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Comparison between DCS and PLC :

What is the difference?
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You must automate a process, but you can't decide between a
DCS and a PLC. Are these systems really all that different? he
answers depend on a slew of other !uestions.
Turn the clock back 10-15 years: The programmable logic
controller (PLC) is king o machine control !hile the "istribute"
control system (#C$) "ominates process control% & you
manuacture plastic !i"gets' you speak PLC% & you pro"uce
chemicals' you speak #C$%
To"ay' the t!o technologies share king"oms as the unctional
lines bet!een them continue to blur% (e no! use each !here the
other use" to rule% )o!e*er' PLCs still "ominate high-spee"
machine control' an" #C$s pre*ail in comple+ continuous
processes%
The early #C$ looke" "ramatically "ierent rom the early PLC%
&nitially' the #C$ perorme" the control unctions o the analog
panel instruments it replace"' an" its interace mimicke" their
panel "isplays% #C$s then gaine" se,uence logic capabilities to
control batch processes as !ell as continuous ones% #C$s
perorme" hun"re"s o analog measurements an" controlle"
"o-ens o analog outputs' using multi-*ariable Proportional
&ntegral #eri*ati*e (P&#) control% (ith the same .-bit
microprocessor technology that ga*e rise to the #C$' PLCs began
replacing con*entional relay/soli"-state logic in machine control%
PLCs "ealt !ith contact input/output (&/0) an" starte"/stoppe"
motors by perorming 1oolean logic calculations%
The big change in #C$ o*er the past 20 years is its mo*e rom
proprietary har"!are to the personal computer (PC) an"
stan"ar" L34 technologies% (ith each a"*ance in PC po!er' #C$s
ha*e mo*e" up in po!er% PCs ga*e us spee"y' responsi*e' multi-
me"ia' !in"o!e"' operator-process interaces (0P&)% 5elational
"atabases an" sprea"sheet sot!are enhance the ability o #C$s
to store an" manipulate "ata% 3rtiicial intelligence (3&)
technology gi*es us 6smart6 alarming% To"ay7s #C$
architecturally looks much like the #C$ o 20 years ago' but
tomorro!7s #C$ may control through net!orke" 6smart6 "e*ices-
!ith no &/0 har"!are o its o!n%
8ost #C$s oer re"un"ant controllers' net!orks' an" &/0s% 8ost
gi*e you 6built-in6 re"un"ancy an" "iagnostic eatures' !ith no
nee" or user-!ritten logic%
#C$s allo! centrali-e" coniguration rom the operator or
engineering console in the control room% 9ou can change
programming oline' an" "o!nloa" !ithout restarting the system
or the change to be eecti*e%
#C$s allo! inter-controller communications% 9ou can "o "ata
e+change in most #C$ systems a" hoc (no nee" or pre"eine"
"ata point lists)% 9ou access "ata by tag name' regar"less o
har"!are or location%
#C$s use multi-tasking operating systems' so you can "o!nloa"
an" run applications asi"e rom the real-time control unctions
an" still "o ractional-secon" control% #C$s no! come in 6micro6
systems' to price-compete !ith PLCs-but !ith ull #C$ eatures
an" capabilities%
The typical #C$ has integrate" "iagnostics an" stan"ar" "isplay
templates that automatically e+ten"/up"ate !hen your "atabase
changes% This "atabase is central to the system-you "on7t ha*e
"ierent "atabases sitting in the controllers%
#C$s ha*e user-rien"ly coniguration tools' inclu"ing structure"
:nglish' control block libraries' $;C (se,uential unction chart)'
an" e*en 5LL (relay la""er logic)%
8ost #C$s allo! graphical coniguration' pro*i"e online
"iagnostics' an" are sel-"ocumenting% 8ost pro*i"e or user-
"eine" control blocks or customi-e" strategies% The controllers
e+ecute control strategies as in"epen"ent tasks< thus' making
changes to part o the control logic has no impact on the rest%
3n important "ierence bet!een #C$s an" PLCs is ho! *en"ors
market them% #C$ *en"ors typically sell a complete' !orking'
integrate"' an" teste" system< oering ull application
implementation% They oer many ser*ices: training' installation'
iel" ser*ice' an" integration !ith your &normation Technology
(&T) systems% 3 #C$ *en"or pro*i"es a ser*er !ith a relational
"atabase' a L34 !ith PCs or oice automation' net!orking
support an" integration o thir"-party applications an" systems%
The #C$ *en"or tries to be your 6one-stop shop%6 The PLC is
more o a 6"o-it-yoursel6 "e*ice' !hich is sometimes simpler to
e+ecute%
