PLC lab · Level 7 of 8
Parcel sorter
Level 7 of 8 in the PLC lab: a free PLC exercise at Intermediate level, which takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. Read the lane at the beam, wait for the parcel to travel, and fire the pusher at the right moment.
Free · no download · about 1 hour 15 minutes. Your work is saved on this device. Updated 18 Oct 2026.
The brief
- Client
- Swiftline Logistics
- Site
- Sorter infeed S-1
- Work order
- SL-2607
- Industry
- Logistics
- Task code
- PLC-07
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Type of work
- Programming
Catch a lane B parcel at the entry photo-eye and fire a pusher when it arrives further down the belt, forgetting it if the conveyor stops.
What you do
- Read the client brief and the tag table: 6 tags, 4 inputs and 2 outputs.
- Write the logic in ladder, Structured Text or SFC.
- Press Simulate and watch the plant answer your program.
- Run the factory acceptance test and fix what fails.
Skills you practise
- Edge-triggered sampling
- Timer chains
- Tracking a part along a conveyor
- Clearing state on stop
What the test checks
The factory acceptance test runs 5 numbered tests against your program. The numbers in the brief are drawn per learner. The tests are:
- Start and Stop run the conveyor
- A lane B parcel is pushed at the right moment
- A lane A parcel is not pushed
- Parcels one after another: B, A, B
- A stopped conveyor never pushes
In this lab
- Ladder, Structured Text and SFC in one studio
- A plant that answers: motors, tanks, conveyors
- Numbered tests mark your program
Levels in the PLC lab
Part of the PLC lab
Program a working machine in ladder, Structured Text or SFC and watch it run.
Feeds these internships: PLC Programming.