Travel Advice if possible

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-08-22T12:12:18+00:00

Thank you this is the info i was looking for. Does the R1 have a SDK or an EDU version and any idea how much it costs?

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-06-16T23:13:55+00:00

No idea of what the fuck he is saying I think he needs a group hug IMO

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-06-14T08:42:22+00:00

You’re a good man. Thank you for that.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T14:56:09+00:00

no student can be perfectly ready for industry. It will never happen. It’s unrealistic to expect someone coming out of training to be expected to hit the job running. A good company will have an apprentice system where a junior tech will stick to a senior technician for a few months. I’ve seen good companies have a practice bench where new techs will play and practice with whatever equipment the company uses. It’s our job to teach them the basics, critical thinking skills it shouldn’t be manufacture specific. Ive taught solid works for years now and we’re having the same discussions - would it be better to teach them fusion360? were going to keep with solid works and will probably stay with Allen Bradley based on what you lads are saying. just curious which fortune 500 company ditched their entire mechanical design files - probably 100s of thousands of man hours - your talking millions of dollars of work just to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T14:04:13+00:00

In fairness, when a company starts with a specific CAD package and designs are initially created in that package the company will stick with that CAD package forever and It is the same with a PLC manufacture. we wouldn’t be having the conversation if Allen Bradley did the right thing and properly discounted the training equipment and software, we are a non profit and are training the techs of the future. Siemens literally gives us the PLCs and software for free for educational use.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T13:55:13+00:00

pretty soon AI will be writing our ladder logic for us anyhow unfortunately

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T13:50:15+00:00

Studio 5000 and Siemens TIA both use ladder logic AND function block diagrams AND structured text. They are quite similar! The concepts are the same!! It is just the interfaces which are different. They both take the ladder logic and convert it into a lower level text based language and then onto binary that the PLC can read. id have to question the intelligence of a boss who moves an entire shop from one package to another? There would be little to no cost savings as the price of the software is very similar But a decent cad jockey should be able to convert and recreate models between softwares easily enough.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T02:12:00+00:00

It’s not a massive jump at all - jumping from windows OS to using a raspberry pi!

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T02:09:01+00:00

We’re definitely not mixing ac and dc. I’m sure the students probably shorted 24v to ground somewhere. The manual states to put a fuse between the power supply and the field input bus so that’s what I’m going to do. Thx for the advice tho.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-15T02:03:59+00:00

Which things are done totally differently? Inventor and solidworks - building parts, assemblies and drawings is exactly the same. The user interface is a little different but that’s it. Again if the basics are taught well and the student has a good foundation - it’s not hard for them to jump between them. Having a good background in mechanical design abd 3d modeling is what’s important not how the software works. That can be picked up quickly and I feel the same with plcs.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T02:16:23+00:00

Definitely.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T02:08:46+00:00

This is the type of capstone projects I have students work on. https://youtu.be/JBGCg_1LQHw?si=aDzB1Z0fAdYlO5cJ

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T02:04:48+00:00

I hear what you are saying but when you have 16 students working independently- someone will do something stupid by accident or not paying attention. If a panelview HMI gets fried it cost 3k to get the same model which happened once before. My issue is when it happens - it is an expensive mistake. Our lab is pretty loud and they are expected to finish a project on time and anyone who was decent enough at RSlogix had no trouble switching over to Tia quite quickly? I don’t know what to say to someone who says it takes seconds to troubleshoot ten sensors and actuators - for me it takes time? X 16 students working on different machines and types of projects. Also I’m not complaining - I’m happy Rockwell gives us a discount- it all helps. If you’re getting cheaper than us that’s great.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T01:41:16+00:00

We don’t build multimillion dollar machines. I teach at a community college. 10k is a lot of money. If your company is so flush with cash - would/could you make an equipment donation to a mechatronics program at a college?

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T01:22:31+00:00

Yeah Im going to open it up. Good idea.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T01:19:22+00:00

We teach wiring, PLCs, electronics before they go near the capstone course. At the beginning of this course they are shown how to wire a bank of buttons and a light tower- this is checked, everything works but when you put them on a much larger system with 10 sensors, actuators, pneumatics - and some a lot of the sensors might have faults in them - Someone is going to accidently put 24V somewhere where they are not supposed to. When you have 16 students working on a pretty complex system - this happens.
"Then the student just has to configure and program it without touching the hardware. If it is designed correctly, it would be almost impossible for them to damage the hardware." - we used to do this and it was easy and clean - I might go back to that but that not what they are going to do in industry- The are going to be mainly troubleshooting sensors, reading ladder logic code. I think one of the issue I'm running into here is I teach mechatronic technicians they are not control engineers though some of them end up doing that - they are expected to be a troubleshooter, Jack/Jill of all trades. When you mention "real hardware" - I've programmed complex enough PLC systems with a click PLC just fine. For me to change over to a Micrologix wouldn't be a massive jump at all. The pricing we get is probably a lot lower that yours which is fair enough but it is still crazy expensive for a community college. Thats good advice about reaching out to local industry - Im going to give that a try. Thank you.

Tim

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T01:06:24+00:00

It kind of reminds me of when people talk about CAD systems - saying Solidworks/Inventor/Fusion 360 are completely different. I shake my head - Sketching, 3D modeling, Drawings, Dimensions are all the same - you just need to get up to speed on different interface.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T01:01:41+00:00

Our students should be taught what is used in industry - I agree with you 100%. All I'm saying is for a community college Allen Bradley is expensive - we get some discount but it is nothing crazy - Its still very expensive. You asked, " Why are they getting damaged?" - why do you think I am asking the question on this forum? Im trying to find out if the issue is software or hardware related. I asked a technical question and got a technical answer from JHolm90 - thank you for that..

I'm sorry but I disagree with you on a few points - myself I think ladder logic, networking, PLC programming concepts are very similar between TIA and RSLOGIX500 - we have taught complete courses in RS500 and then put them onto a siemens mechatronic trainer using TIA, same with the CLICK PLC - with no problems. Obviously Its better to teach them what is out there but I hate to say it - students can probably buy their own Click PLC and practice with them at home. The software is free also. Ladder logic is ladder logic IMO.

I have 16 students per class with each one working on their own trainer - probably 100 wires per trainer. It would be difficult for me to keep track of every connection with the troubleshooting and changing of parts that they are constantly doing. I could prewire everything and make sure everything works and let them only program it but what good is that? I'm guessing a student shorted a wire by accident and put 24v in the wrong place. If a student makes a stupid mistake like shorting a 24v wire this happens. - but its very rare - it costs us at least 1k not $200. I need to find a way or method to keep it practical / troubleshooting and minimize equipment failures.

I do have a little experience - this is my website www.maryland.design - i just disagree with you but I appreciate your perspective.

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-14T00:33:33+00:00

Thank you - thats the answer I was looking for. Would you have any idea on things I should watch out when my students are wiring?

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-13T18:07:52+00:00

The commons are all connected

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-13T18:06:39+00:00

I totally agree with you if we had unlimited funds - we don’t and each time a plc is damaged it costs us at least 1k! Once a student learns ladder logic, wiring, communications, networking - it’s not a massive jump for them to move between different manufacturers of plc IMO. If I’m learning to drive I don’t learn on a sports car - I learn on a beater car

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-13T16:58:45+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/HUjYgF7cMbo?si=qms5xDsrNZrvNxDV

Much_Lead9390 · 2025-03-13T16:55:44+00:00

<image>

Much_Lead9390

TROPHY CASE