Looking for advice on what to learn

[XXFANZIXX]

Hello fellow PLC peers,

This is my first post on PLCTalk, I have lurked here for some time to find answers for my PLC related questions. To all of the contributors out there, Thank you, you truly help make the internet complete.

I eventually want to start my own service business helping other businesses with PLC and electrical needs. I am currently only experienced with Allen Bradley micrologix and SLC 500 Series PLC's.

Here are some questions I have:

What are the most important PLC systems to learn for today's day and age?

I want to be more well rounded, what are some skills I need in conjunction with PLC work to make me more effective at troubleshooting?

I would love to hear some stories or epiphanies that others have had. What is something you had to learn the "hard way" how can that be avoided?

What is the best way to organize ladder logic, why do you think so?

What are some applications of PLC's that people might not think of?

Omron? Allen-Bradley? Siemens? Fanuc? others? Which is the most used and in which markets?

I know some of these questions require pretty in-depth answers, I'll take whatever insight I can get.

Thank you for any and all input,

-xxfanzixx

 

[Handcraftedsince87]

Not to sound too crass, but I've seen a lot of these questions answered in depth here on this forum before. That being said, a lot of people will probably still be wiling to answer.

You say you want to be more rounded, but what is your current experience? The biggest thing I can think of is working on a variety of equipment and getting very comfortable in understanding process control and what's going on. Maybe you already are, just not sure about your current level of experience.

The types of industries that use PLC varies greatly. And the types of PLC's and control systems vary almost as much. I think a lot of it is geographically where you're located at and what the company already has an investment in. I believe I heard someone say Allen Bradley seems to have about 1/2 of the North American market share.To be good at everything simply requires many hours of head scratching hands on experience imo.

Control Logix seems to be the most logical next step, but that requires a significant investment if you don't currently have access to such hardware and software. My best advice would be to get on with an independent systems integrator who gets around to a lot of different job sites.

HMI's and product interfacing with different communication languages are also going to be huge.

 

[boneless]

I have asked the same question before..

After some time, I think I figured out to stay to what I know. When I go look for help with something, I want an expert. Not someone who knows a little bit about a lot. If you land a costumer and he would like you to do some Omron in addition to AB, that would be a good time to start researching it.

The tools may be different, but really, the differences are not THAT big.

I am sure many will disagree on that, but that is how I see things .

Welcome by the way!

 

[kamenges]

Originally posted by boneless:

The tools may be different, but really, the differences are not THAT big.

I don't think this can be stressed strongly enough. In the end, the plc, and to a large extent the logical constructs you program into it, are really nothing but tools. If you don't understand what your machine or process does you won't be able to design an effective control system, no matter how good you are at programming a plc. In the end, understanding a machine or process really comes down to understanding the physical concepts behind them and knowing how to manipulate them.

Just knowing how to swing a hammer doesn't mean you can build a house.

Keith