TURNING A TOY INTO A PLC WITH LADDER LOGIC PROGRAMMING

This paper presents a small didactic system for logic control, based on the LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ RCX™. A PC application allows to convert a ladder logic program into the RCX LASM language, and download it to the RCX. Therefore, the RCX is turned into a small Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), and can be programmed with a language adhering to the IEC 61131-3 standard. A quick overview of the system is given, directing the reader to a web site from which the application can be downloaded (in open source form), and all details are available. A sample experiment is also presented.