# Rockwell training worth the cost?



## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

The water plant and the distribution system I take care of are all AB PLCs, controllogix and SLC500. We also have a factory talk SCADA system. I would like to start putting in for some training so I can do basic troubleshooting and maintenance instead of having to call someone. Is the rockwell training worth the cost? Its expensive but if its good it would pay for itself quickly.


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

If you have an AB dealer near you, often you can get free or inexpensive training from them rather than AB corporate. This is especially true if you are already their customer.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

They were offering one free course online a while back due to the corona. Might be worth checking there website.

Ive been on a few of there courses and im not sure if its worth it (if you are paying for it). Basically you need to have a good understanding of binary, plc's and a bunch of other things before going or you will out of your depth even on the beginners course. 

Another problem is large company's pay for there employees to attend and basically some of them have no interest in being there. (mechanics, operators, etc)

I believe you need the courses to prove you can do the job rather than you going on the course to learn the job. 

My company pays for mine so im happy to keep going. If you have some of the basics down and work with plc's you might find it does wonders for your confidence as most people dont get to play with the systems they work with.


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

Company would be paying but I want to get the most for the money. I feel like I got a decent understanding of the underlying basics, ladder logic I can work through, I did some binary and stuff back in my college controls class. I helped design a few control systems back in my engineering days just not confident enough to get into a system this complex.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

mburtis said:


> Company would be paying but I want to get the most for the money. I feel like I got a decent understanding of the underlying basics, ladder logic I can work through, I did some binary and stuff back in my college controls class. I helped design a few control systems back in my engineering days just not confident enough to get into a system this complex.


I think you will be happy with the coarse and its a feather in your cap to say that you have it.


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## FTC (Oct 10, 2016)

https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en_NA/products/training/e-learning/overview.page This is a link to some of the free training. 1 free course per email address.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

varmit said:


> If you have an AB dealer near you, often you can get free or inexpensive training from them rather than AB corporate. This is especially true if you are already their customer.


Very good point. If he has this equipment in his plant, the vendor (distributor) wants to meet him, know him and wants to help him. I know I did.
The better they know you, the more things they will offer. And it goes both ways. You want to know the distributor and the manufacturer.
For things like warranty, new equipment purchases, help and training.
As a territory sales rep I wanted my customers to know the product inside and out. In some cases the customer knew more than we did. These were our best customers.
These were the customers that rarely called the emergency service.

When I was a distributor, the manufacturer usually paid for the guys we sent. We worked out the details and who went.
They had special deals like two guys for one each year. Most of this training required travel.
It really depended on how much equipment the customer had and what the future business looked like for that customer.

The point is for guys in plants or other places of employment with manufacturers equipment on site to get to know the distributor and the manufacturer.
Besides its fun and has perks like lunch and free promotional items.
Call your sales guy today!
This is the basis for free or low cost traing.


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## JCAUPS1 (May 19, 2020)

YouTube is another great free resource


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

JCAUPS1 said:


> YouTube is another great free resource


It's scary how much I've learned from Youtube.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

If you get the training you need to use it, or you will lose it.
If it is AB you want buy a PLC trainer and HMI with software. Spend two hours a week doing something with it.
Remember it is just a bunch of small systems put together.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

just the cowboy said:


> If you get the training you need to use it, or you will lose it.
> If it is AB you want buy a PLC trainer and HMI with software. Spend two hours a week doing something with it.
> Remember it is just a bunch of small systems put together.


Finding something to do with it can be the hardest part of training.

Years ago on a plc5 i built traffic lights on a 1/4 sheet of plywood and used prox switch's to detect toy cars. I made it as complicated as possible with car detection controlling the lights and timing. 
I must have rewrote that code at least 10 times learning as i was going along. 

Im looking for a new project now as im having to get comfortable with function block rather than using ladder logic or structured text. I hate function block.


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

I hope to start building a relationship with the local distributor and got a hold of them the other day to get pricing for the classes. With a few exceptions most of this sort of work has always been handled by outside contractors so we have very little contact with the distributor besides the annual ransom for licences and service contracts. It is nice though that we have a laptop that already has all the software on it even though nobody really knows how to do anything with it. 

All the classes are canceled until September but most of the ones I am interested are offered online and since we already have a service contract the online classes really aren't that bad price wise. I would rather take in person classes but they are a lot more expensive and we are in Wyoming so the nearest distributor is 200 miles away, and Denver is a good 7 hour drive so in person training can be impractical sometimes.Currently going through the Automation direct free training, pretty basic but I have learned a few things. 

Getting set up with a trainer or at least just an extra PLC and Ill build my own trainer around it is something I'm going to see about before the budget year turns over. I got tons of ideas for small projects to set up and play with and we got lots of extra parts from 60 years of operation that I can hook up and learn from. One nice thing about being a plant employee vs a contractor is that unless the place is on fire its pretty easy to find an hour here and there to study and train and play.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

gpop said:


> Finding something to do with it can be the hardest part of training.
> 
> Years ago on a plc5 i built traffic lights on a 1/4 sheet of plywood and used prox switch's to detect toy cars. I made it as complicated as possible with car detection controlling the lights and timing.
> I must have rewrote that code at least 10 times learning as i was going along.
> ...


That was one of the hardest parts of teaching an apprentice, getting them to use their mind and come up with something fun. A friend of mine has a 30 ft x 45 ft train platform that I wanted to automate, he said no Gilbert did not have it. He was all old S gauge 

Think Halloween and motion with pneumatic s for your next project.
Function block is not bad you'll get it I hate Bristol structured text.

Cowboy


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

mburtis said:


> It is nice though that we have a laptop that already has all the software on it even though nobody really knows how to do anything with it.
> 
> Currently going through the Automation direct free training, pretty basic but I have learned a few things.
> 
> ...


Don't overlook that Automation Direct C-more micro HMI software is free and has a simulate in it.


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

We may actually end up buying some automation direct stuff first (like a brx PLC and a C more screen) to play with. For the price we figure we can play and learn and build some simple project before trying to get the budget for the expensive AB stuff.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

mburtis said:


> We may actually end up buying some automation direct stuff first (like a brx PLC and a C more screen) to play with. For the price we figure we can play and learn and build some simple project before trying to get the budget for the expensive AB stuff.


I think whatever you do to get the ball rolling will be money well spent. You might also consider doing some stuff with the cheaper Rockwell products with free / cheap software then graduate to the full power, what you learn may carry over. 

Seminar style training where you go for a day or a couple days or a week of intensive training is a crappy way to learn. It would be much better to spread it out in 40 one hour classes with reading, review, and homework in between, like a college class. But seminar style is a practical necessity. 

IMO the best thing you can do to get the most out of it is try to teach yourself everything in the class ahead of the class.


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

In my opinion, it can only help. It sounds like it would make your job easier also. That is a win-win in my book.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

Forty years in the trade and still learning.
I am just about to do a PO for Allen Bradley to come onsite and do a private 4.5 day course for us on plant PAX.
For us it is more money to bring them in but this way I can get us all trained at one time. If we have breakdowns we can fix them after class, or I can bail and leave the guys still in class. The advantage is that we move at our own speed and not wait on others, and ask questions related to our system.

To any electricians or contractors out there " Learn Controls" in is needed.


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