What is Enough to know about PLC

Hi All,

I want to know about mastering PLC Programming please, what are the requirements?

Your post will get very little response because it contains multiple irritating grammar and punctuation errors, and because it shows very little effort in understanding or explaining the question.

The simple answer is "between 1 and 20 years of experience".

Formal education or vendor training is helpful but not necessary; most of us learned on the job.

PLC programming is both about operating systems, development environments and instruction sets as well as about physics, math, and application-specific machinery and process knowledge.

PLC programming is not a regulated industry like law or medicine; there is no requirement that you have credentials of any type to be considered a "PLC programmer".

Ken,
Very astute and accurate response. Every one perceives that Controls Engineering, and Controls Programming is just a matter of attending a 2-day seminar.
I only want to add, that this is a HIGHLY regulated profession. Controls Engineering is regulated directly by the industrial manufacturing client. The manufacturing client expects nothing LESS than 100% uptime, with 100% quality, with a system cost that is globally competitive.

Maple72,
I do not wish to discourage you, but as Mr. Roach pointed out: “Little effort invested, will net little or zero return”. If you are serious, apply at a firm at entry level. Once hired, it is a simple effort of first understanding your end-users challenges, and then secondarily, having your co-worker/mentor train you how to use industrial controls, in an economical, and effective method to achieve the goals set forth by the CASH paying customer. It does not take years to pick this up, I just launched a young intern, and 6-months later, he is capable of programming and commissioning a fleet of 20 machines with vision inspection, assembly, barcode printing, and barcode scanning.
Go get ‘em. …. And realize… “It is also FUN!”
Plastic

Plastic said:

Ken,
Very astute and accurate response. Every one perceives that Controls Engineering, and Controls Programming is just a matter of attending a 2-day seminar.
I only want to add, that this is a HIGHLY regulated profession. Controls Engineering is regulated directly by the industrial manufacturing client. The manufacturing client expects nothing LESS than 100% uptime, with 100% quality, with a system cost that is globally competitive.

Maple72,
I do not wish to discourage you, but as Mr. Roach pointed out: “Little effort invested, will net little or zero return”. If you are serious, apply at a firm at entry level. Once hired, it is a simple effort of first understanding your end-users challenges, and then secondarily, having your co-worker/mentor train you how to use industrial controls, in an economical, and effective method to achieve the goals set forth by the CASH paying customer. It does not take years to pick this up, I just launched a young intern, and 6-months later, he is capable of programming and commissioning a fleet of 20 machines with vision inspection, assembly, barcode printing, and barcode scanning.
Go get ‘em. …. And realize… “It is also FUN!”
Plastic

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I have been working two years in a company which does PLC and HMI programming. I have been assigned a very simple duty testing the code). No Co worker is willing to train or to help me, they just want me to stay doing testing.

I read a lot about PLC, HMI, tags, Ladder logic, I have my master degree in EE.

I don't think PLC programming can ever be mastered. or, maybe I should say that I hope I never master it. To me, mastering something means that you know everything there is to know about it, and there is nothing left to learn. I don't have 20 years of experience, but I bet that when I do hit 20 years, I will still be learning something new every day. If I ever do master it, I will soon be seeking a new profession... But I'm not worried about it. I consider it impossible. Never stop learning.

I have been doing this coming up on 5 years and I have a very small amount of knowledge in this field but for the most part everything I have learned is self taught of from this forum and it's great members that take their time to pass their knowledge on to us youngsters free of charge.

You won't find a better education in automation than what can be found on this forum with a little effort put into your questions and a little reading, work and research on your behalf

Also don't wait for people to teach you as you may be waiting a long time. Some people try to hoard their knowledge for job security and other reasons.

I have found that people that do hoard knowledge don't have that much useful knowledge to share anyway and that's why they hoard it IMHO.

strantor said:

... but I bet that when I do hit 20 years, I will still be learning something new every day. ....

