My most sincere thank you.

As Nicaragua will soon become a fading memory, life moves on. I'm going to drop what I'm doing and say thank you to Ms. Rosalie Alejo as Systems Nicaragua's Cambodian Liaison & Department Manager.                                                           

You are truly appreciated.

Niko J.

                        

An introduction to PLC's

What's involved?  

For those new to the world of PLCs, getting a handle on what they are, what they do and how they do it can be somewhat intimidating at first. The same could also be said of computers, and of course that's exactly what a PLC is. Well almost!

In fact, there's a bit more to the average PLC than just a computer. There's no doubt that a computer is the heart of the beast, but then there's also all those interface modules (I/O) that allow the beast's computer to monitor and/or manipulate endless types of electrical devices and equipment. Then to make matters even more interesting, most PLCs aren't exactly programmed like other computers. PLCs were designed from the onset to be installed, wired, commissioned and maintained by electrical personnel rather than your average computer science grad. As a direct result of this electrical influence, the PLC programming language of choice evolved to become "Ladder Logic", a programming language that looks more like a wiring diagram than the structured lists of computer directives that are normally associated with languages such as C++ or Visual Basic.

So what does this all mean? Well basically what we end up with is really three significant areas of study when it comes to PLCs: (1) Computers, (2) I/O (interface) and (3) Programming. You don't have to be an expert in all three to work with PLCs, but you must have an understanding of all 3 before you can claim that you know how PLCs work.

Assess Your Needs! 

Obviously only you can assess how much you already know and which method works best for you when learning new concepts. Many people need the contact and structure associated with a formal classroom environment while others can do quite well with a book and a little hands on to ingrain their new knowledge. Be practical, and most importantly be honest with yourself. How badly do you want to learn PLCs? How much effort, time and money are you willing or can afford to expend? Ask around, snoop around, shop around, and then make a plan and stick to it.

Formal PLC Courses 

For many this is the only way to go and for most it's the best and quickest Method of learning the fundamentals PLCs. Course's are available in many formats, varied lengths and from many sources. Almost all have value, but the best are typically those which provide a 30 to 60 hour combination of instruction and Hands-on labs. Major PLC manufacturers, offer such programs, usually as single week Full time offerings; typically to small groups and often charge $1200US plus but this usually includes lunches and a full set of manuals. Many colleges and training Companies have directly copied the curriculum of these courses and offer these Knock-off programs to both day and night school students. Prices can get down to The $200-$300US range thanks to your taxes, but may often mean larger classes, poorer equipment sometimes, and definitely no free lunches.

If you're lucky and do a little shopping around you may be able to locate a high quality PLC course, taught at a relaxed pace and utilizing the latest in equipment at a bargain price right in your hometown. If you have a particular manufacturer of PLC in mind then this will of course effect your choice, but otherwise settle for any of the "Majors" and make sure you go for the Level I program. If you skip to an advanced level you will miss all the computer and hardware aspects which are so crucial to the understanding of PLCs.

Approaching PLC Training on Your Own! 

Whether a PLC course is out of the question; you require a little more help with the theory, or you're just in need of more hands-on practice than is available in the course you're taking; then you have a couple of points to consider. There are two major learning components associated with any PLC training program, and from a training point of view they dictate the use of different skill sets and student activities.

First, there is the requirement to learn about the components of PLC systems, why the various components are there and how they work. This is the theory aspect of PLC training and is normally presented in a lecture format in the classroom. This material is best re-enforced with online or CD based tutorials, printed handouts, and/or a good PLC textbook.

Secondly, there is the hands-on aspect of the training. This is where the student is required to create, enter and debug PLC programs using their newly acquired knowledge of the PLC and it's programming instructions. In the past this aspect of the training always made use of actual PLCs which where wired to an assortment of switches, lights and displays and then programmed by the student via a programming terminal or a desktop computer running the PLC manufactures programming software. We couldn't achieve the realism of being wired to an actual industrial process such as a conveyor, but with a little imagination we made do. Today it is now much more common to use software graphics to simulate the controlled equipment and lately a number of packages can now also simulate the PLC as well.

