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Instrument technician

Discuss Instrument technician in the Electricians' Talk area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Hi guys,

I’m a qualified spark having worked on a few industrial projects I’m keen to getting into instrumentation.

Has anyone done this? Are there any courses that people recommend?

Cheers
Mark
 
Try and get a course on PLCs mate. I’m into CNC and PLC control. PLCs have built in closed loop control. Most instrumentation I see now is connected directly to the PLC and tuning/calibration is done via the PLC itself.
 
By all means go for it. Employment prospects and potential earnings are much better than for a plain spark. The prices doubled about 5 years ago due to the Tory government increasing the cap on fees. It’s now £500 or so per unit at Teeside uni.

However, be aware that you will be competing for work against the “teeside” mafia and also the Eirish equivalent. My mate actually had a teeside Tiffy whining to him recently about all the paddies taking over !

My mate has been overlooked for dozens of hookups and projects all over the North Sea and Europe for the last 20 years whilst they are hiring 20yo kids straight out of college just because they are from Teeside.
 
My experience in industrial installations with instrument technicians and mechanical engineers was:

The mech says the pump is not working, must be the motor. I disconnect the coupling, try to turn it and prove to him the pump is jammed with debris.

Often the plant operator will have had a go before calling maintenance and tried to start the motor several times at the local stop / start control until the fuses blew.

The instrument guy says the pump is not working and it must be the motor. I push the contactor in, the motor runs and prove to him it's his instrumentation controls to the motor starter coil that is faulty.

If the motor is actually faulty then I replaced and / or repaired it. Plus the fuses the jammed pump blew.
 
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