How accurate is "If you can program one PLC, you can program them all."

In my travels I have run into a good many of the #2 types... I just try to make sure I am not full of it!

JRW said:

A few years back I met a system integrator that took over a project from another system integrator
The system was an S5 and he was retrofitting it with an S7400. He told me "I havent met a plc I couldnt program and get working"
A few days later he put the S5 back in and I never saw him again
haha
Granted- he didnt know how the machine worked either

Click to expand...

That's a good one. I have a similar saying. When someone asks me what I am hungry for:

"I never met a meal I didn't like."

OkiePC said:

That's a good one. I have a similar saying. When someone asks me what I am hungry for:

"I never met a meal I didn't like."

Click to expand...

Same here:

"We can do anything, as long as there is enough time and your wallet is fat enough."

As far as my take on the OP's question, you have to be mindful that you are changing platforms. Comm's are different, their instructions behave in different ways. Are you moving from synchronous to asynchronous scan cycle?

I'm currently taking a free class on LabView offered at my university. The structure and layout of FBD is much different than the ladder-logic I'm used to, but knowing that the system is synchronous, my next question was "What is the hotkey for help?"

Okie
Mine is...
I don't care what you call me... just don't call me late for dinner. Haha

nerdbotbot said:

Hi,

So far I have only dealt with Bosch - Rexroth hardware, Codesys (programming) and Indusoft Webstudio (SCADA).

However, the most widely used PLC packages in my country are from Siemens and Allen-Bradley.

Will my experience with Rexroth/ Codesys be of any help?

Thank you

Click to expand...

From a relative newbie, PLC programming (applies to most automation/control devices as well) is two parts:
-Program and hardware design:
You have to be able to write down on paper (flow charts also help) the entire operation of the machine and in as much detail as possible. Without writing a single line of code.

Once you have the program laid out you need to figure out the hardware required to make the program work do what it should.

This is the creative part.

-Writing code: That is basically learning the software and it has nothing whatsoever to do with intelligence. You are basically trying to figure out how someone or a group of people decided to add 1+1 in code. You already know you want to add 1+1 but how that translates to code is up to the software developers who don't seem to be all that bright.

This is the hard work part. It takes a lot of work and hair pulling and learning one will not necessarily carry over to another.



For me personally, the graphical interface makes a lot of difference in how comfortable I am working with the software. Even background and highlight colors make a difference and to that end, there are PLCs that I work with only because they're already in existing machines but I would never touch them when designing or upgrading a project.

JRW said:

A few years back I met a system integrator that took over a project from another system integrator
The system was an S5 and he was retrofitting it with an S7400. He told me "I havent met a plc I couldnt program and get working"
A few days later he put the S5 back in and I never saw him again
haha
Granted- he didnt know how the machine worked either

Click to expand...

I think he raises a good point here. I said before knowing multiple PLC brands makes it easier to learn new ones, but if you think you can just sit down in front of a new system and figure it out on the fly, you're in for a bad time.

mk42 said:

I think he raises a good point here. I said before knowing multiple PLC brands makes it easier to learn new ones, but if you think you can just sit down in front of a new system and figure it out on the fly, you're in for a bad time.

Click to expand...

I haven't met a manager that didn't expect this. (It's computer magic, should take you no time, you should be able to do it while you drive down...)

JRW said:

A few years back I met a system integrator that took over a project from another system integrator
The system was an S5 and he was retrofitting it with an S7400. He told me "I havent met a plc I couldnt program and get working"
A few days later he put the S5 back in and I never saw him again
haha
Granted- he didnt know how the machine worked either

Click to expand...

Wondering which part of the equation beat him? Regardless, pretty hilarious.

mk42 said:

If you know one system, that's a big help in learning the second. If you know two brands, then you probably know enough about what makes systems different to be able to learn any others quickly..

Click to expand...

Agree, I think its like speaking several languages... if you speak English but you learn how to speak Spanish your 3rd may come easier

I do not know how to program many but I can go online and troubleshoot about 10-15 different ones, there is a difference from "programming" and "troubleshooting" I consider myself lucky, everyday I get to going online with over 5 different brands and it keeps me sharp

Today
S7 1200
Mitsubishi FX
S7 200
MicroLogix
GE VersaMax
(I have a few hours left)

Again just going online and troubleshooting or making a simple change and helping customers, not writing a program

One thing to keep in mind they ALL do the samething... input - logic - output


OT: Paul, guess you have not tried my cooking

bernie_carlton said:

If you have the flexibility to make the distinction and not be distracted by the differences then your previous experience will serve you well.

Click to expand...

Bernie nailed it!!!

OT: Hey genius, I've seen that Challenger before on another forum. What's the scoop? Mine is a 2016 SRT392. Go Mango catches a lot of attention! Not a day goes by that you don't have a lot of new friends! It can get ridiculous, Oh yeah! Went to the soft touch car wash by the dealer I got it from yesterday. A couple guys from the oil change place came over. One guy said you have road tar behind the rear wheels on the lower quarter panels. I looked back to the rear, looked back at him and said, nah that's just rubber from the tires.

Some very good points about allowing familiarisation time when approaching a new platform. I try very hard to get a spare PLC to familiarise myself, rather than go straight to the production PLC which is running the plant. If they don't have a spare PLC to test on, get someone to show you a quick few things and what to watch out for with this particular PLC.

And make sure you know what it's retentive memory is going to do, and what the memory card can be configured to do on power cycle.

VAN said:

I haven't met a manager that didn't expect this. (It's computer magic, should take you no time, you should be able to do it while you drive down...)

Click to expand...

Reminds me of that great quote in someone's sig here:

Customer: "I don't know how to do it so it must be easy"