My Own PLC Trainer

[jeebusmn]

To rsdoran,

Mello out man. Engineers don't spend 4 years studying PLCs. If someone wants to be proficient, it only takes a few months of practice. It is ridiculous how non-engineers berate a green engineer over something he or she has had little to no exposure to. Engineers are engineers because they can pick up concepts quickly if motivated. Understanding and designing a system is completely different than the small hurdle of programming it.

 

[rsdoran]

First and foremost, do not have too

If someone studies to be an engineer then I do not expect them to be proficient in a specific subject BUT expect them to make an effort to understand the subject well enough to ask questions.

Contrary to what has been stated so far I have seen no evidence he has studied the situation properly.

jeebusnmn, why haven't you ever told me too chill out when I have offered information or links etc.? I have made a post or two here and there, ever took time to look at any?

 

[DJM]

To rsdoran,

Mello out man. Engineers don't spend 4 years studying PLCs. If someone wants to be proficient, it only takes a few months of practice. It is ridiculous how non-engineers berate a green engineer over something he or she has had little to no exposure to. Engineers are engineers because they can pick up concepts quickly if motivated. Understanding and designing a system is completely different than the small hurdle of programming it.

I have read over all the replies and I fully agree with Ron on this. Everyone has been patient with this young student, but it appears from his posts that he came here to get ALL the info he needed about his PLC. I would expect that even a green engineer could open a book and get the basic layout for his "device" that he is about to lower himself to learn the specifics of...

 

[kolyur]

Engineers are engineers because they can pick up concepts quickly if motivated.

No, engineers are engineers because they may have been good at math/science in high school and were fortunate enough to have parents who could afford to send them to college. Yes, I myself fall into that category. And yes, I am aware there are many exceptions to the rule.

But that was my general experience in college. I knew many students who were not any better at problem-solving on graduation day than they were during freshman orientation. They coasted through four years by the skin of their teeth, relying on the more "motivated" students to help them through. And where are they now? In most cases probably working as "engineers" somewhere.

My point is not to berate engineers, as I myself am one. But as I spend more time in the engineering field, my respect for the degree decreases. I roll my eyes every time I see some fourth-year engineering student post some gem like "can u pls provide a trafic light prgm for SLC50, thx." Where is this guy going to be working in five years? Is he really going to be providing value to his organization, and solving problems, or will someone still be holding his hand?

I am very aware that I have posted a lot of questions to this forum myself. But I'd like to think that I did my homework first and tried to ask questions indicative of that.

 

[Jimmie_Ohio]

I would expect that even a green engineer could open a book

So a "green" engineer should be more "red" (read)?

Sorry...

 

[MarkTTU]

No, engineers are engineers because they may have been good at math/science in high school ... I knew many students who were not any better at problem-solving on graduation day than they were during freshman orientation.

A degree does not an engineer make...

Actually I think that the OP says it all. This is a guy who hasn't had enough time with a PLC to even know what questions to ask; as Ron put it, if you can't talk the talk...

That said I have no idea what his background is, and I can promise everyone here that my last year in school (EE degree) if I'd decided to build a bridge I would have sounded like a real idiot since I only had one civil engineering class that discussed bridges for all of about 3 hours...

So the real questions are these:
1) How much PLC background from school does Chunky have?
2) What is the focus of his engineering degree?
3) Should a senior project involve something that isn't really part of the core material from the schooling (ie, doing my final project on bridges wouldn't have been acceptable to my professors since bridges, overall, have very little to do with EE)?

All that said, IF Chunky's degree is "electrical" in nature then the quality of his questions and answers reflects very poorly on his attention to the last several years and/or his teachers.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now

 

[Chunky]

im not asking you guys to do it or how to make schematics and stuff, im asking on how to make my trainer look like a miniaturized industrial plant or what will i include in my harware trainer module like counters and stuff since i dont know much about the practical side. i dont have the luxury of time to visit manufacturing plants and stuff because the first part of my project is all about documentation and making specific objectives to make my project feasible. and i thought you guys are well experienced in these industrial things and what part of plc programing is the most important part to learn etc. cause not all universities teach PLCs in depth. by the way my course is electronics and communications engineering and the focus of my thesis is on electronic systems..its my problem on how to build the harware im not asking you guys on how to do it.

