What are the Most Popular PLC Programming Languages?

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There are 5 languages that are all a part of the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) Section 61131-3 Standard. This IEC Standard allows some ground rules that standardize PLC’s and their languages.

The 5 most popular PLC programming languages are Ladder Diagram (LD), Sequential Function Charts (SFC), Function Block Diagram (FBD), Structured Text (ST), and Instruction List (IL).

Let’s take a deeper look into all these PLC Programming Languages.

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[AnubhabKundu]

Your videos are all amazing! Even after knowing about PLCs. I thought I knew it all until I clicked on this! Thank you for making such an wonderful video!

[pacificusmngoma]

Awesomeness I only spotted this channel today and I decided to go back to 8 years ago when everything started, look I am so happy to have found this channel I wanted to see this video in more detail because it actually shows how well equipped you are with knowledge of PLCs I would like to say that that it is magnificent I feel like I have found a box full of hidden treasures gold, and diamonds that many people have been searching or and never found. Thank you .

[melquiadesdelgadoramirez]

Excellent and simple way to explain these PLC programming languages. In my opinion, LD is the most popular between maintenance technicians used to troubleshoot electrical diagrams, very similar to LD programs. Those industries not involving complex processes, such as motion control can easily have all the PLCs programmed in LD.

[mho]

For simple problems you can handle LAD quite well, but if it gets more complex and demanding, you can not get past FBD or ST.

[erickontiveroslara]

Im for sure still a naive in PLC programming, but when I worked in this Automotive assembly Plant (as an operator)I used to turn my eyes into the computers of the German guys seated aside the assembly line and I was pretty astonished to see Step 7 v5.x and also a Ladder Diagram, guess the most important thing is to keep simplicity as my professor always say.

[muslim]

Your contents are really rich, informative and helpful.
Thanks a lot :)

[SrFede]

Another fantastic video! Thanks for sharing, i learn a lot with you!

[virustracker]

I combine both ladder and structured text

[javierferrer]

Thank you for this information ! I don't know that plc programming has many branches or popularity .

[aravindbalakrishnan]

Thank you sir. You explained all the languages. All the videos you given are very useful and giving clear visualization about the concept.

[simxschl]

I've been using IL on SIEMENS PLCs for the last 5 years for process automation and I like it very much and do find it very readable (unless you start indirect addressing). But I am looking forward to switching to SCL with TIA Portal since it's more high level and I do like C++ a lot.

[raikaljok]

While planning in eighties a quite large logic system by using logical ICs, OpAmps and smith triggers I learned something which fits totally the graphical programming method of Siemens' new Logo! 8. It was very easy to start to use those blocks and best of all I can test graphically the whole system while editing it.
Sure, I have also programming experiences and I understand that somebody has reasons to use a different system.

[arturmkrtchyan]

Hi, thanks for the great channel. I need your advice. I'm HVAC&R engineer and I'd like to to go deeper in the programming of the HVAC&R field, could you please give me advice on which software is better to start.

[Ryarios]

I find LD to generally be the most useful. It’s easy to see and follow and see where the program faulted or is waiting for some action to take place. FBD can be good, but it can be hard to see inside the function blocks. Most engineers and techs understand ladder logic and it’s often the way the engineer presents the logic in their specifications anyway. (Unless they just use written descriptions on how they want the program to function). It’s also able to take advantage of Boolean algebra for more efficient programming easier IMO.

[tinlh]

My favorites are combination of ladder diagram & function block.

[guymailhot]

I like LADDER language too. It suit to most application and if needed, you can always some function block to complete the need of logic.

[Sofiero]

I only use ST becouse its easy to adapt to diffrent brand of plc, like Siemens, Mitsubishi and beckhoff. I save all my functions in visual studio and all i need to do is to copy the text and Edit the tag names so it works with the specified PLC brand

[softwellautomation]

We can use LD in Automotive /discrete industries control and FBD for Process/Continuous Industries control.

[CiaoRagazzii]

Super chanel, thx for videos.
LAD + STL combination.

[philipwilkie]

After 28 years of PLC programming my view is that in a modern controller there is little difference in how 'powerful' any of the languages are. The best choice of language for any given task depends largely on whether it is logic or data dominant.

Ladder is great for visualising the flow of logic at the rung level. Literally you read the logical state of a rung in a highly intuitive, instinctive fashion. The limitation is not what you can do with ladder, but that it doesn't impose on the programmer any inherent data structure. You have to do that for yourself.

By contrast function block visualises the flow of data, making it easy to follow process information in real time. The downside is that the logical state of a complex diagram can be quite difficult to understand.

In this sense ladder and function block are perfect complements to each other, each with it's own strengths and weakness.

Structured text tends to suit people who started out in a conventional computer science environment and have developed the aptitude to work with it from the beginning. While ST is broadly competent, it's also more abstract; while is more 'efficient' writing at the code building stage in the office, when it comes to real time, high pressure machine or process commissioning, it's definitely harder to work with because it presents neither the data nor the logic in an intuitive visual fashion.

In other words the geeks love ST, suckers like me who have to commission and maintain it much less so.

Overall each language has it's optimum place. (I've never bothered with SFC's nor IL ... just never needed them.) Carefully chosen to suit the application space they work very well in complement to each other. What doesn't work is an ideological insistence that one language is best and must be force fitted everywhere.