PLC Programming

I work for Filament AI who is a business that specializes in building AI-powered software for clients. We are in the middle of building a machine learning powered computer vision system for a company that inspects automotive parts. The system that we are building will take pictures of car parts and automatically determine whether they are faulty or not faulty. We have completed most of the software and machine learning aspects of the project, which are carried out on a desktop-style processing unit. To integrate the solution that we have built with the rest of the inspection hardware, we will need to use a PLC to communicate with a centralized controller that our client owns. Equipment Setup: The equipment setup will include the following components: ● An existing PLC controller that drives a conveyor belt and some other inspection hardware that does not need to be modified for this project ● A conveyor belt to move parts along an assembly line ● A computer vision system that is responsible for capturing images of automotive parts and determining whether or not they are faulty. The computer vision system will also need to communicate the fault / no fault decision with the rest of the system. The computer vision system is built on a desktop-style computer. ● An indicator LED that will light up red when a part is identified as faulty and green when a part is identified as being not faulty ● A new PLC controller that will communicate between the existing PLC and the desktop computer of the computer vision system. This new PLC will need to receive a signal from the existing PLC and send it to the computer vision system so that the cameras know when to capture a new picture. It will also need to communicate a second signal. The second signal starts from the computer vision system and it indicates whether a part is faulty or not. The fault / no fault signal is used to light up the LED and it is also sent to the existing PLC. ● A sensor that determines whether or not a part is present in the computer vision system. If a pat is present, the computer vision system will take a picture. If the part is not present, no picture will be taken Scope of Work: The scope of work for this role on the project falls under 3 categories: 1. PLC and Hardware Selection​ - Based on a list of requirements that Filament will provide, the person filling this role will assist us with selecting and purchasing all of the necessary hardware (e.g. PLC controller, cabling, LED light(s), etc.) 2. Programming of the Purchased PLC and Integration With Desktop Computer​ - Filament has developed a desktop application that needs to communicate with the PLC. The person filling this role will own the programming of the PLC to receive / send signals to the desktop computer and will work with Filament’s engineers to test and debug the integration. 3. Integration and Programming of an Existing PLC​ - The client that we are building the solution for has an existing PLC. The program on this PLC will need to be adjusted to send / receive signals to / from the PLC that will be purchased. I am happy to share more project details with anyone who believes that they can help with these tasks.