parcel and logistics lines, for product classification in production and at quality control stations. In real systems, sorting cylinders or diverter flaps work instead of the lamps.
PLC wiring and ladder program
The conveyor motor runs through a contactor; the sensors go to PLC inputs and the lamps to outputs. The program looks at the current state of the sensors to decide which lamp to light. Each output corresponds to one row of a truth table.
What it teaches
Evaluating several sensors together and writing a program from a truth table are among the most used skills in automation.
Parts used
- Motor 3~
- M1
- PLC
- PLC1
- Sensor (3-wire)
- B1, B2, B3
- Indicator lamp
- H1, H2, H3
Run it in the simulator.
This circuit is ready in the CoilPath library. Open it, press the buttons and follow the current. It also comes with a wiring view and a panel layout.