New member says hello.... and has basic question

First, I just want to say 'hello' to everyone, and introduce myself. I am 50 yrs old, and have been working for the past 10 years as a field service engineer in the industrial high-purity water field. I have an extensive electronic and electro-mechanical background, but have just recently been given the chance to get into the 'controls' side of the business, which is something I have wanted for a long time. We use Micrologix, PanelView, and EZTouch in our automated systems. I have just completed the Rockwell SLC-500 programming course, and will be going to the PanelView programming and PLC Maintenance & Troubleshooting courses next month.

I have a Micrologix 1000 L16AWA and a PanelView 300 Micro that I want to use to build a small logic trainer box that I can use to hopefully further my education in PLC's ( I know I have a lot to learn !!)

What would you recommend that I include, hardware-wise, in this 'trainer' in order to get the most versatility?

Thanks for any input you may offer, and I am still spending a LOT of time searching this forum for various topics, and I am ALWAYS amazed by the amount of information that this place so freely offers !!!

Sorry this post was so long !!

Thanks again...

Jim

welcome aboard you will probably want to look at the available expansions for different input and outputs analog vs digital etc. obviously you will need the microlgix cable 1761-cbl-pmo2 Rs logix 500. Keep in mind that the micrologix does not utilize the entire SLC instruction set. or even the complete micrologix set of instructions. However it is a good starting point. There has also been a lot of people that have asked for advise on trainers if you do a search you will probably find some older posts on the subject.

Thanks, Mordred. I have all the cables, RS Logix 500 software, Panelbuilder 32, as well as the PanelView cables. I just need to get the trainer built up...

Thanks again..

Jim

Make a run to Radio Shack and get some pilot lights, togges switches, and control relays. Hok them up to your I/O - lots better than just "faking" it with a simulator.

Thank you, Tom. I've read a LOT of your replies to various other topics, and I value your input.

Jim

Welcome to the board, Jim.

The AWA model is AC in AC out, right?

When you look at the RadioShack pilot lights, be careful not to select the little neon type. They have such a high resistance and low current draw that the leakage current on your AC outputs can keep them illuminated.

The one time I saw this, it drove me crazy! My lamps would only dim to about 70% when the outputs were off. It gets even more interesting if you connect a low-current relay coil to the output (like the AB 6mm terminal style relays). Once you turn the relay on, it won't go off!

AK

this sounds soooo familiar ...

Greetings Jim,

Lionel was asking the same type of information just the other day ... have you read this post and a few of the ones immediately following? ...

and welcome to the forum ...

Re: this sounds soooo familiar ...

Ron Beaufort said:

Greetings Jim,

Lionel was asking the same type of information just the other day ... have you read this post and a few of the ones immediately following? ...

and welcome to the forum ...

Click to expand...

Its that time of year to learn

I have started purchasing my equipment. Hope to have it put together by 1st of the year. I will add pictures of course!

:site:

trainer box

Hi Jim you`ve come to a good spot. Lots of info here. The micros work well mounted on a piece of plexiglass. We took a piece of plexiglass and mounted a din rail on front mounted fuses.relays and plc on this. Then drilled and tapped plexiglass and screwed the switches in. Took 1" aluminum tubing and bolted the piece the plc and switches were mounted to on one side and then bolted some legs running back to give an angle to the setup. This lets it setup where you can see your inputs and outputs easily. We have a Slick setup in a plastic tool box I/O mount in top tray and enough room lift in tool box for Micro 300, cables and power supplies not the prettiest thing in the world but its handy.

:site:

Good Luck

Hello Jim and Lionel

I am doing the same thing maybe we can exchange practice lessons

Well as soon as I put this thing together

I recently purchased a home built ML1000 trainer off the buy/sell section of the site. It's not pretty but is functional.
The base is 3/4" plywood, painted black. The PLC, power supply, fuses, and terminal strip are mounted using din rail, mounted to the base with wood screws. At the top and bottom are small panduit wire ways, with the toggle switches and small lamps mounted directly on the panduit covers. There's enough slack in the wiring to remove the covers about 6 inches. Like I said, it's not pretty, but functional, and very low cost to build. There isn't any exposed wiring, and it's very portable.

Ken

Thank you all, very much

Thanks to EVERYONE who replied to my post. I really like the plexiglass/lexan idea, and have decided to go that way. I am lucky enough to have a VERY large electronics surplus house here in town, and the amount of 'take outs' that they have is just amazing. Everything from power supplies to switches, panduit(new), terminal strips, you name it... they have it.

Thanks again to all the help... This place is just amazing...

Happy holidays to all..

Jim