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Robotics & Automation vocabulary · PLCs and Industrial Control

Function block

Meaning in robotics & automation, with examples

/ˈfʌŋkʃən blɑːk/nounCommon term

In robotics & automation, function block means: A reusable piece of PLC code with its own inputs, outputs and memory, used to control one type of device, such as a motor, valve or conveyor, many times in a program.

In Turkish: fonksiyon bloğu, FB

How it is used

A key part of IEC 61131-3 programming, often shortened to FB. You create and call a function block, and each call has its own instance data. Function Block Diagram (FBD) is also the name of a graphical PLC language.

Example sentences

  1. We wrote one function block for all the conveyor motors, so a fix in one place updates all of them.

  2. The valve function block has inputs for the open and close commands and outputs for the alarms.

Common collocations

  • call a function block
  • function block instance
  • instance data
  • FB library
  • Function Block Diagram
  • PLCShort for programmable logic controller: a rugged industrial computer that reads inputs from sensors and switches, runs a control program and drives outputs such as motors, valves and lamps.
  • structured textA text-based PLC programming language defined in IEC 61131-3 that looks similar to Pascal, with IF, CASE and FOR statements. It suits calculations, data handling and complex logic.
  • ladder logicA graphical PLC programming language that looks like an electrical relay diagram, with contacts and coils placed on horizontal lines called rungs between two vertical rails.
  • tagA named variable in a PLC, HMI or SCADA system that holds a value such as an input, a setpoint or a motor status, for example Conveyor1_Running.

More terms: PLCs and Industrial Control

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