PLC in education

Hi, I was wondering do the US and Europe universities teach PLCs as a course? If yes, which manufacturer's? And do you have any links? I couldn't find...Any help is welcomed greatly...

Here in Belgium PLCs are widely used, not only in universities, but also in high-schools. If they teach PLCs as a course, I don't know, but I know some of the schools teach a mechatronics course in which the PLCs are covered.

Kind regards,

We work with several universities that use PLC in their Engineering and Industrial Technology programs. They use varios PLC's most common are Allen Bradely and GE.

jvdcande said:

...but also in high-schools. ...,

Click to expand...

Here also... I have been selling to a few of them

The bad part is that younger kids look at it once and get board unless there is an HMI with something else to get their attention or you tell them that they can make a lot of money and go bald very fast if they want to do this for a living

geniusintraining said:

The bad part is that younger kids look at it once and get board unless there is an HMI with something else to get their attention or you tell them that they can make a lot of money and go bald very fast if they want to do this for a living

Click to expand...

Mark, the same applies here in Belgium. It helps however to attach a 'real' machine. Festo for instance have some nice devices with which you can make some kind of mini-factory. I guess it's a sign of the times. If nothing moves, the kids also don't .

Kind regards,

I am enroled in an Electo-Mech course at a technical school. We got our first taste of ladder logic using Omron's programable relays, then moved on to some Allen Bradley SLC 5/04. There are also some Red Lion controlers in the labs, but we have been focusing on AB / RSLogix.

I had a PLC in my automation class (back in Poland) while in high school (with technical profile) about 17 years ago. I still remember an assignment regarding programming laundry machine cycles.
In US I had several PLC classes in community college. (None of them covered programming - just some basic things).
Tom

I went to the University of Cincinnati. The Electrical Engineering technology program (4yrs) had an elective course that worked with PLC's (mostly with simulator software, but they had 2 or 4 SLC500 racks....)

The traditional Electrical Engineering (4yrs also) course had NO plc content at all, not even as an elective.

I assume that this is typical.

-John

also here in the uk i did my HNC in electical and electronic over 4 years and we had a telemec rack which we did mapping and also wrote in ladder a program to control a medium sized dipping station which had 5 baths in and a overhead crane that was used to lower and move the items from one side to the other, to complete the dipping process we also controlled the valves etc which filled the tanks, quite an interesting coarse alot of it was theoretical other than the dip tank, over here in the uk all we have really are manufacturers coarses whch i went to Allen Bradley/Rockwell to do a 5 day programming on SLC 5/05 and loved every minute of it, so now am saving up to go on 5000, communication and view studio courses soon, just a shame there are 30 coarses and i crnt do them all.

Rob

I would have to disagree with you there robw53, Im currently doing my engineering degree at the university. In the 2nd year there was a module with introduction to automation, and in the final year there is an advanced automation module, both in including plc programming. S7 is the choice for my university. Further more a university here in town offers a Msc in control and automation, which also teaches quite a lot of plc

regards

sorry i was meaning at a college level i know you can go onto do a university BSC nearest to me is doncaster which is within 30 milesa and i have spoken to my company about me going there next year, i am only 22 atm.

FRYMAN: just curious but do you have the actuall coarse name/description so i can look at the university and compare to what my local one is offering?
what sort of business are you hoping to get into as i am wanting to move from electrical mainteance to strickly PLC/HMI/SCADA design and implementation

Rob

i stand corrected the HND which is what i am going for next does cover PLC'S these are the subjects

Year One:

• Analytical Methods
• Applications of Power Electronics
• Electronic CAD
• Electronics
• Engineering Design
• Engineering Science
• Digital and Analogue Devices and Circuits
• Project Management

Year Two:

• Combinational and Sequential Logic
• Control Systems and Automation
• Operational Amplifiers
• Engineering Mathematics
• Programmable Logic Controllers
• Project
• Business Management Techniques
• Electrical and Electronic Principles

As usual, I will be the old fuddy duddy.

Yes, PLCs are taught in colleges and universities but I think this is misguided and the students are really being cheated if they are paying top notch dollar for stuff they can learn much cheaper in a community college.

One should be learning calculus, differential equations, filtering, numerical methods, physics, electronics, and general programming algorithms at a university. Learning to program a PLC is just something you pick up along the way like using a calculator. The math, physics, electronics etc are knowledge that will never change no matter what tools you use in the future. The calculator and PLC, even motion controllers, are simply latest fad in tools. You go to a university to learn the 'forever knowledge' not the latest tool fad.

Don't give me grief on this. It is easier for the universities to teach tools. They can get a graduate student to do it to do the teaching as it isn't real knowledge. It is a poor choice to substitute a PLC class for a numerical methods class or physics class.

I have seen too many cases where the poor control/PLC is frustrated with himself and puts in long hours trying to fix the system from hell that will never run right. A more knowledgeable control/PLC person would recognize the problem right away, point his finger at the problem and let others waste their time fixing their mechanical or hydraulic screw ups.

I agree with Peter. In my opinion, the extent of PLC training in an engineering curriculum would be in a 3 credit lab course entitled "Current Methods in Industrial Control". This would be an elective and aimed at the students who expected to pursue a career in some sort of manufacturing. It would also include drives, pneumatics, hydraulics, sensors and as many other components as the college could lay their hands on. The intent of the course would not be to have the students master the tools as to make them aware of their existence.

I'm thinking back to an elective I took many years ago called "General Manufacturing Processes". It included a labs in the welding shop, the foundry, and the machine shop.

hajy said:

Hi, I was wondering do the US and Europe universities teach PLCs as a course? If yes, which manufacturer's? And do you have any links? I couldn't find...Any help is welcomed greatly...

Click to expand...

I cant speak for US or all of europe but in Ireland yes I completed a 3 year degree course called CONTROL AND AUTOMATION and we were taught how to use a PLC HMI and scada we had theory and labs with PLC's also other subjects.Are you thinking of studing a college course in PLC's programming if so Ican give you the college address and lecture contact details.

Liam