Manthony94

Beginner PLC Project

10 posts in this topic

Hello all! I recently graduated from college, December 2017, and I've been working as a process engineer since then. Something I was never taught in college was PLC programming, so I know very little about it. The company I work for does a bit with plc automation, so I want to start teaching myself this type of programming. What would be some projects that I could do at home and on a budget with plc programming? What are the plc components that I'll need? Is there any free programming software out there for plc?

Thanks for your help in advance!

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What PLCs does your employer use? PLCs vary a lot by brand and series, so your test bench should reflect the company's stuff as closely as possible.

 

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I'm not totally sure. They buy most of their PLC stuff from Automation Direct.

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If you want your learning/training to be the most useful where you work now, you should get an Automation Direct PLC and the software. It looks like they have several lines (Productivity Series, Do-More, DirectLogic, Click). I would find out which series your employer uses. It's possible they use more than one, in which case you would either pick the one they use the most of or price out the different ones, remembering that you need the software too.

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Go to your facility's maintenance shop. Find out who is the go-to person whenever there is a problem in one of your processes controlled by a PLC. Ask him/her the same questions you asked in your original post. If the maintenance department isn't the source of the PLC-controlled operations in your facility, they will be able to put you in touch with whoever is. You may find that there is already a trainer set up that you can learn on.

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I would start with the Automation Direct Click.  Prices start at $69 and software is free.  

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Thanks, I will look into reviewing those. Do you guys have any links to some beginner projects that I could do at/for home?

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I would look at Factory IO for some projects.
https://factoryio.com/
There is a free evaluation period. This works well with the free Do-More designer software which has a simulator.
Here are some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3y71jAPOdZCbC-2roZpqqBIJkcEI_s1n

Here are some other sample programs:
http://accautomation.ca/building-a-plc-program-that-you-can-be-proud-of-part-1/
This series takes you through using discrete inputs and outputs to control traffic lights and cylinders. As we progress we introduce additional methods to solve logic. We look at sequencers in a new way and learn how to write programs to allow users to teach the new sequence.

Hope this helps you out.
Regards,
Garry

 

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