Professor Bill's Recommended Course of Action: 

I may well be biased with these suggestions and of course I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, but here goes!

• Take a formal PLC course if possible. Unless you have access to actual PLCs at work you're going to be at a disadvantage trying to digest all the hardware details from just a book. For many there's nothing like having the physical product in front of them to re-enforce the details.
   
• Purchase a good PLC textbook such as:
  
  • A Guide To Understanding PLCs by Phil Melore (The PLC Tutor)
  • Programmable Logic Controllers Hardware and Programming by Max Rabiee (Goodheart-Wilcox)
  • Programmable Logic Controllers by Frank D. Petruzella (McGraw-Hill)
  • Fundamentals of Programmable Logic Controllers, Sensors, and Communications by Jon Stenerson (Prentice-Hall)
  
  Each of these books is a good dollar value, and you essentially get what you pay for. There are certainly other good ones to be found, and almost any text is better than having none at all.
   
• Consider the Purchase of a CD based Tutorial Package. This is a bit more expensive than a book, but for many the interactivity of a good computer based training package (CBT) helps to keep one's attention focused. Take a look at The PLCTrainer which is available from Koldwater Technologies for just under $160, but this price also includes a copy of the CD/Key Edition of LogixPro..
   
• Carefully work through the hardware and operations sections of the book or CD you have purchased and complete each of the end of chapter exercises. If you take your time and are thorough, you should end up with a pretty good grasp of the fundamentals of PLC operations, hardware and wiring upon completion of this task.
   
• While reading the above chapters, go to both The PLC Tutor and the Siemens PLC sites and work through the appropriate tutorials they have available. If you don't have a computer with Internet access at home, then by all means this is the time to get one!
   
• Once you get to the programming aspect of your book, download our LogixPro and/or PSIM program(s) and print out the documentation and student exercises. Proceed with the student exercises in the order in which they are listed. When you start an exercise, reference the appropriate chapter in your textbook and read it thoroughly.
   
• For documentation of RSLogix commands and instructions supported by LogixPro. Refer to the Programming Command Guide site for examples and details.
   
• While you are working on this course of action be sure to take time to investigate the PLC and Automation sites I have listed on my Links page, visit the Q&A boards at PLCs.netand/or MrPLC.com often and don't hesitate to ask a question while you're there. There are some really top-notch people who regularly drop by and they are more than willing to help others out.


What can you expect in the End? 
Based on teaching PLCs for 15 years, there is one thing that I can guarantee that you will find out about PLCs and particularly Ladder Logic programming. The simple programs and instructions you start your training with are by far the hardest to grasp and clearly understand. As you advance you will be amazed at how much easier it all seems to get, It's just the nature of the Ladder Logic beast! So take heart, take it slow and don't skip to those advanced instructions until you know the relay logic ones off by heart. Yes they really are That Important!
If you fully accomplish all that I have set out for you above, you should now have an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of PLCs. That doesn't mean you are ready for a job as a lead programmer or that there isn't a lot more to learn. It does mean however, that you've gotten through the worst and you've proven that you're up to the challenge, and prepared to move on.




 Professor Bill


http://thelearningpit.com/plc/plcs.html

Solar Powered Homes

Pricing and packages.

Solar Heated Homes

http://tinyurl.com/zgdy9wc

When Terry McIlveen built his home in Maine in 1997, he made the unusual choice to install radiant floor heating. “People thought I was nuts,” he says. However, since that time, radiant floor heat has become increasingly popular, and it’s easy to understand why. This type of heating system works by pumping hot water — or water and propylene glycol (antifreeze) — through a system of tubing in the floor. That means houses using this heating system get warmer from the floor up. In the winter, there are no cold floors underfoot — instead the floor is the warmest part of the home.

