PLC skills

Hello guys,
What is your suggestion, what is best way to learn and understand one system which contains some PLC, touch panels, motors....Are we first have to learn basic function or what this system have to do and how do it or first study a lot about components (generally) for specific manufacturer or some books or maybe all things by little.
In heart of question is, I need some advice, how I could improve my PLC skills, I know best way is would be some training program but here in Serbia offers is very poor and very expensive.
Yes, I know miracle is not possible over the night, good advice and suggestions from the people which are have huge experience sometime haven’t price, any links or book or good story how you acquiring your PLC knowledge.
Thanks in advice

Hi there,

What level of PLC Knowledge do you have at current?

By assessing your current skills, we can give you the best advice on how to improve.

For instance, for someone who had a basic understand of PLC's, what they do and how they do it - I would recommend a little brick-PLC starter kit of some kind.

I used to play around with Telemecanique Smart-Relay PLC's. The software is very easy to understand and use and you soon get into Ladder Logic etc.

Let us know!

Coming to this site is a good start, Firs step is to understand relay logic itself
http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/electricCircuits/Digital/index.html

this site is useful for that
http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/~jackh/books/plcs/pdf/

this book is also useful and its free its lanquage has mor the Alen Bradley model in mind but it teaches pretty much most of the basics. In a fairly easy to understand format.
at the top of the website is an online course you an enroll in.
I find this manual useful in understanding drives
http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/at/drive-at001_-en-p.pdf

this should get you started

here is how I personally approach the "how to learn a system" type of problem that you're asking about ...

first I draw a sketch of how all of the various components are connected together ... for most systems it's best to use a LARGE sheet of paper – and to write SMALL ... I'll attach a very condensed sample below just to give you the basic idea ...

once I've got the sketch drawn, I decide which part of the system I'll tackle first – and I go to work on that specific area ...

suppose (for example) that I decide to concentrate on the PLC programming piece ... if it's possible, I make a printout of the complete program and I study whatever seems most important to me ... I "pencil in" notes on the printout – and I mark the things that I've already covered – and I keep track of things that I still have questions about ... little yellow Sticky-Notes come in handy for a lot of this type of record keeping ...

important concept: in effect you are making your very own personal "text book" for the equipment you're studying ... at this point, you are playing the part of both the "instructor" – and the "student" ...

quick question #1: what type of "instructor" would attempt to TEACH a complicated subject without having some type of "text book" available? ...

quick question #2: what type of "student" would attempt to LEARN a complicated subject without having some type of "text book" available? ...

the point: you (the "instructor") and you (the "student") need to keep careful written documentation of (1) what material you still need to learn ... and (2) what material you've already covered ... to answer the rhetorical questions above: only a poor instructor – or a poor student – would attempt to proceed without some type of recordkeeping like this ...

now let's suppose that while you're happily studying away on the PLC programming piece of your puzzle, a work order comes in from your boss and suddenly you're forced to go fix a problem with the HMI system ...

don't drop the recordkeeping ball ... instead keep track of everything that you learn about the HMI – and everything that you still have questions about - as you work on that part of your equipment ... then once again, mark up your "master chart" as to where you've ALREADY BEEN – so that you can tell where else you NEED TO GO ... it's sort of like (well, actually it's EXACTLY like) taking a long vacation and exploring a new country ... if you don't want to "miss" anything important, it helps to mark up the map to keep track of where you've already been – and where you still want to go ...

suppose that while you're learning about the HMI (or any other subject for that matter) you need to download some reference material from the internet ... print out the most important parts of that material – and mark it up with a highlighter ... here I'm thinking of specific configuration settings – and possibly DIP switch settings – (and things like that) - that pertain to your specific equipment ... note that I'm not saying to print out ALL of the pages of a 400 page manual (unless you really feel that would be helpful) – one or two of the most important pages are usually all that you'll need ...

start a "3-ring binder" notebook – and add these pages to it ... as the number of pages grows – and as you put more and more subjects into the binder, start adding dividers to keep things organized ...

breaking it down another step ... even while you're focusing on the PLC part of the puzzle, you can use this same "map it out" approach ... sketch the areas (for example: specific ladder files – or even specific rungs) that seem to be the most confusing ... the more you learn, the more you'll start to see "patterns" that keep popping up again and again ... pay particular attention to ideas like: "how is this material SIMILAR to what I've already covered?" – and equally important: "how is this material DIFFERENT from what I already know?" ... helpful ideas are a LOT easier to spot and make use of if you have some type of organized "plan of attack" to guide you along the way ...

so here's the BIG PICTURE that I'm painting ...

successfully studying – and learning – ANY subject which is somewhat "complex" depends on CAREFUL DOCUMENTATION ... many students (and unfortunately many instructors) fail to realize that critical point ... so ... if you really want to get "good" at this, make sure that YOU realize it – and work on it – and master it ...

now let's paraphrase your original question:

what is best way to learn and understand ... how I could improve my PLC skills

Click to expand...

you need to recognize that the PLC is just ONE PART of a larger system ... yes, it's an important part – but if ALL that you know anything about is the PLC part, then you're going to be very limited in what you'll be able to accomplish in your career ...

so ... the method that I personally use – and the one that I'm outlining here – allows you to PLAN your attack – and to keep focused on your GOALS – and to keep track of your PROGRESS ...

if you follow what I've suggested, you should end up with a well-documented "training program" which will have helped you master a sizeable amount of "complicated" material ...

but ...

much (I repeat: MUCH) more importantly, you will end up with a SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to "learning" - and to "teaching" – other complicated systems in the future ...

I know best way is would be some training program but here in
Serbia offers is very poor and very expensive.

Click to expand...

survival tip: read that statement again – but rather than concentrating on the disadvantages you've mentioned – concentrate on the long term potential opportunities instead ...

notes on the sketch below:

this is just a VERY quick rough sketch to show the main ideas ... learning some of the "items" on this chart might only take a few hours or days ... other items might take a year or more to fully master ... the IMPORTANT/CRITICAL thing is to keep track of where you've been – and where you still need to go ... taking the long term view of things, it's the SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO LEARNING that's actually more important than the material being covered ...

pay careful attention to the little red "interface" circles ... these are often the most challenging pieces of the puzzle ... getting one piece of hardware or software to "connect to" or to "talk to" another piece (often made by a different manufacturer) usually requires al LOT more time and effort than you would expect ...

I hope that this has been helpful – and I wish you the best of success in your future career ...