Quality (philosophy)

Macroeconomics

Open source hardware

Engineering

Philosophy

Programmable logic controller

Automation

Open source

Embedded system

Operating system

Economics

Computer science

Manufacturing engineering

Modular design

Mechanical engineering

Software

Electronic design automation

Epistemology

Production (economics)

Companies are always looking for ways to increase production.The elevated consumerism pushes factories to produce more in less time.Industry automation came as the solution to increase quality, production and decrease costs.Since the early 70s, PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) has dominated industrial automation by replacing the relay logic circuits.However, due to its high costs, there are many places in the world where automation is still inaccessible.This paper describes the creation of a low-cost open source PLC, comparable to those already used in industry automation, with a modular and simplified architecture and expansion capabilities.Our goal with this project is to create the first fully functional standardized open source PLC.We believe that, with enough help from the open source community, it will become a low cost solution to speed up development and industrial production in less developed countries.

OpenPLC: An open source alternative to automation