Wish List - Would Would You Really Like To Have?

[JKS]

We've all been tasked in the engineering/maintenance department with submitting our capital expenses for next year, everything from continuing education to major equipment overhauls to tools. Our boss came back and said we were thinking big enough. So, my question to you is, what would you guys want if someone gave you an open check-book? My first thought was a new laptop, even though this one is, technically, brand new. But I was thinking something more geared toward the PLC side of things (maybe with a true serial port); right now I have a Dell Precision M4800, so I don't really have too much to complain about. But still...

Any other ideas? I know there's a ton of things that I'd like to have, but I'll be damned if I can think of them at the moment...

- Jeff

 

[osmanmom]

i think iPhone

 

[rdrast]

Is this just tool wise? or plant wise?
I have been working on eliminating old tech, and moving all lines to the same platform as money is available.
Ideally, I'd like to have all the same processors as well, but I can deal with a mix there.

I've also been pushing to eliminate DC drives and motors and move to all AC.

 

[JKS]

It would be both, tools and equipment; really, whatever we want (we know that a lot of these things will be slashed, so it's more a hope of the more stuff we have on there, the more things that we actually need might get through).

I like the idea of upgrading, although I won't have any solid numbers for anything.

And I'm never truly "on-call" so there's no way they're going to pay for a cell.

- Jeff

 

[OdinIII]

Ethernet PLC connectivity and plant wide WIFI has helped us tremendously. It's nice to be able to connect to multiple PLC's at once from anywhere without cables.

An added benefit is being able to access HMI screens from a phone, tablet, or laptop. It's very valuable to be able to stand at the sensor and view the HMI or PLC program at the same time.

 

[Handcraftedsince87]

At our Boiler it was either boom or bust. Order anything you want, or you had better not spend a dime unless you have an approved expense request approval. When times were good, I put in for a Fluke 773 clamp on milliamp meter/signal generator. I think it was around 8 or 900 dollars, but damn that thing was handy. About 3 months before that, we were begging to buy wire nuts

 

[widelto]

Ethernet PLC connectivity and plant wide WIFI has helped us tremendously. It's nice to be able to connect to multiple PLC's at once from anywhere without cables.

I want what OdinIII already has.

 

[harryting]

An IT department that understand Industrial Control System.

btw. I love you guys.

 

[PLC Pie Guy]

I would say go for the wireless technology as well. We have a very large facility here now and everything is visible on a wireless network. I can sit in my office or wherever I may be at the time and look at three or four PLCs at once as well as using VNC viewer I can control and monitor the HMIs as well. I don't think I could go back to the old fashioned cabling in now. I am spoiled now!

That being said, If I could have what I wanted I would ask for another electrician on staff so I could spend all my time on the automation projects instead of doing it ALL, all the time. Even somebody with half a brain would be useful to me now.

 

[Rube]

+1 on the plant-wide wireless. We have four buildings now and we just got one of them completely wireless with our own VLAN, a Red Lion HMI, some CompactLogix, and SLCs thru NET-ENI units. It's great to finally have full system visibility throughout the plant no matter where I am. Now, on to the next building.