# On line plc traing



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

<bump>

They're here @ ET Morg, myself i can't program a VCR _(and they've been gone for decades)_~CS~


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Haven't tried it personally, but here ya go
http://thelearningpit.com/lp/logixpro.html


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

chicken steve said:


> <bump>
> 
> They're here @ ET Morg, myself i can't program a VCR _(and they've been gone for decades)_~CS~


Just have your grandkid do it. Works for me.


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## psgama (Oct 26, 2015)

Logix pro is great for learning rslogix 500


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## Sparky Mcgregor (Sep 7, 2015)

They sell AB PLC kits for around 400$. I think you get pretty good value. It comes with a micrologix controller, 5 inputs/outputs (switches/LEDs), RSlogix 500 and rs linx and some lessons. You can also download an emulator on the AB websight for free is you want to test your program on your laptop and not worry about hooking up the the controller. I'm enjoying mine. So far RSlogix 500 seems really user friendly.


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## mpetro (Jan 6, 2016)

Sparky Mcgregor said:


> So far RSlogix 500 seems really user friendly.


As someone who learned on RSL500, I find 5000 to be _super_ intimidating starting out. Things aren't laid out in a logical way in my opinion, and just doing things seems harder. I'm sure I'll change my mind after more experience, but I really like the simplicity of 500.


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## Sparky Mcgregor (Sep 7, 2015)

That's interesting. I didn't realize the format changed. I assumed the only difference between RSlogix 500 & 5000 was 5000 had more instructions.


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## mpetro (Jan 6, 2016)

Sparky Mcgregor said:


> That's interesting. I didn't realize the format changed. I assumed the only difference between RSlogix 500 & 5000 was 5000 had more instructions.


It's definitely more capable, but the tagging formats are a bit more exact. Something tagged in RSL500 as I:0/0 would be tagged in RSL5000 as <Local:0:I.Data.0> (or something close to that), although it's a lot easier to give something an alias and just use that in the program. I don't mean to say that 5000 is worse in any sense, it's just a step up in complexity, which is a bit overwhelming when you learned on 500. It certainly has the potential to be exponentially more flexible.


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## ScooterMcGavin (Jan 24, 2011)

Sparky Mcgregor said:


> That's interesting. I didn't realize the format changed. I assumed the only difference between RSlogix 500 & 5000 was 5000 had more instructions.


Saying RSlogix 500 and 5000 are the same is like saying a Model T and a Tesla are both the same because they are cars. Sure they both take you from a to b and they both have a steering wheel, but that's where the similarities end.

The two most glaring differences in the systems is that 5000 is tag based and the asynchronous update of IO. 5000 does not have predetermined data tables (B3,N7,F8,etc.) All data in 5000 is a tag that you create. MotorOn, Start_button,AlarmDelay, etc. People often struggle with this at first because they have to create all their tags and give them names, but if done properly it makes the code much easier to read because the name of the tag will describe exactly what the purpose of the tag is.

Secondly Contrologix doesn't scan the IO the way most other PLC's do. The IO reports its values to the PLC at intervals determined by the configuration of the IO module. This means the value of the IO can change during the scan of the logic. If this is a problem there a ways to program the logic to "buffer" the IO so that its the same throughout the whole scan. 

There are numerous other differences, but these two are the biggest IMO.

That being said if you know 500 then the look and feel of 5000 won't be completely foreign to you.


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## Sparky Mcgregor (Sep 7, 2015)

Oh great, I haven't even mastered 500 yet and it already feels insignificant compared to 5000. What have I gotten myself into? This PLC stuff is like and endless ocean of learning...


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## Morg12345 (Jan 22, 2016)

Thanks all..anyone heard of GEORGE BROWN COLLAGE..that have a PLC couse online..


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## sdgates (Nov 13, 2015)

Morg12345,

I don't have experience with George Brown. 

I just started a website for learning PLC programming (especially A-B). I don't have any. Courses yet but hope too soon. You might the blog posts helpful in the meantime. Let me know if you have any further questions.

MyPLCtraining.com
Stephen


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## chrisfnl (Sep 13, 2010)

Morg12345 said:


> Thanks all..anyone heard of GEORGE BROWN COLLAGE..that have a PLC couse online..


I took plc I, was not impressed.


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## sdgates (Nov 13, 2015)

chrisfnl said:


> I took plc I, was not impressed.


Do you mind sharing what you didn't like it? I may be creating a course of my own and I'd like to know what kinds of things people are looking for in a PLC programming course.


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## chrisfnl (Sep 13, 2010)

Didn't feel there was much depth to the course, and didn't get much practical application out of it because I couldn't get the simulator to work.


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## sdgates (Nov 13, 2015)

chrisfnl said:


> Didn't feel there was much depth to the course, and didn't get much practical application out of it because I couldn't get the simulator to work.


Gotcha. Are you talking about the PLCLogix simulator they have? Is this the $1,700 course?


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## ScooterMcGavin (Jan 24, 2011)

My issue with a lot of these types of classes is that they teach how to swing a hammer and use a saw but they don't teach you how to build a house or even build a wall for that matter. 

It's great that they show what a timer is and what the different status bits are but they don't show you how to use it in the context of how it plays into the overall design intent of the program. 

I often ask guys what their design philosophy is and they look at me like I'm stupid. I call those guys rung slingers because they just throw rungs on the screen until the program does what they want and it's usually not pretty. 

IMO there needs to be more focus on designing solid programs before you even put one rung on the screen. 

This is meant more for people that want to program not just maintain existing programs.


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## Sparky Mcgregor (Sep 7, 2015)

I completed the George Brown course. I didn't think it was terrible but it definitely has flaws. I'm currently trying to teach myself RS logix and it's been a hassle every step of the way. The course is pretty good at explaining ladder logic but doesn't go in RSlogix specifically in much depth. There's a lot of stuff I felt fairly comfortable with when doing the course but isn't translating very well into actual programming. RSlogix doesn't accept half of the addresses I enter and gives me errors when I try and verify my files. I'm having a really hard time moving data around. SQL, SQO, SQI ect... There's seems to be something fundemental that either wasn't explained well or I didn't pick up on. I'm probably going to have to pay for some toutering in addition to the GB course in order to get a handle on this stuff in a reasonable amount of time. I'm going broke learning this stuff. I hope it pays off.


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## SteveSzabs (Jan 10, 2016)

A teacher in trade school always recommended this website. 

http://plcprofessor.com/bookstore


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## Sparky Mcgregor (Sep 7, 2015)

Thanks Steve, great site!


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## dmule1 (Mar 4, 2015)

Udemy.com has a plc course. Its pretty insightful. If you google a coupon code, one could pick it up for $20.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

try this site
you can pick up the accessory kit and or trainer with the course and learn on your own actual allen bradly plc
I did the kit 6 years ago and still have it.
after playing with the programs you can actually use the plc for your own small automation tasks.

http://www.ciebookstore.com/plc-training


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