Programmable Logic Controllers% (hen PLCs !ere solely
replacements or har"-!ire" relays' they ha" only "igital &/0'
!ith no operator interace or communications% $imple operator
interaces appeare"' then e*ol*e" into increasingly comple+
interaces as PLCs !orke" !ith increasingly comple+ automation
problems% (e !ent rom a panel o buttons an" &/0-"ri*en lamps
to PLC ull-color customi-e" graphic "isplays that run on $C3#3
sot!are o*er a net!ork%
PLCs no! ha*e many #C$-like control unctions (e%g%' P&#
algorithms) an" analog &/0% They7*e mo*e" past their birthplace:
the "igital !orl" (s!itch an" binary sensor inputs an" output
contacts to run motors an" trigger solenoi"s)%
PLCs are ast: They run an input-compute-output cycle in
millisecon"s% 0n the other han"' #C$s oer ractional secon"
(1/2 to 1/10) control cycles% )o!e*er' some #C$s pro*i"e
interrupt/e*ent-triggere" logic or high-spee" applications%
PLCs are simple' rugge" computers !ith minimal peripherals an"
simple 0$s% (hile increasing reliability' PLC simplicity is not
con"uci*e to re"un"ancy% Thus' ully re"un"ant (6hot'6
automatic' bumpless) *ariations o PLCs' !ith their a""e"
har"!are an" sot!are' sometimes suer rom a re"uction in
their reliability-a characteristic PLCs are amous or%
#ata e+change typically re,uires you to preassign "ata registers
an" har" co"e their a""resses into the logic% & you a"" registers
or nee" to reassign "ata' you typically ha*e to "eal manually
!ith the #omino :ect%
Typical PLC 5elay La""er Logic (5LL) languages inclu"e unction
blocks that can perorm comple+ control an" math unctions
(e%g%' P&# algorithms)% Comple+ multi-loop control unctions
(e%g%' casca"e management an" loop initiali-ation) are not
typical% ;or unctions too messy to implement in 5LL' most PLCs
pro*i"e a unction block that calls a user-!ritten program
(usually in 13$&C or C)%
PLCs typically operate as 6state6 machines: They rea" all inputs'
e+ecute through the logic' an" then "ri*e the outputs% The user-
!ritten logic is typically one big 5LL program' !hich means you
may ha*e to take the !hole PLC o-line to make a change o any
si-e% 9ou also run into "atabase synchroni-ation problems
because o the separation o PLCs an" the 8an 8achine &nterace
(88&) sot!are packages' as oppose" to the central "atabases o
#C$s%
3 PLC !ill run in a stan"-alone coniguration% 3 #C$ controller
normally e+pects an operator interace an" communications' so it
can sen" alarms' messages' tren" up"ates' an" "isplay up"ates%
8any PLC installations use interace sot!are rom thir"-party
*en"ors or impro*e" graphics an" *arious le*els o alarming'
tren"ing' an" reporting% The PLC an" 88& sot!are normally
interact by sitting on the net!ork an" using the register
e+change mechanism to get "ata rom an" to the *arious PLCs%
This type o communication presumes you ha*e preassigne" "ata
registers an" can etch "ata on an absolute a""ress basis% This
can lea" to "ata processing errors (e%g%' rom the !rong input)
you !on7t encounter !ith the central "atabase o a #C$%
$ome PLCs use proprietary net!orks' an" others can use L34s%
:ither !ay' the communication unctions are the same-etch an"
put registers% This can result in bottlenecking an" timing
problems i too many PCs try communicating !ith too many PLCs
o*er a net!ork%
3 PLC may ha*e a thir"-party package or operator interaces'
L34 interace to PCs an" peripherals' PLC "ata high!ay or bus'
re"un"ant controllers !ith local an" "istribute" &/0' local 88&
an" local programming capability% The PLC !oul" ha*e re"un"ant
me"ia support' but not the re"un"ant communication har"!are
or &/0 bus har"!are you7" in" in a #C$% 3 PLC !oul" ha*e
preprogramme" &/0 car"s or speciic signal types an" ranges%
To"ay' the "ecision bet!een PLC an" #C$ oten "epen"s on
business issues rather than technical eatures% =uestions to
consi"er are those in*ol*ing:
The internal e+pertise to e+ecute the pro>ect'
Le*el o support a*ailable rom a *en"or/integrator'
Long-term maintainability' an"
Lie-cycle costs%
PLCs an" #C$s o*erlap in their eatures' but also ha*e "istinct
strengths an" !eaknesses% (hen "eci"ing bet!een the t!o'
kno! !ho !ill "eli*er an" support your system' an" ho! they
!ill "o it%
What is a Control System?
What is Industrial Automation?
What is Analog I/O?

What is Robotics?
What is a Programmable Logic Controller PLC?
What is IEC 6!"!?
What is Ladder Logic?