PART V | LESSON 20: MACHINE CONTROLS MATERIAL HANDLING ACADEMY

Lesson 20 Worksheet: Machine Controls

Map every Aux I/O point on paper during design, before the panel is built. Work the mapping exercise, then the release-mode check, then start the Riverside setpoints list.

THE RULE: WHERE AN AUX I/O IS REQUIRED

Aux I/O Mapping Exercise

Here's the layout: an accumulation line feeds a sorter induction, three divert lanes each end at a pack station, and one lane has a footswitch at the operator position. For each point, mark whether an Aux I/O is required and write the one reason it is or isn't.

Point in the layoutAux I/O?The one reason
End-of-line accumulation zone feeding the sorter induction Y   N
A zone the PLC has to hold pending a scan result Y   N
A merge-entry zone the PLC sequences Y   N
A zone whose product presence the PLC needs to make a routing call Y   N
The pack-station lane with a footswitch at the operator position Y   N

Now the footswitch point specifically: does it need a PLC in the loop, or can it be configured locally in the zone controller? Write your answer in one line.

Release-Mode and Safe-State

A maintenance tech unplugs one Aux I/O to trace a fault, on a zone holding four cartons. Mark the safe default and say what happens under each mode.

Signal-to-stop Signal-to-release

What happens on the disconnect under each mode, and why the default matters more than the exception:

RIVERSIDE PROJECT NOTES: SETPOINTS LIST, PAGE 1