Texas Instruments PLC I/O Front-End Controller Using a Tiva™ C

Texas Instruments PLC I/O Module Front End Controller Solution implements the Tiva™ C Series MCU as a front-end controller for TI's suite of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) analog and digital I/O module reference design boards. The design includes sockets for interfacing and simultaneously controlling two TI Designs I/O reference design boards. It allows maximum versatility whereby the I/O boards can be any combination of analog or digital input or output modules. The controller system automatically identifies and configures each I/O board appropriately, setting any required compensation of the analog circuitry. Onboard power supplies are included to power the controller board, as well as provide isolated power to both I/O boards, eliminating the need for multiple external power supplies. Additional circuitry is provided that optimizes the I/O signal acquisition and data throughput, enabling full 1MSPS data acquisition and 20MHz SPI bus performance. This design also performs as an evaluation platform for each of the I/O boards, analyzing the performance of several key parameters and relaying the results to a PC via an onboard USB 2.0 connector. Included in the design is an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface that runs a LabView™-based analysis program facilitating comprehensive evaluation of the I/O reference designs. The GUI provides many options for configuring the test parameters and filtering and setup options that allow for comprehensive analysis of the individual I/O module boards.