A translation method for ladder diagram with application to a manufacturing process

This paper proposes a translation method for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used in most automation systems. It describes detailed steps of the method that converts from a ladder diagram directly to a native code. A general-purpose DSP (digital signal processor) based PLC with the translation method is implemented. A benchmark test in an automotive manufacturing process shows that the proposed translation method fairly speeds up the execution in comparison with existing interpretation methods.