Plc courses

[Farmelectrics]

What's the best way to get into the plc world missed out on a couple of jobs as I have no plc experience can you self teach yourself any help appreciated

 

[Darkwood]

Depends what you intend to use the PLC's for, you can self teach the very basics and make simple functional programs, if you plan on controlling machinery with them even a basic program you really need to have a long background in machinery controls and understand the requirements of the LVD and Machine Directives.

You can download the free software to play about with and test your designs without any hardware as they let you test your logic programs, Zelio soft 2 or Siemens logo soft are 2 examples I sometimes use and free software download.

Beyond the basics the issue with PLC's is they can get very complicated very fast.

 

[Farmelectrics]

Thanks dark wood will have a go at teaching myself

 

[Darkwood]

Thanks dark wood will have a go at teaching myself

They come with pre-installed example programs too if I recall ..good way to tinker about and see what you can do they also have an online help manual that opens up if you click the question mark against anything you don't understand but take stick the simple things first or it will go right over your head very quickly.

 

[shanky887614]

Thanks dark wood will have a go at teaching myself

if you are going that route buy a book or two.

I think its an arduino that im thinking off.

bassically you buy the book and the board (arduino's are cheap)

then by following the book's instructions etc to get it to do thing's.

once you get the hang of it try to get it to do things without a guide

 

[Silly Sausage]

Beyond the basics the issue with PLC's is they can get very complicated very fast.

Or programming in general, if some numpty gives you a crap spec.......

If you know exactly what is required, coding or whatever you want to call it, is childsplay.

 

[shanky887614]

Or programming in general, if some numpty gives you a crap spec.......

If you know exactly what is required, coding or whatever you want to call it, is childsplay.

c++ is interesting but not that easy, im going to hit the books again and try to teach myself a little more

(I should have started with python or ruby)

 

[LeeH]

I did a BTEC night course a few years back. It covered the basics and was very interesting.

Ring your local collage.

 

[Silly Sausage]

c++ is interesting but not that easy, im going to hit the books again and try to teach myself a little more

(I should have started with python or ruby)

Didn't get to do C++, last C job was about 1991.
Great language to code with, I could probably fhhg on any programmer these days!

Clarity of thought is all that's needed!

 

[Knobhead]

FE what is it you do now?

 

[Knobhead]

I did a BTEC night course a few years back. It covered the basics and was very interesting.

Ring your local collage.

Very interesting isn’t going to help when you need to get a plant up and running.

All I can suggest is get in to maintenance and follow it from there. Shadowing someone on a breakdown is the best way to learn. But they have to let you take the lead.

 

[rapparee]

c++ is interesting but not that easy, im going to hit the books again and try to teach myself a little more

(I should have started with python or ruby)

whenever I done m plc course (it was a module of an engineering hnd), the tutor laughed a us on the last night and said congratulations boys, you've jut learned an obsolete technology and c+ is the new way to go

 

[Robotstar5]

All I can suggest is get in to maintenance and follow it from there. Shadowing someone on a breakdown is the best way to learn. But they have to let you take the lead.

Or get involved with commissioning new plant, you learn a lot.

 

[Knobhead]

I spent a few years in R&D, it was fantastic, a vandals charter.
The steepest learning curve ever. I was learning to fly by the seat of my pants.

My boss would come to me “Tony, can you get XXXX to do YYYY?” “It wasn’t designed to do that, but…….. Leave it with me.”

Johan was great to work with, if it went right I got the slap on the back. If it went wrong, he got the kick up the arse.

I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time and got caught up in the R&D department. I would never have had the chance otherwise.

Now the down side, the pressure lead to a nervous breakdown.
I’ve said it a few times on here, you go in to plant maintenance you can forget start and finish times. It becomes your life if you let it. It cost me my marriage and my health.

If I could I’d be back in there.

 

[Robotstar5]

As Tony says, Industrial maintenance can be high pressure, I've always worked in manufacturing where process stops costs money, where I work it costs £30k per minute downtime! within a couple of minutes of getting to a breakdown the "whiteshirts" start arriving wanting to know how long it will be.