busarider29
Lifetime Supporting Member
I only have access to the software when ever I am at school. That’s one of the reasons I am trying to find a simulator at home so that I can practice, build, and learn more during my free time and not just at school.
From the sounds of it, you don't have much, if any time to learn a new piece of software, as you've fallen too far behind. However, I'll try to help anyway. If you cannot find an RSLogix emulator to use, then a fall back solution would be TwinCAT or CodeSys. You can be up and running PLC code on your laptop in a matter of minutes. Download and install TwinCAT for free (XAE, the first download link). You can then write and run PLC code on your laptop (simulator). No, it's not RSLogix, but it's at least something for you to learn PLC ladder code and how it works, and it's all I've got for you. The good news is that ladder logic is ladder logic. It's all the same. Learning the underlying mechanisms of how the PLC code executes is most important right now, as DrBitBoy said.
Personal rant to the school and PLC instructor/s:
I'd be more than pee'd off if any course required software to learn and do homework, but the software was only available for use at the school. That in itself is BS and a complete failure of the school and the instructor - FAIL!! If you are an instructor and want to teach PLC programming but cannot provide a particular software for each student to use remotely because it's not practical with that platform due to cost, etc.... then use a different platform to teach with where the student can access and use the software away from the classroom!!!
Personal advise to the student:
It's neither here nor there now, but I'll say it anyway - school has to be a commitment. If you want to succeed in the classroom, you have to make it a priority. Coasting through it will eventually catch up to you, and probably sooner rather than later. Hobbies and other stuff, even spending time with family and loved ones at times, have to take a back seat to your course work. The good news of that is that it's only temporary, until you finish school. I'm taking masters courses right now, one course per semester, and I commit 15-20 hours a week to it, outside of the classroom. That's a lot of time per week, but that's what it takes for me to keep up and succeed in these classes. Case in point - you have to put in whatever time and effort it takes to succeed in the classroom.