Ladder Logic - Overview

Overview

An argument that aided the initial adoption of ladder logic was that a wide variety of engineers and technicians would be able to understand and use it without much additional training, because of the resemblance to familiar hardware systems. This argument has become less relevant given that most ladder logic programmers have a software background in more conventional programming languages, and in practice implementations of ladder logic have characteristics, such as sequential execution and support for control flow features, that make the analogy to hardware somewhat inaccurate.

Ladder logic is widely used to program PLCs, where sequential control of a process or manufacturing operation is required. Ladder logic is useful for simple but critical control systems or for reworking old hardwired relay circuits. As programmable logic controllers became more sophisticated it has also been used in very complex automation systems. Often the ladder logic program is used in conjunction with an HMI program operating on a computer workstation.

Manufacturers of programmable logic controllers generally also provide associated ladder logic programming systems. Typically the ladder logic languages from two manufacturers will not be completely compatible; ladder logic is better thought of as a set of closely related programming languages rather than one language. (The IEC 61131-3 standard has helped to reduce unnecessary differences, but translating programs between systems still requires significant work.) Even different models of programmable controllers within the same family may have different ladder notation such that programs cannot be seamlessly interchanged between models.

Ladder logic can be thought of as a rule-based language rather than a procedural language. A "rung" in the ladder represents a rule. When implemented with relays and other electromechanical devices, the various rules "execute" simultaneously and immediately. When implemented in a programmable logic controller, the rules are typically executed sequentially by software, in a continuous loop (scan). By executing the loop fast enough, typically many times per second, the effect of simultaneous and immediate execution is relatively achieved to within the tolerance of the time required to execute every rung in the "loop" (the "scan time"). It is somewhat similar to other rule-based languages, like spreadsheets or SQL. However, proper use of programmable controllers requires understanding the limitations of the execution order of rungs.