only a couple of relays

Recently I had to rebuild a cardboard compactor from maybe the 60's.

It only had a couple of 11 pin relays in it and some limit switches and pushbuttons. I got all new stuff and started in on it. I been doin this kind of stuff for about 43 years, but have not done anything with more than the simplest of relay applications for maybe 30 years

Good grief ... it pretty much spanked my a**. I had a heck of a time with that thing. I also realized that the old brain don't work like it used to either.

1. Thank God for PLC's
2. Hope to retire before the end of the year

I also work with a guy in his 60's that has been doing this work a long time. I always tell him how I'm glad I missed out on the days of good old relay cabinets. It is all about tracing wires, rather than rungs of ladder logic, but the same principals apply.

I would rather deal with a controller any day.

It was fun! Go to a job - machine is down - rotating cam covered in limit switches - relays - timers - no drawings. 30 guys standing around - boss agitated - losing money. You learned to think on your feet real fast. The one I mentioned was one of the first automatic chucking lathes in the 60s from Warner Swasey Asquith in UK - only one in Australia as well and no one knew anything about it!
That is how we all learned about control systems and how to do things and more importantly how not to do things.
Has always held me in good stead over the years I must say.

Yea he always jokes with me about it. We walk up to a machine (lots of packaging machines mostly) and I'll ask what it is doing. Then he asks me what part of the system the error is in, then makes me move so he can do his thing lol. Here recently I have been answering more calls on my own though. It amazes me how our maintenance calls us electrical guys over and they have not yet gotten out the electrical print.

We have been training them, as soon as they call us, to get us the schematic of the machine while we make our way over. The only real downside is that there are 5 of us for all shifts for the entire plant. What a workload!