 

[rsdoran]

im not asking you guys to do it or how to make schematics and stuff, im asking on how to make my trainer look like a miniaturized industrial plant or what will i include in my harware trainer module like counters and stuff since i dont know much about the practical side. i dont have the luxury of time to visit manufacturing plants and stuff because the first part of my project is all about documentation and making specific objectives to make my project feasible. and i thought you guys are well experienced in these industrial things and what part of plc programing is the most important part to learn etc. cause not all universities teach PLCs in depth. by the way my course is electronics and communications engineering and the focus of my thesis is on electronic systems..its my problem on how to build the harware im not asking you guys on how to do it.

I am just a lowly non-engineer but what I was trying to point out is that regardless of what you are attempting, you have to be understood.

YOU HAVE YET, provided any relevant info on your studies or what you hope to do that could be understood, at least by me.

How would we know what counters etc may be involved, if we do not know if anything is being counted?

NONE of this thread had anything to do with PLC's, it was all about what YOU know and can convey to others for assistance, as yet I stand by what I have stated, you have made no effort to study the situation.

 

[MarkTTU]

I'm not trying to be an a$$, but... Ron is right, so far here's what I've figured out.

* You are finishing up a degree in electronics
* You want to simulate an industrial plant on paper
* You've never seen any industrial plant

So, what do you want to simulate? There are a lot of 'industrial' plants out there, none of them are alike, and all of them are going to require a heck of a lot of work to simulate; even on paper.

Going on my own experience you could try simulating a single small part of an industrial plant... take a look at this simplified flow diagram for a single stream of drying in a cotton gin for example: http://prodcd.samjackson.net/drying_system_flow_driagram.htm

 

[kitty2003]

some thought of mine

Two DI/DO is too little to use ,in my opptition,it's necessory 40 I/O. And the output relay need more .

 

[rsdoran]

Two DI/DO is too little to use ,in my opptition,it's necessory 40 I/O. And the output relay need more .

LOL, another voice that does not have a clue.

 

[userxyz]

haha

I've red all these threads and I must say,

haha, I like rsdoran, but he made a point, I agree with him 100%

LOL, another voice that does not have a clue.

Maybe Chunky should first use google a bit, to optimise his knowledge...

Is this something you need (just a try)?:
http://www.velleman.be/be/en/product/view/?id=364910
http://www.velleman.be/be/en/product/view/?id=9383


And as all the other guys, I also don't know what you want from us..., but...

About the use of a microcontroller, is it so that you want to build some kinda PLC of your own ??
If it was my project and I had to build some kinda PLC, I would use a CPLD or an FPGA or maybe a PIC controller... donno... just giving answers without to many clues

 

[Maj. Toxido]

I'm not trying to be an a$$, but... Ron is right, so far here's what I've figured out.

* You are finishing up a degree in electronics
* You want to simulate an industrial plant on paper
* You've never seen any industrial plant

http://prodcd.samjackson.net/drying_system_flow_driagram.htm

In my point of view, Here in our country if your getting a degree in ENGINEERING the method of teaching here is more theoretical aspect than hand on or practical work. Me too have a lot of problem regarding the word of automation especially the PLC. But if you have the will and eager to learn there is no impossible under the sun!

When I was in my collage days, I`m taking up an on-the-job trainning when the semestral break approach ( SUMMER )to the extend that I will sacrifice my summer vacation just to learn the PLC`s stuff. I go to different manufacturing plant, cause they have the facilities & trainning module on how to learn the said stuff and also for experience.

Learning PLCs is so much fun! but you need to work harder in order to accomplish this. And one more thing gather some reading material it will help you a lot!


Good luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Regards

Sherwin

 

[DJM]

When I was in my collage days, I`m taking up an on-the-job trainning when the semestral break approach ( SUMMER )to the extend that I will sacrifice my summer vacation just to learn the PLC`s stuff. I go to different manufacturing plant, cause they have the facilities & trainning module on how to learn the said stuff and also for experience.

In my experience, some of the most effective engineers I've known have done this. Sacrificed their summers to hang with construction and maintenance types. It's an experience that improves the engineers vision of what a project should do and what it's like for the regular "Joe" to work on it.

Good for you!