Easy as ABC, 123, PLC ...
November 13, 2019 8:30 AM Subscribe
My boss wants us to dabble in PLC programming. What are good resources for self-teaching this skill? I am completely new to this -- I don't even know what PLC stands for, so 101-level resources would be the best right now.
I have a very vague idea of what PLC controllers do, thanks to talking with the installers putting some on our machines right now. That's literally the extent of my knowledge. I have Googled and there are some udemy classes, but if there's any other books, workbooks (?), websites, streaming videos, etc to help me out that'd be great. If the udemy class is the best way to go, that'd also be helpful info. I'm willing to spend some money on this, so they don't have to all be free.
I do not have any experience with any programming language at all, so this needs to be super basic.
Thank you!
I have a very vague idea of what PLC controllers do, thanks to talking with the installers putting some on our machines right now. That's literally the extent of my knowledge. I have Googled and there are some udemy classes, but if there's any other books, workbooks (?), websites, streaming videos, etc to help me out that'd be great. If the udemy class is the best way to go, that'd also be helpful info. I'm willing to spend some money on this, so they don't have to all be free.
I do not have any experience with any programming language at all, so this needs to be super basic.
Thank you!
You might have luck asking this at reddit's r/AskEngineers.
I'm not experienced with PLCs, but I work with people who are. My advice would be to find out the brand of PLC you're getting installed and make sure you learn the logic for that brand. A common one is Allen-Bradley.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 9:17 AM on November 13, 2019
I'm not experienced with PLCs, but I work with people who are. My advice would be to find out the brand of PLC you're getting installed and make sure you learn the logic for that brand. A common one is Allen-Bradley.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 9:17 AM on November 13, 2019
The few PLCs I've worked with all have different workflows and logic programming paradigms. Dabbling in the wrong brand will be a waste of time, so ascertain from your boss which type you'll be looking at.
Being a non-programmer is likely to be an asset, frankly. You'll be unlikely to be programming the things in raw ladder logic, but the boolean logic thinking of most programming languages isn't the most useful model in industrial control.
posted by scruss at 9:51 AM on November 13, 2019
Being a non-programmer is likely to be an asset, frankly. You'll be unlikely to be programming the things in raw ladder logic, but the boolean logic thinking of most programming languages isn't the most useful model in industrial control.
posted by scruss at 9:51 AM on November 13, 2019
The talk straw linked is a great introduction to the topic. (I saw it live.) It's got a bit at the end that'll give you suggestions for where to get started based on your budget.
posted by asterix at 5:48 PM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by asterix at 5:48 PM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by straw at 8:37 AM on November 13, 2019