Advice wanted

Boyes51 · Dec 5, 2015

Hi all.

I completed my apprentership in the military in 2009, I left the military in 2013 and got a job working within the hospital to allow myself to gain more more experience. However everything thing is contracted out and yes we do get hands on just not as much as I would like to. I want to gain more experince with PLC and move into the production side of things but where do I begin? I am willing to put myself on the PLC course but it's selecting the right one what do I go for allen Bradley..Siemens? As a lot of company's are asking for experience is there any other way of gaining more experience before you apply?
I also have 17th edition compex and 2391 inspection and test.

thanks

G

telectrix · Dec 5, 2015

i think darkwood is one of the members who has more knowledge of plc's.

Boyes51 · Dec 5, 2015

Thanks how do I get in touch with darkwood

GMES · Dec 6, 2015

I will leave him a note in the staffroom incase he doesn't see this, you could also send him a pm by clicking on his name and opt to send personal message.

Darkwood · Dec 6, 2015

Hi Boyes51

PLC's are a tricky subject tbh as it covers a large selection of devices, the more modern ones can be programmed in 1 of 2 ways:-

Ladder format - tricky to learn and pick up, also tricky to decipher if your faulting someone else's design or an error in your own.
FBD (Functional Block Diagram)- this is the more modern way to program and gives for simpler, easier to follow and trouble shoot.

PLC's are very expensive and so is the software to use and access them but if your project is smaller the market now has what is known as a Micro plc or even smart relay, these are reduced versions of the big league yet we are now at a stage where they offer the same flexibility and programming options as their more expensive cousins, they are often refered to as PLC's in their own right now and its what I tend to use myself. Picking up the basics in FBD mode is very easy but things can get complicated very quickly, also to be cautious of is how your program works and can it create a dangerous scenario due to say, component failure etc - when writing your programs you have to be aware of all the scenario's that could occur and if needed how to program redundancy into the system.

Their are many brands out there and many come with free software you can upload to your PC and get to program them, test them and watch the program work all in a virtual test world long before you put it into a actual plc, if your interested let us know and I'll post some links to free popular branded software.