The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Do it Yourself Discussion! => Topic started by: Pooplips on April 22, 2016, 05:59:20 AM
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Does anyone have any good resouces for learning to program PLC's?
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I worked with a guy who taught a PLC like course at a community college. I think there are likely options there for relatively cheap.
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Does anyone have any good resouces for learning to program PLC's?
Just get a job where I work.
The idiot in charge of the PLC that I use experiments (I won't say learns, as he utterly fails to do that) as he goes, pushes new untested code into production late on Friday afternoon, then leaves for the weekend.
I then discover 15 minutes after he leaves that his “improvement” makes the machine that I run deader than an Egyptian mummy.
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haha. I doubt I will ever do any actual programming but having a better understanding will be a benefit.
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You might find something of use at http://www.plcs.net.
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The best bet would be to figure out what brand of PLC you're going to program, and learn that. The basics of ladder logic are universal, but each PLC seems to have it's own set of built in functions and such.
Or, use AutomationDirect's PLCs... they're inexpensive and are industrial grade. We use them at work all the time.
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You might find something of use at http://www.plcs.net.
That's a good website with some good info. As a poster stated earlier, you might be able to find a local college that offers PLC courses. A technical/community college near me offers them.
I program PLCs for a living. I graduated with an EE degree in 2007 but actually only took 2 PLC courses in college. The bulk of my learning has been on the job. I mostly program Allen Bradley but recently learned Siemens programming language. I would rather erase Siemens from my mind.
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Does anyone have any good resouces for learning to program PLC's?
Just get a job where I work.
The idiot in charge of the PLC that I use experiments (I won't say learns, as he utterly fails to do that) as he goes, pushes new untested code into production late on Friday afternoon, then leaves for the weekend.
I then discover 15 minutes after he leaves that his “improvement” makes the machine that I run deader than an Egyptian mummy.
Sweeping PLC code changes on a Friday afternoon are the best. Even better if you can do it on multiple machines.
I learned early on in my career to avoid any Friday evening code changes like the plague and save the changes until Monday morning if not critical.
One good thing with Allen Bradley PLCs (and others) is that you can edit code while the machine is running, so operators and maintenance don't even know YOU broke it. I like to play it off for a couple minutes before admitting my mistake. :)
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Does anyone have any good resouces for learning to program PLC's?
What's your goal with this? Hobby or work related? Are you a mechanical engineer that designs equipment, or an IT guy that collects data from equipment? Is there a industry you work in where you'd use this knowledge? What area do you live in? Different brands of PLCs have a stronger presence in different parts of the world and in different industries.
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Does anyone have any good resouces for learning to program PLC's?
What's your goal with this? Hobby or work related? Are you a mechanical engineer that designs equipment, or an IT guy that collects data from equipment? Is there a industry you work in where you'd use this knowledge? What area do you live in? Different brands of PLCs have a stronger presence in different parts of the world and in different industries.
Like I said in my above post I am just looking for basics. I am a civil engineer that works at a wastewater treatment plant. I work closely with our data guys to improve our process. We use mainly AB PLC's and I am looking for a better understanding on how the code works maybe a little trouble shooting etc.
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You might find something of use at http://www.plcs.net.
That website is partying like it's 1999.
Reminds me of Geocities...
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I'm interested in this too. As a civil engineer it seems like everything I do needs electrical, instrumentation, and controls in it somewhere, but EE's apparently hate doing work related to CE so they are hard to find and expensive. Plus they frequently make basic mistakes because they are sort of last minute additions to the project. I just need an EE degree.
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I'm interested in this too. As a civil engineer it seems like everything I do needs electrical, instrumentation, and controls in it somewhere, but EE's apparently hate doing work related to CE so they are hard to find and expensive. Plus they frequently make basic mistakes because they are sort of last minute additions to the project. I just need an EE degree.
I agree 100%. I never imagined a CE doing so much electrical & controls work. The good part is it keeps my job somewhat interesting by requiring me to constantly learn new skills. Otherwise, it would be concrete, concrete, rebar all day.
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There is a course on Udemy that is decent:
https://www.udemy.com/plc-programming-from-scratch/
I would also suggest purchasing a cheap PLC and controller from someplace like Automation Direct and setting up a test stand. It's extremely useful to work with actualy components rather than just emulators.
Good luck! Ladder logic is a lot of fun!
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Since it sounds like you want to learn about a particular PLC that you use through work, I would recommend reaching out to your local AB distributor. Often they will have classes or can offer assistance if you are buying through them.
FWIW where I work we avoid Rockwell/Allen-Bradley as their stuff tends to cost twice as much as competitors, and come attached with large annual software license fees. Since they are by far the most prevalent brand in US, I guess they can get away with this.
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Finally, my career in industrial automation can help someone on the MMM forums, I thought this day would never come!
Questions you need to answer:
1.) What level of PLC skill do you desire?
A.) Basic understanding
B.) Ability to troubleshoot and make BASIC logic and parameter changes
C.) Full on PLC programming where you pull a new PLC from a box and integrate everything?
2.) How much time / resources are you wanting to throw at this?
A.) Some internet articles
B.) Classroom time
C.) Buying your own PLC to play with at home
3.) If you learn PLC skills and start making Basic changes, and something goes really really wrong, is assistance readily available to bail you out? (Shit happens with automation, the craziest shit just happens for no explainable reason....)
Just some things I wonder before making a suggestion. In general the information is readily available in scholarly form on the internet and in books. Depends on how much time you have. If You want to legitimately start making changes at your current job, I suggest seeing if your local Tech school has a few hands on classes.
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This looks pretty neat, kinda like some of the old breadboard projects I used to do. Would becoming an expert PLC programmer be a route for part-time post-FIRE income?
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Best PLC Programming Course for Beginners
PLCs are everywhere in modern industries. Interacting with then successfully requires an intricate understanding of how they work. You must also possess the expertise to program them to work for you. There are many PLC courses designed for beginners. It is natural to want the best course.
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visit: http://learnplccourses.com/
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There is a course on Udemy that is decent:
https://www.udemy.com/plc-programming-from-scratch/
I would also suggest purchasing a cheap PLC and controller from someplace like Automation Direct and setting up a test stand. It's extremely useful to work with actualy components rather than just emulators.
Good luck! Ladder logic is a lot of fun!
Just seconding Sailor14, I also took the Udemy course and found it a useful introduction to PLC programming: https://www.udemy.com/plc-programming-from-scratch/