I/O

How it is used

Pronounced 'eye-oh'. Engineers talk about digital and analog I/O, I/O modules or cards, remote I/O, I/O lists and the I/O check during commissioning. It is used as a noun: 'we're short of I/O on this panel'.

Example sentences

1. We did the I/O check yesterday; every sensor and valve on the machine is wired correctly.

2. The robot and the PLC exchange I/O signals over PROFINET.

Common collocations

• digital I/O
• remote I/O
• I/O module
• I/O list
• I/O check

Related terms

• 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.
• analog signalA signal that can take any value within a range, such as 4–20 mA or 0–10 V, used to represent quantities like pressure, temperature or speed.
• sensorA device that detects a physical quantity or an event, such as position, distance, force, temperature or the presence of a part, and turns it into a signal a controller can read.
• fieldbusA digital industrial network that connects controllers with field devices such as sensors, drives, valve terminals and remote I/O, replacing many separate wires.
• 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

• HMI
• ladder logic
• relay
• scan cycle
• function block
• structured text