I want to fill a hole in my skillset by picking up AB PLC programming. Although I'm at a very advanced level with GE PLCs (I mean GE-IP, no I really mean Emerson) I have only touched AB PLCs twice or three times in my professional life, so it is more mapping my current skillset to the way AB does things.
From what I can tell in the last few years AB has apparently changed the way it does things and I'm confused as to what would be the most appropriate path to take. Most tutorials I have seen on the interwebs have recommended downloading a free version of RSLogix that is no longer readily accessible (and if you can find it, seems to require windows 7 - but I never got it to actually install).
I have also now seen the (newish) Connected Components Workbench (CCW) product from AB, but I have no idea how it plays within the greater AB ecosystem.
Which brings me to my questions:
From what I can tell in the last few years AB has apparently changed the way it does things and I'm confused as to what would be the most appropriate path to take. Most tutorials I have seen on the interwebs have recommended downloading a free version of RSLogix that is no longer readily accessible (and if you can find it, seems to require windows 7 - but I never got it to actually install).
I have also now seen the (newish) Connected Components Workbench (CCW) product from AB, but I have no idea how it plays within the greater AB ecosystem.
Which brings me to my questions:
- What would be the cheapest method to pick up AB programming that would also be the most generally beneficial in a professional environment? (and is easily available in 2020, and runs on W10)
- Is there a PLC simulator that would go with this solution? Or would picking up a shoebox system from eBay be preferable? (and with or without ENet?)