This thesis was commissioned for Saimaa University of Applied Sciences with the aim of understanding the control system for a robotic arm. The Robotic Arm in this case was from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences.

The main objective of this thesis was to understand a control system for the Robotic Arm using a programmable logic controller (PLC) along with gripper. The control system consisted of the electronic components (the PLC, a motor controller, a voltage regulator, a control pendent and a bride board circuit).

The Robotic Arm works manually using potentiometers and also with the help of PLC. At the beginning, studies were carried out to define the design constraints for finding the best options among components that are most suitable for this application. A control system with a PLC needs additional electronic components, such as a DC motor controller and control pendant. The parts selected are those that met the specifications requirements. The majority of the time is spent on understanding wiring and installation. During the installation, consideration is made for a safe and effective process. In this work, for the design of the gripper, only the research and theoretical design approach is made. After the complete theoretical installation of all the hardware sections, the theoretical programming is the last to be completed. The principles for manual modes of operation and automatic modes of operation are described in detail in the programming part of this thesis.

All the parts of the control system; i.e. the hardware part and the programming part are accomplished with a successful theoretical demonstration. The complex programming is possible in the PLC for the automatic mode of operation. It is found that a Robotic Arm with a simple mechanism can be manipulated in a different complex way by using a PLC.