Tim Wilborne's PLC Training

This PLC course uses the Connected Components Workbench for Rockwell Automation’s Micro800 PLC and is a great way to start learning PLC programming.  The Micro800 line of PLCs includes the Micro810, Micro820, Micro830, Micro850, and Micro870.  It will cover a lot of stand alone machine applications.  

Benefits of selecting this course include:

• Free Software

• Logix theme that gives it the look of Studio 5000

• Built in PLC simulator

In addition to PLCs, this course teaches you to program the Panelview 800 HMI, Powerflex 525 AC drive, and the 440C-CR30 Configurable Safety Relay.

Similar to our in person PLC training at the PLC lab, this is a “Hands On” and “Minds On” PLC training. 

Who are we?  Tim Wilborne has over 1000 videos, 12 million views, and nearly 100K subscribers on Youtube.  He has been in the industry over 30 years, starting off in a machine shop when he was 12 and building his skills up as a maintenance technician and UL 508A Industrial Control Panel Builder. He has a thing or two to teach you.

Who will benefit? Anyone looking for the fast track to learning PLCs.  Whether you have experience with another brand of PLC and you are completely new, these self guided lessons will give you the tools you need to succeed.  We have had people from many careers in our course including engineers, technicians, software engineers, college students, and even high school students.

What will you learn?  Tim and Amber release new lessons every week so this is not a complete list but:

• Downloading and Installing Studio 5000.  Connected Components Workbench can be downloaded for Free directly off of Rockwell Automation’s website.
  
  

• Wiring your PLC.  You will learn the difference between sinking and sourcing PLC inputs and outputs, PNP vs NPN sensors, and how to troubleshoot your wiring. 
  
  

• Going Online, Uploading, and Downloading to your PLC.  Did you notice we skipped right over the history of the PLC and the general overview?  That is on purpose, those topics won’t help you when you are staring at the PLC on a machine trying to make it run.  That is what we mean by 100% “Hands On” and “Minds On”.  We don’t cover topics until they are necessary for you to know.
  
  

• Basic Bit Instructions. These instructions make up most of what you will see in PLC programs and the way we teach you these few instructions is what makes our training method unique and why we have turned out some many successful PLC technicians.  These are not “relay contacts and coils”, they are not “examine on, off closed, open”, they simply go look for a 0 or a 1 and go write a 0 or 1.  Once you get past this point, ladder logic will come easy.
  
  

• Timer and Counter Instructions. The next two common instruction types you will see are times and counters.  And with these, you will be able to do a lot of basic machine logic.  Note, many college courses only make it to this point in a semester!
  
  

• Machine Sequencing Methods. This is what makes the magic happen on most PLC controlled machines.  With over a half a million views on these programming methods, it is clearly a road to success for you.
  
  

• Adding Ethernet Devices to your PLC. Now that you have the basic fundamentals of PLC programming, it is time to expand your hardware out to that of a more modern machine.  Modern machines don’t connect all of their devices to the physical PLC, they use networked IO.  Common industrial networks are Ethernet/IP, Profinet, and Modbus TCP.  This course will cover Ethernet/IP and Modbus TCP.
  
  

• Analog 4-20mA and 0-10VDC. Up until now, you have learned about basic ON/OFF logic but most machines also have I/O that is variable between two points.  Examples are tank levels, variable motor speeds, etc.  You will learn to wire them, that 2 wire vs 4 wire on the 4-20mA still trips me up.  Then you will learn to scale them to engineering units and program your PLC to make decisions based on those values.
  
  

• PID or Proportional Integral Derivative Control.  This is a common programming method in process control where we want to keep a process variable such as a temperature at a specific setpoint and we use an analog control variable such as a combustion valve opening amount to achieve it.  Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it without getting too deep in the icky math of it.
  
  

• HMI Panelview 800 Touchscreen. Most modern machines have more than basic buttons and lights to interface with the operator.  They use a HMI or Human Machine Interface so the operator can start the machine, diagnose programs, and collect production and OEE data to send to the office network.
  
  

• Powerflex 525 AC Drive. You can integrate the Powerflex 525 into the Micro800 over Ethernet plus you can program your drive parameters through Connected Components Workbench.
  
  

• High Speed Counter (HSC) Inputs and Outputs. Some of the Micro800 PLCs have inputs that you can connect an encoder to and outputs that can connect to a Stepper drive.  This will allow you to create a basic motion controller.
  
  

• Servo Motion Control. The Micro850 and Micro870 PLC can easily integrate with a Yamaha Motion Controller using their User Defined Function Block.
  
  

• Function Block Diagrams

• Structured Text

• High Speed Inputs and Outputs

• Communications with Other Devices

• Safety Relay 440C-CR30

• Festo Didactic MecLab