Industrial control plc internal use of microcontroller chip?

Yes, industrial PLCs (programmable logic controllers) usually use a microcontroller (MCU) chip inside. Specifically, the core control unit inside the PLC usually consists of one or more MCUs (microcontrollers), which are responsible for processing input signals, performing logic operations, controlling output signals, and other functions.

Microcontroller, also known as a single microcontroller, integrated with the central processing unit (CPU), read-only memory (ROM), random memory (RAM), as well as a variety of peripherals such as general-purpose I/O ports, timers, serial ports, ADCs and so on. A complete computer system is integrated into a single chip, so it is called a microcontroller.

PLC is a microprocessor for automation control of digital computing controller, by the CPU, instruction and data memory, input / output interface, power supply, digital to analog conversion and other functional units. Early programmable logic controllers only logic control functions, and later with the development of logic control, timing control, analog control, multi-machine communication and other functions. Among them, the PLC internal CPU control chip is often the use of microcontroller, on this basis, and then in the periphery plus a variety of power supply and I / O, communications and other circuits, it is composed of a complete PLC system.

The use of microcontroller as a PLC control core, mainly because of microcontroller has the following advantages:

Lower cost: Compared with some high-end processor chips designed specifically for complex control systems, the price of microcontroller is relatively low, which helps to reduce the overall cost of PLC, which is very important for large-scale applications and cost-sensitive industrial control areas.

Strong customizability: By programming the microcontroller, a variety of specific control logic and functions can be flexibly implemented to meet the individual needs of different industrial control scenarios. Engineers can write the corresponding program code according to the specific control tasks and requirements, so that the PLC has the required functional characteristics.

High degree of integration: microcontroller will be a variety of functional components integrated in a chip, reducing the size and complexity of the system, is conducive to the PLC to achieve miniaturization and compact design, easy to install in the industrial field in a variety of equipment and control cabinets.

Easy to develop and debug: Now there are many mature development tools and technologies can be used for the development of microcontroller, engineers can easily program, debugging and testing, improve the development efficiency. At the same time, microcontroller programming is relatively more flexible, for some complex control algorithms and logic implementation also has better support.

Of course, in addition to the core microcontroller chip, PLC also needs to be equipped with other peripheral circuits and components, such as power supply circuits, input/output interface circuits, communication interface circuits, etc., in order to ensure that it can operate stably and reliably in industrial environments and communicate interactively with a variety of industrial equipments and sensors, and to realize the precise control of industrial production processes. Different models and specifications of PLCs may choose different performance and characteristics of microcontroller chips to meet their specific functional and performance requirements.