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Been there and doing that

I've said this many times. A PLC is just one of many tools used to create automated manufacturing systems. Just as you can't build a house if the only tool you know how to use is a nail gun, you can't automate a production line if you only know how to program a PLC.

In the context of your job responsibilities, what does "testing the code" entail? In my mind, testing PLC code means verifying that the machine does what it is supposed to do.

Your typical control system may consist of relays, contactors, motors, DC/AC supplies, transducers/transmitters, transformers etc, so understanding how these work shouldn't be hard based on the fact that you have your masters in EE. So having a formal education will indeed speed up the learning curve. Within my short time period of being in the automation field i realized that what truly matters is how you design your control system, you have to take the time to truly understand the correct way of designing a system, this i believe is critical, and as you will see you will get better in time, nothing beats out your time out in the field, because then you truly see how a machine really operates in the real world with real world problems.

How to become a master PLC programming?? well i don't think their is such a thing, as others have mentioned you are always learning, and although you can't really master the subject you can be good at it. Go over other programmers code, ask yourself why did they program it that way, having a PLC to practice on or a simulator will help.

Im a firm believer on teaching ones self, don't wait for others to teach you or you will be waiting a long time. Seriously their is so much wealth of information on this forum, the web, youtube, books, google, everything is their you just have to put in the time and research.

Don't ever look at ladder logic as coils and relays, but a set of instructions and functions that aid you achieve your goal. It is critical that you understand fully how these instructions work. Know how a PLC's scan time works, different manufacturers have different scan times so know the difference.

I would also add a programming language to your background if you already don't have one. Im not saying go attend another 4 years at your college to get a degree in computer engineering, im saying take time out of your day to pick up a programming language. The reason why i say this is because a lot of HMI applications out their have a lot of scripting capabilities, some even have full blown programming languages, like basic, VB, Jython etc. Visual basic is a good start.

Learn how to program in structured text, function blocks, sequential function charts, because you may be out in the field one day and if you limit your self to one plc programming language you don't want to be scratching your head trying to figure out what on earth is going on. Always be willing to learn.

Networking!!! ethernet IP, modbus, devicenet, control net, DH+, serial rs232, understand how these protocols work, how to wire them in a network correctly, this is also very important as you may realize out in the field in industrial application these are some of the methods through which devices communicate.

i have said all this and believe me i didn't even scratch the surface as to how much other stuff their is i did not mention.

Lastly don't be afraid , if you don't know something ask, it may seem like a lot, but once you start putting in the time, look at yourself a year from now and think back when you asked this question on the forum, you will be surprised by how much information you can get in a year.

I will always be one day away from knowing everything.

Today's Experience < Tomorrows Experience

I am 5 years into a ?? Years PLC Programming Career. I hope to learn everyday until year ??.

I'm willing to cut Maple72 a little slack. When you start any endeavor, you don't know what you don't know. Like many of you, I am self taught. I think it is the best way.

Maple, to answer your question, the PLC and HMI programming involves logical thinking, but very few actual instructions. You need to know how timers work, what a holding coil is, and the difference between NO and NC. Most HMI is just using standard Windows commands. Communications is always a big issue, and varies tremendously.

Programming logic and the HMI is the easy part. To create a successful program you also need to know the functions and limits of the physical system being controlled, the operator's needs and expectations, the laws of physics governing the system being controlled, the characteristics of the instruments and devices used for measurement and control, fundamental mathematics, and the economics and commercial considerations.

And common sense!

After close to 30 years, all I have learnt is that I don't know enough.

I am self taught, still learning everyday. Some days when I get a chip on my shoulder I just
log on and check the forums and see that I still dont know !@#$.

Thanks all,

I am teaching myself, but the problem is nobody at work lets me handle a real case or help them.

I was allowed doing once HMI programming and that's it, the only task I was given "testing" for the system that has PLC and HMI codes. I participate in IFAT and FAT sessions.