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Programmable Logic Controller Course

Lovin' It

Anyone know where these courses can be completed?
FAS do one but not for another couple of months according to the website.

Taking the politicians advice and upskilling!!

Any help would be appreciated.

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irishspark

Try DIT. They run all the courses in Kevin St. There are a few of them at different levels although for most maintenance jobs you will need the advanced one. most of the basic ones are way too easy and the logical paths are never used on any machine ive seen used.

Stoner

Lovin' It wrote: »

Anyone know where these courses can be completed?
FAS do one but not for another couple of months according to the website.

Taking the politicians advice and upskilling!!

Any help would be appreciated.

I found the FAS course very good BTW, might be worth hanging on for and trying a simple on line option to get you up to speed.
I'm fairly sure that the UK open university do something along those lines too.

doolox

I am doing Mechatronics in Fas Cabra which covers pneumatics, PLC's and electrical control and find it good so far.
The theory is not hard and the practical side is good and pushed as far as the class can go. Small class sizes ( 3-4 ) and an emphasis on teamwork with each person helping each other out is emphasised in FAS which is spot on.
This "help the other guy out" philosophy is what companies are looking for now rather than smart loners who do things on their own.........
Having said that I feel the FETAC 6 will only do for entry level and will need to be reinforced to level 7 or 8 to be marketable at higher levels in an increasingly competitive market. If companies can get degree holders on the cheap they will, like the cat who eats the mouse, because they can........

FrancieB

You dont need to do a course. Pick a platform get a copy of the software along with a simulator and learn programaming yourself.

Programming PLCs is not complicated, just takes a little time and effort.

fishdog

You dont need to do a course.

It is far better to do a course. There are plenty of good courses out there. The first PLC course I did was a basic introduction course years ago. I was exciting and fun! I was no expert at the end of it but I gave me some idea of what a PLC could do. If I wanted to get that information from a book it would have taken a lot longer and I would have lost interest!

Pick a platform get a copy of the software along with a simulator and learn programaming yourself.

This does help, but if you really want to learn you need the PLC to be connected up to real motors, sensors, HMIs etc. This will make it more interesting, realstic and you will learn how real world problems there are and how they are solved. Sure you can simulate that stuff, but it will take forever to learn and you will never have the same level of understanding.

DIT run some great courses.

I have heard good stuff about Fas too.

_Nuno_

FrancieB wrote: »

Programming PLCs is not complicated, just takes a little time and effort.

That depends on the task at hand. Most things in most industries are quite simple, but when you get to things like positioning/robotics it can get tricky. It can also get confusing when you are doing things that require statement list and indirect addressing. Most people won't touch anything other than ladder, but there's a lot more to PLC's than that. If I'm given a choice I'll do most things in statement list.

A course is always good to do but like all programming, only a few will ever be really good at it, regardless of how much teaching they have.

I think it's a good business to be in if you're good, although at times it can give you quite a bit of headaches....

dave2pvd

FrancieB wrote: »

You dont need to do a course. Pick a platform get a copy of the software along with a simulator and learn programaming yourself.

Programming PLCs is not complicated, just takes a little time and effort.

I would advocate doing a course. 8 hours spent in class could save you 40 in the field. And you might still be programming in a less-than-optimal fashion. I'd give the same advice for just about any complex software package.

Also, as others have said, programming PLCs can be complicated, very complicated. Try tuning a rotary servo moving an unbalanced load turning about a horizontal axis.

Offy

I did a FAS course (Industrial Automation) which included PLC's in '94 and did a degree in Mechatronics in '05. I worked on PLC's continuously in between. The FAS training was better but neither will prepare you for an industrial environment. College is more theory than hands on and FAS is more hands on than theory but both just give introductions into PLC's. Programming PLC's can involve ladder-logic for the PLC, C, PHP, SQL, HTML and BASIC for the HMI which the operator used to control the machine. Its not just ladder-logic, most high end industrial applications are connected to computers for monitoring/data collection/safety/etc. so you have to also program the web page that the managers look at to see performance/yield/uptime/etc. That web page also needs controls for the operator to run the machine which are normally coded in BASIC/PHP or some other MS type language. The data from the machine needs to be filtered and stored which is where C and SQL come in. C is used to strip the bit stream from the PLC into usable data for the database. Thats a description of just one application I coded years ago and every application is different. Programming PLC's in industry can take months of work and banging your head of a wall all the while.

