7 posts in this topic

Hello,

I am sorry I am sure this has been asked before but I did some searching and didn't find much. I have no experience with PLC's and my manager has suggested I take some classes to fill a void in our team's skill set.  We use Allen Bradley PLC's and have a seat of RSlogix5000.  I hope to learn how to modify existing programs for some of our test equipment.  I want to add sensors to some existing test equipment and record data generated by these sensors.  My question for this group is If you were just getting started and you had a budget for a week of training what classes would you take? Where would you take them?  My manger and I realize a week of training may barely scratch the surface.  Is Allen Bradley's training worth the time and money for travel?  Is there local 3rd party training I can find in the Cleveland area that teaches RSlogix5000?    

I am thinking about the below courses.

CCP146 Conrtol Logix 5000 System Fundementals

http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/pp/gmst10-pp185_-en-e.pdf

and CCP 151 Basic Ladder logic

http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/pp/gmst10-pp189_-en-e.pdf

 

Also what is the difference between RSlogix 5000 and RSlogix 500? 

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Ok so I might be biased but I don't like the canned 4-5 day courses.  They work well for some I guess but more often than not they try to cram a lot in and you remember about half.  Many of the college courses are taught by professors that learned out of a book.  That is getting better and many community colleges have pretty good programs.  We started the PLCMentor.com website because our clients had a hard time finding quality training that met their techs schedules.  Taking the tech out of the plant for a week has problems all of its own.  We offer self paced training with a few very important extras:

1.  We have self paced training and video libraries but the focus is on learning to program.  Not hand holding but scratch your head and work your way through it programming.  We will nudge but not lead you step by step through it.

2.  We offer the ability to send in your class programs and have them reviewed by experienced professionals.  Not just does it work, but would I want one of my engineers to install it at a client site?

3.  We offer a weekly question and answer session where just about anything controls oriented can be discussed.  I have had people bring their programs to discuss problems they are having and to get help with difficult logic.  I have had new programmers just trying to figure out the basics.  The only rule is that the instructor has to be competent enough in the subject to discuss it.  The classes are recorded and we have around 100 hours of past classes on many different subjects.  Sometimes its nice just to see there are people out there that know less than you! 

The only drawback I ever see is that the student has to be self motivated.  Nobody is going to be watching to see if you participate or even try. 

 

Oh and I forgot your additional question.  RSlogix500 is used to program SLC500 and micrologix PLCs.  RSLogix5000 is for the ControlLogix and CompactLogix platforms. 

Edited by PLCMentor.com

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We have a local community college that offers different types of training courses for the purpose of developing the skillset of employees that live in the state. This training is state funded so there is no cost to the attendee as long as they live and are employed in the state. The instructors they hire are all experienced experts in their respective fields. The guy that teaches the Allen Bradley courses, for example, was employed by Allen Bradley as a field tech and instructor for years. You might want to see if Ohio has something like that. 

Echoing what the above poster said though, you have to really want to learn. I'm responsible for the training of our technical staff here where I work and I tell these guys all the time "if you don't use it, you lose it". PLC programming is not something you can take a class on and not touch it for 6 months then expect to be able to log on and troubleshoot or program. I suggest spending time with the programs and the machines. Go online with one and just watch it run. Try to correlate what you see on the screen with what you see the machine doing. 

The best people in this field are not people who took a class and suddenly the skies opened and they knew everything they needed to know. You have to have a real interest in learning how a PLC does what it does.

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The 2nd class (CCP 151 ) is more advanced, so since you are a beginner in my opinion you should take the 1st class (CCP146). Both of them look like they will teach you Studio 5000, which is basically the latest version of RSLogix5000 and it is used to program ControlLogix and CompactLogix PLC's. I took one of the Allen Bradley training classes years ago and it was very helpful, our professor was a retired Controls engineer. (I forget which class it was but it had to do with ControlLogix troubleshooting).

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Thanks guys I appreciate your input.  Please keep it coming.  

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On 6/9/2017 at 3:05 PM, Blindsquirrel said:

Hello,

I am sorry I am sure this has been asked before but I did some searching and didn't find much. I have no experience with PLC's and my manager has suggested I take some classes to fill a void in our team's skill set.  We use Allen Bradley PLC's and have a seat of RSlogix5000.  I hope to learn how to modify existing programs for some of our test equipment.  I want to add sensors to some existing test equipment and record data generated by these sensors.  My question for this group is If you were just getting started and you had a budget for a week of training what classes would you take? Where would you take them?  My manger and I realize a week of training may barely scratch the surface.  Is Allen Bradley's training worth the time and money for travel?  Is there local 3rd party training I can find in the Cleveland area that teaches RSlogix5000?    

I am thinking about the below courses.

CCP146 Conrtol Logix 5000 System Fundementals

http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/pp/gmst10-pp185_-en-e.pdf

and CCP 151 Basic Ladder logic

http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/pp/gmst10-pp189_-en-e.pdf

 

Also what is the difference between RSlogix 5000 and RSlogix 500? 

I would recommend taking both classes as they are 2-day classes each and many distributor/Rockwell locations put them on in the same week.

I would not recommend taking them out of order. Take CCP146   then CCP 151  nor would I split them up with a long period between each. CCP146 is for people that are new to PACs in general or are coming over from a different company's platform).

There is also CD based RS Trainer. If you know the path you're heading ...be it Programmer...or Maintenance, you can take Rockwell classes specifically geared to one or the other.

The 4-day Maintenance & Troubleshooting class would be good after spending time with the RSTrainer learning fundamental terms and ideas.

The advantage of going to the class is getting immediate feedback from a demo workstation and an instructor to give that feedback.

 

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Hi Blindsquirrel, I know that webinars will not replace your time in classes but I also think that it wise to stay-up-to date with all the changing new technology. I really like ICP DAS USA's webinars and training they hold every month. I like them because they are pretty short and very informative. Here's the link: https://www.icpdas-usa.com/webpresentations.php

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