A Framework to Guide the Instruction of Industrial Programmable Logic Controllers in Undergraduate Engineering Education

Abstract

Programmable logic controllers are ubiquitous in automation practice and 74% of process controls job advertisements seek applicant familiarity with this equipment. However, undergraduate training on these devices is lacking, likely due to expense and pedagogical uncertainty. Without a clear view of how to teach logic controllers little justifies the purchase of these devices in teaching laboratories and engineering programs. During the modernization of process control exercises at the University of Colorado Boulder a finite state machine framework, common to engineering practice, was used to teach programmable logic controllers. Herein we describe this approach, which reliably guided an undergraduate activity where actual commercial controllers drove engineering automation. Ultimately, the cost of a single apparatus was $2,294US, which appeared warranted given feedback from 84 alumni and closer curricular alignment with industrial needs.