JMCS

Advice to any person trying to learn Writing Plc Code is to do a Practical Course then after The course purchase a Plc and make up a test Rig with Plc Inputs and Outputs. Provided you have the required software proceed to write just simple code. ie nothing more than 4 lines of code to make it easier to follow and understand. After spending 33yrs myself as an Electrical Manager in a production Company it is critical to understand before you write any PLc Code how the particular Production Plant Operates Fault Actions etc and what can happen as a result of ie. a 4/20m/a signal failing and what safeguards should be included in the PLc Code. Any High Level Bianry Plc Inputs should be Normally Closed Position when the High Level Switch is uncovered ie. Fail Safe the reason for this is if the Plant Operator was filling ie. a Milk Silo and ie. The 24 volt Dc Supply to the High Level Switch,ie. Fuse was after blowing or ie. the cable to the switch was damaged then the Plc Input from the High Level Switch wouldn't be present, this in turn would simulate a High Level in the Milk Silo and should Prevent The Operator from filling same. With any Silo or Tank it is good Practice to ie, have a Level Transmitter or Load Cells along with a Final High Level Binary Switch. On The Level Anolog Input include a Limit Test in the Plc code to monitor the 4/20M/A Signal from same then if the M/a are not between 4/20M/a or not present include a fault action in the Plc Code.

JMCS

When planning any Panel Layout very important on Motor or Pump Contactors to fit Auxillary Tripped Feedback Contact on Motive Power T/Pole MCBs feeding the contactors this is normally wired in series with the Contactor Energised Feedback. Then the Plc will pick up if either the Tripple Pole Supply MCB or Contactor has tripped on overload or Short Circuit. Also in the field The Auxillary Contact on the Motor Isolater Switch should be wired back to the Plc to indicate if same is Switched or turned off these three items should be included in Fault Action Code in The Plc. On The Run indication Pilot Lamp on the Panel Door for each Motor if the Plc is giving an output for any Pump or Motor provided you have both the Feedbacks ie. from the Contactor to indicate its energised and the Local Motor or Pump Isolater to show that its turned on then and only then should the Pilot Lamp for same remain on Steady Green if any of these are not present the Pilot Lamp should flash for One Second On and then One Second Off to draw attention to same if you have a HMI it should flash Red for that Paticular item .

JMCS

When writing Plc Code for a Motor Feedback indication the Plc Code should include the following

A: The Plc is giving ie. Contactor O:2/4 an Output and you have the Contactor O:2/4 energised and Feedback Plc Input I:2/4 proved ie. after 4 Seconds for a Direct On Line and after ie. 20 Seconds from a Star Delta Arrangement allowing for changing from Star Position to Delta Position the Feedback being in the Delta Contactor everything is ok no Fault Proved.

When on the other hand very very important if The Plc is not giving a Plc Output to Contactor O: 2/4 and you have the feedback from Contactor O:2/4 Plc Input I:2/4 proved this needs to be a Fault Proved Situation as either The Contactor O:2/4 is stuck or welded in or someperson has same switched on to the Hand Position in which case all safety control is bypassed.

JMCS

Offy wrote: »

I did a FAS course (Industrial Automation) which included PLC's in '94 and did a degree in Mechatronics in '05. I worked on PLC's continuously in between. The FAS training was better but neither will prepare you for an industrial environment. College is more theory than hands on and FAS is more hands on than theory but both just give introductions into PLC's. Programming PLC's can involve ladder-logic for the PLC, C, PHP, SQL, HTML and BASIC for the HMI which the operator used to control the machine. Its not just ladder-logic, most high end industrial applications are connected to computers for monitoring/data collection/safety/etc. so you have to also program the web page that the managers look at to see performance/yield/uptime/etc. That web page also needs controls for the operator to run the machine which are normally coded in BASIC/PHP or some other MS type language. The data from the machine needs to be filtered and stored which is where C and SQL come in. C is used to strip the bit stream from the PLC into usable data for the database. Thats a description of just one application I coded years ago and every application is different. Programming PLC's in industry can take months of work and banging your head of a wall all the while.

Agree 150% with all the above when writing any Plc Code for an Industrial Production Plant nothing can be overlooked especially with Fault Actions etc and the sometimes forgotten What If. The Plc Program should be Structered and broken into Program Files ie. Faults Outputs Levels Scaling Temperature or Levels etc it need to be fully commissioned and signed off before handing same over to Production. Any person shouldn't dream of beginning to write Plc Code for any Plant without first understanding fully how the Production Plant Operates. Then and only then should the person begin to write code.