Sprint 6 — Program Design, Safety & Fault Diagnosis
Bolton chapters: 13–14
Time budget: 6–8 hours
Core concept: Working PLC code is the easy part — safe, debuggable, maintainable code is what separates a hobbyist from a control engineer.
🎯 Sprint Goals
- Apply a top-down design process: spec → I/O list → state diagram → code → test
- Document code so the next maintenance engineer understands it
- Distinguish Category 0, 1, and 2 stops; know when each is appropriate
- Compare safety relays vs. safety PLCs; know the basics of ISO 13849 / IEC 62061
- Use force tables, watchdog timers, and diagnostic LEDs for fault diagnosis
- Conduct a basic FMEA for a simple system
📚 Bolton Reading
- Ch. 13 — Designing Programs (full)
- Ch. 14 — Programs (full — case studies)
🗂️ Materials
📋 Sprint Plan
Day 1 — Read Ch. 13. Pick a small system (something from your life — coffee maker, dishwasher cycle, garage door). Write a one-page design doc.
Day 2 — Read Ch. 14 case studies. Annotate each: what would I do differently?
Day 3 — FMEA workbook for the tank-fill system.
Day 4 — Lab 06: emergency stop with safety relay. Submit PR.
Day 5 — Review. Update sprint Issue. Prepare for the Capstone.
✅ Definition of Done