McIlveen soon discovered an additional benefit — radiant floor heat is a great match with solar hot water. If you already heat your home with hot water, it’s just one more step to heat that water with solar energy. In the spring of 2010, McIlveen hired ReVision Energy, a southern Maine solar company, to install rooftop solar collectors to help heat his home and produce his domestic hot water, thereby cutting his fuel oil consumption by up to 25 percent each year.

The system cost $20,000, so McIlveen chose to finance it through a loan. His exact savings on fuel each year will depend on how much he has to run the heater in the winter, as well as the ever-changing price of fuel oil — but he knows that if he saves just two fuel tanks a year, he can cover his loan payments.

http://www.builditsolar.com/References/energyincentivesrs.htm

Why?

The future is upon us.

A motorshow wouldn't be quite the same without a flurry of concept cars. Although such vehicles are rarely made available for purchase, they serve many purposes; not least to generate excitement about a brand, convince the market that a company is still capable of innovation, or to work as design studies for future road cars.

See more >

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-18/the-concept-cars-raising-eyebrows-at-the-2015-frankfurt-motor-show

 High Tech Planes

Read more > http://tinyurl.com/zu88lyf

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=12955

Future Homes

http://www.trendir.com/house-design/futuristic/

Tech rules!

Sys Nica Advertising

Do you have a business, blog, website, event or talent that you wish to bring to the world's attention?
That's a portion of what Systems Nica does. Flood the market.

Pricing

3D Laser Printed Weapons

The Reprringer, a tiny, 3D-printable revolver that fires .22 calibre ammunition. Image: FOSSCAD
A BURGEONING SUBCULTURE of 3-D printed gun enthusiasts dreams of the day when a lethal firearm can be downloaded or copied by anyone, anywhere, as easily as a pirated episode of Game of Thrones. But the 27-year-old Japanese man arrested last week for allegedly owning illegal 3-D printed firearms did more than simply download and print other enthusiasts’ designs. He appears to have created some of his own.

Among the half-dozen plastic guns seized from Yoshitomo Imura’s home in Kawasaki was a revolver designed to fire six .38-caliber bullets–five more than the Liberator printed pistol that inspired Imura’s experiments. He called it the ZigZag, after its ratcheted barrel modeled on the German Mauser Zig-Zag. In a video he posted online six months ago, Imura assembles the handgun from plastic 3-D printed pieces, a few metal pins, screws and rubber bands, then test fires it with blanks.

Read more > http://www.wired.com/2014/05/3d-printed-guns/

 

                                    http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-3d-printers,review-2236.html

I apologize yet this is where I have to draw the line. I'm not aware of the gun laws within this capacity.

I wouldn't carry a gun as I believe they are too great a burden.

Most assaults occur from people we know, that's the first clue.

Secondly, there has never been better weapons of defense outside a hot capacitor and a sharp Carpenter's pencil.

"If" you have to flee the scene, you were obviously in the wrong.

No bias just Facts.

                                              

           

Obama Executive ‘Order’: US can seize any person, any resource, any time

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Carl Herman

“A mere demarcation on parchment of the constitutional limits (of government) is not a sufficient guard against those encroachments which lead to a tyrannical concentration of all the powers of government in the same hands.” – James Madison, Federalist Paper #48, 1788.

President Obama signed an Executive Order for “National Defense” yesterday that claims executive authority to seize all US resources and persons, including during peacetime, for self-declared “national defense.”

In times of peace Peace Time Peace Why peace time times of peace why peace why seimet  ecaep times WHY WHY WHY

For fact checkers: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_executive_orders

 At no time will this blog personally attack anyone yet we will present the facts.

 If you can not negotiate the facts, the US government and the pharmaceutical companies have a medication for you, simply tell them of your dilemma.

 I appreciate those who have taken the time to inquiry about joining. I'll get back to you.

 Channel it via Sys Nica,  "Just for Us" knows why.

Contributors: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/03/obama-executive-order-us-can-seize-any-person-any-resource-any-time.html