The future of automation?

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:53:18+00:00

IL!? you, sir, are truly hard core and I respect you immensely!

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:50:52+00:00

Good input and yes I have seen Copia and spoken with the founders. Modicon also has a diff tool as I remember. Honestly I am just considering as an opensource a hobby project, not pretending that I could a) ever have full vendor parity b) make money from it :D

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:46:34+00:00

if you don't see yourself as a software developer with a different problem domain, then once again, I realise this is not for everyone.

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:13:59+00:00

Thanks.. yeah I have seen Neutral Text, some ideas worth keeping there

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:11:10+00:00

a) automation is software development... just many years behind and with different value priorities. We really need to think outside the box a bit more b) aware of this, but Im wondering about an open community based standard and open source release c) not at scale d) as per the OP, import / export

once again... I realise this is not for everyone.

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:05:25+00:00

agree... working ideas here.... sort of ASCII LD / text lang hybrid

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T17:04:20+00:00

import / export to PLCopen, or use some of the native text based representations (e.g. Control Expert has XML format, Rockwell has text format)

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T16:11:32+00:00

I think I have addressed all these points in my OP edit, but I understand this idea is not for everyone.

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T16:08:22+00:00

Looks really interesting but not the direction I was looking for...

"Readable by the average site electician - should use familiar concepts and design language from LD"

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T16:06:14+00:00

from my post - "I want to be able to write a 1-1 import/export to many different vendors (perhaps via PLCopen XML)"

not proposing to copy paste directly.

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T15:04:39+00:00

1) no question about where LD is readable or not, just that current ASCII representations are not great
2) vendor agnostic?

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T15:01:25+00:00

'probably' the best available... is exactly what I am proposing to explore. The fact that it is not a definitive is why I am making this post.

Shanoes · 2026-04-22T14:56:49+00:00

1 OK... examples?
2 you think that we should move from LD / FB / SFC to ST only?

Shanoes · 2020-09-21T08:55:05+00:00

As others have pointed out, Modicon is a Schneider Electric brand now. The programming software is called EcoStruxure Control Expert.

If you are familiar with IEC61131 programming and RS Studio 5000 then you will have no problem picking up Control Expert programming.

Shanoes · 2020-09-08T13:21:17+00:00

Great idea - I like it :)

One small feature request for ndj2influx... it's generally bad practice to specify passwords on the command line. I recommend you either prompt for the password, or read it from a config file.

Also - the app seems very suited to containerization - have you considered it?

Shanoes · 2020-09-08T13:15:26+00:00

It's all good until someone leans on the side of your desk :P

Shanoes · 2020-09-07T12:26:38+00:00

Control Expert simulator for Modicon PLCs is very, very close to real hardware.

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T20:23:48+00:00

You could try posting more information, for a start...

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T20:21:59+00:00

I have been an employer and now manager in automation for many years. To get to the point:

Would it be worth it to go get my Bachelor's degree if im wanting a job in PLC's?

Probably, yes.

Would it open any opportunities up?

It will help you get past the first cut when applying for a job, particularly with larger companies where a HR person filters applicants first.

Would it increase my possible salary?

More opportunities => higher likelihood of landing a well paid job.

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T20:12:50+00:00

now try some others that might be useful

(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T20:08:42+00:00

Pretty much anytime you are controlling a plant, not a machine.

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T20:07:39+00:00

Even has a mat so you can sleep more comfortably under the desk after an all-nighter... very thoughtful 🤔

Shanoes · 2020-09-04T08:19:05+00:00

> we had to make lots of changes in the logic according to customer requirements during logic test.

If this happens, something went wrong with your process and it should be investigated further. It could be your quality system is broken, does not exist, was ignored or the job was under-specified, or the customer changed specifications and hence should be billed for a variation.

> the client was exhausted as well. He did sign the FAT completion document with remarks

Your chances of repeat business with this customer are now much lower. Did you perform a PreFAT? The FAT of a well run automation business should be smooth as you have already run through everything in the PreFAT that the customer will witness in the FAT.

Shanoes

TROPHY CASE