Design of programmable logic controller for controlling automation system of robot and pneumatic sorter

Abstract

This paper presents the application of Programmable Logic Controller to control pneumatic systems in automatic sorting. In this sorting machine, a fiber optic sensor detects the material color, and an inductive proximity sensor detects the metal target. Materials are available in three colors: silver (aluminum), yellow (light yellow superlene), and black (opaque black superlene), and the Reed Switch detects the position of the cylinder. The sensor operation sends an input signal to the PLC for processing according to the program set on the machine and then outputs conditional signals to control the control signal and the pneumatic directional valve to automatically control the operation of the pneumatic device. The results of functional testing will show that the machine can separate colors and store materials properly under specified conditions. The machine starts working at 4.0 bar air pressure, the average total working time per piece is 25.2 seconds, and the maximum air pressure is 7.0 bar, the average total working time per piece is 18.19 seconds, it can work 100 percent accurately without any errors. This research can be applied to create robots or automatic animal housing systems in farms.