Glossary · System coordination, integration and orchestration
Machine controller
Also known as: Machine control system
German: Maschinensteuerung
In industrial automation, a machine controller is the control device or control system that runs the logic, motion and interlocks of a single machine, typically a PLC, industrial PC or motion controller with its I/O. It receives commands from a line or plant controller and reports its states back.
- System integration
In one sentence
A machine controller runs the logic, motion and interlocks of one machine and exchanges commands and states with line or plant controllers.
Example
The machine controller of a cartoning machine sequences the carton erector, product infeed and glue unit, and reports Execute, Held or Stopped to the line controller.
How it applies
- Engineering: Define which functions sit in the machine controller and which belong to the Plant controller or a Supervisory controller. Clean boundaries make the machine reusable in different lines and simplify the Machine handshake with neighbors.
- Commissioning: Test the machine controller alone first (standalone mode), then in coordination with upstream and downstream machines.
- Operation: The machine controller implements the machine's Operating modes and its state model; operators usually interact with it through the machine HMI.
- Documentation: Describe the controller's interfaces (signals, tags, state model, modes) in an interface specification and keep the software version stated in the manual consistent with the delivered controller.
Machine controller vs. plant controller
A machine controller is responsible for one machine and its own sequences and interlocks. A plant controller coordinates several machines or units, for example by dispatching orders, synchronizing modes and managing shared resources. Safety functions are usually implemented in a dedicated safety controller or safety-rated part of the machine controller, not in the plant controller.