J
Hi, I'm looking at getting into the automation / control systems industry but sure of what I need to learn and how to get my foot in the door. I'm UK based for reference.
Most jobs seem to be looking for people with PLC experience, which seems a bit chicken and egg. I've had a look on ebay to see if I could pick up a cheap Beckhoff unit and a few different modules but for a bus coupler, one DI, one DO, one A,I and one AO would be a £3-400 min! Too much.
I've been curious for a while but I have been working a bit with an external contractor at work who programs our Beckhoff controllers that we use for I/O between some control panels and our software I've started to become more enthusiastic. I like the idea of the mix of mechanical / electrical and computing. I have much more interest in the physical world than the virtual one!
I think I've got a good starting point of knowledge but not sure what else I need to learn / practice before applying for jobs and how best to sell myself, getting the to a interview is always the tough first step! So I'm looking for advice on these fronts.
A quick bit of background / my current knowledge.
I am currently working as a developer for simulation software (job title is simulation engineer, Fortran and a little C++). I've gained a little experience with modbus (talking to the beckhoff controller mentioned earlier) through this role and a tiny bit with OPC. I didn't get to code up a OPC interface as we have a third party dll, it was just a case of setup all the dam DCOM!
Previous to that I was doing fluid dynamics research and previous to that disease modelling (Matlab).
I hold a current 17th edition wiring regulation certificate, (its the U.K electrical regulations for wiring).
My weakest point is probably electronics where I've only done some basic hobby work / experimentation to teach myself something on the subject like getting a microcontroller (AVR, using C) to flash leds, listen for button press, UART over RS232, set up a basic PWM to dim a led. I'm aware of voltage to current conversion methods, basic DAC but have not implemented anything personally. Designing a full on D/A circuit would be well beyond me, my knowledge here is pretty high level.
I've an rough overview understanding of but no detailed knowledge or experience about RTOS.
My mechanical knowledge is pretty good from personal hands-on experience and the work simulating machinery / processes I currently do.
So if anyone can give me a shove in the right direction what knowledge I should concentrate on and best way to move in to the control systems / automation field I'd be grateful. U.K specific advice double points.
Most jobs seem to be looking for people with PLC experience, which seems a bit chicken and egg. I've had a look on ebay to see if I could pick up a cheap Beckhoff unit and a few different modules but for a bus coupler, one DI, one DO, one A,I and one AO would be a £3-400 min! Too much.
I've been curious for a while but I have been working a bit with an external contractor at work who programs our Beckhoff controllers that we use for I/O between some control panels and our software I've started to become more enthusiastic. I like the idea of the mix of mechanical / electrical and computing. I have much more interest in the physical world than the virtual one!
I think I've got a good starting point of knowledge but not sure what else I need to learn / practice before applying for jobs and how best to sell myself, getting the to a interview is always the tough first step! So I'm looking for advice on these fronts.
A quick bit of background / my current knowledge.
I am currently working as a developer for simulation software (job title is simulation engineer, Fortran and a little C++). I've gained a little experience with modbus (talking to the beckhoff controller mentioned earlier) through this role and a tiny bit with OPC. I didn't get to code up a OPC interface as we have a third party dll, it was just a case of setup all the dam DCOM!
Previous to that I was doing fluid dynamics research and previous to that disease modelling (Matlab).
I hold a current 17th edition wiring regulation certificate, (its the U.K electrical regulations for wiring).
My weakest point is probably electronics where I've only done some basic hobby work / experimentation to teach myself something on the subject like getting a microcontroller (AVR, using C) to flash leds, listen for button press, UART over RS232, set up a basic PWM to dim a led. I'm aware of voltage to current conversion methods, basic DAC but have not implemented anything personally. Designing a full on D/A circuit would be well beyond me, my knowledge here is pretty high level.
I've an rough overview understanding of but no detailed knowledge or experience about RTOS.
My mechanical knowledge is pretty good from personal hands-on experience and the work simulating machinery / processes I currently do.
So if anyone can give me a shove in the right direction what knowledge I should concentrate on and best way to move in to the control systems / automation field I'd be grateful. U.K specific advice double points.