Index
Episodes
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20 / 20 transmissions
How to Build a PLC Training Kit Students Learn From: Real Terminals, Real E-Stops, Clear Diagrams
A Mitsubishi sponsored university trainer and an Arduino Opta capstone panel show where PLC training kits fall short: banana plugs, single channel E-stops and a missing ground. Plus the Logix Designer laptop problem, whether PLC engineers need wiring knowledge, and what a controls engineer at a mine does all day.
HMI SCADA Platform to Learn in 2026, Plus a Flooded PLC That Now Plays Street Fighter
Which HMI and SCADA platform to learn in 2026 matters less than the back end behind it and the project you apply it to. Plus a flooded Siemens PLC running Street Fighter, device level ring on a Stratix, an ice cream wash down panel, a nervous new technician, and the ladder versus structured text question again.
NAT or Readdress? The OT Network Decision That Shapes Your Plant for the Next Decade [Guide]
A new machine arrives with the builder's addressing scheme, and the plant has to renumber every device or put a NAT device in front of the panel. This is that decision, costed in licences, warranty, traffic and laptops, from a plant with a 1783-NATR in nearly every machine.
Structured Text vs Ladder Logic: Why "The Right Tool for the Job" Is Lazy Advice [Full Q&A]
A CODESYS convert says structured text is the superior language, and I take apart the advice everyone reaches for in that argument. Plus a 168 station yarn machine, water inside a VFD, a controls engineer laid off after four years, and what a degree does not tell you about a junior hire.
PLC Programming Job With Zero Experience: Stay or Go Back to School?
Three weeks into a new PLC programming job with zero PLC experience, no training and nobody nearby to ask. That question drives this episode, along with a first panel build, why good PLC tutorials are scarce, a Lexium LXM32 CANopen motion workaround, and a PanelView 7 that fails only after download.
AI in Industrial Automation: Where It Actually Works and Where It Fails on the Plant Floor
AI in industrial automation is producing real productivity gains and real risk at the same time. An honest account of where it helps, where it will confidently hand your team a wrong answer, and what that means for your review standards.
PLC Brand Debate: Rockwell, Siemens, Schneider, or Something Cheaper?
Choosing a PLC brand for a new plant has two very different answers depending on whether you own the factory or you are advising someone who does. This episode gives both, plus PoE for Point I/O, the trade school question, why PLC work keeps getting classed as a maintenance skill, and HMI design.
Ladder Logic vs C++: Why PLC Programmers Still Choose Ladder and Why They Are Right
Ladder logic is not a legacy habit. It is the right visual representation for the Boolean, state based logic that actually runs machines, and this week explains why that matters at three in the morning with a line down. Plus a Siemens and Danfoss commissioning panel, a home test rig, an AutomationDirect CLICK pump station with an HMI worth criticizing, and the first month in a controls role that felt like knowing nothing.
PLC Panel Builds Reviewed Plus the Exact Learning Path I Would Follow Today [Full Q&A 2026]
Five real panel photos from the community, read the way somebody who builds panels reads them. A clean enterprise ControlLogix build, a Festo servo cabinet with every motor cable cut off at the drive, a first PLC project running house lighting, a pair of Allen-Bradley PLC-5 demonstration trainers that still boot clean, and the honest answer to what a beginner should actually learn first.
This Messy Control Panel Is One Fault Away From a Full Line Stop [Real Plant Panel Review]
Five real plant photos read the way an experienced automation person reads them. A control panel wrecked by years of time pressure and the retrofit call it forces, an SLC 500 worked on from a borrowed trolley, an S7-1500 that will not see a new ET 200SP, two first programs, and what actually happens when a corporate IT team takes over OT after the site IT person retires.
Wireless PLC Access: Connecting to a PLC with a Travel Router, and When Not To
Using an inexpensive TP-Link travel router to connect wirelessly to a PLC for commissioning and troubleshooting when the plant network is not ready, the size, price, and range trade offs, and a live CompactLogix demo. It also covers the OT security and governance risk of unmanaged remote access and default credentials, and the disciplined alternative of a jump box and a proper OT and IT architecture.
Industrial Automation Q&A: In-House vs Contractor, ET 200SP Retrofits, and Learning PLCs
Industrial automation Q&A on six real questions from the field: a Siemens ET 200SP and Odot remote I/O conversion of a legacy yarn spinning machine, the in-house versus contractor call and the business case for letting a customer fail, learning PLCs affordably, why PLC software feels buggy, 3D HMI graphics versus ISA 101, and preparing for a PLC and data engineer interview.
Industrial Automation Q&A: Rockwell QC Defects, TIA Portal Versions, & IT/OT Skills
Industrial automation Q&A on the skills shift every controls team is feeling, plus a cautionary Rockwell quality story, a TIA Portal version trap, and honest career advice. This episode answers five of the most upvoted questions from the r/PLC community.
Industrial Automation Career Advice: How to Get Better, Get Hired, and Get Paid More [Q&A]
Industrial automation careers reward the people who treat skill building like a capital investment, not a hobby. This Q&A breaks down how to grow in controls, SCADA, and MES, how to break into the field without an engineering degree, and how to think about which skills actually pay.
This Obsolete ControlLogix Runs a Whole Line, and Nobody Will Modernize It [PLC Q&A]
This obsolete ControlLogix has been running a whole production line for over a decade, the power supply just failed, and nobody will approve the modernization. In this Q&A I work through five real questions from the community, and the one that hits hardest is the nightmare cabinet: a dusty, ten...
Allen-Bradley vs Siemens: Why Plants Pick One PLC Platform and Live With It [Field Q&A]
Allen-Bradley vs Siemens is rarely a pure technology decision, and this field Q&A breaks down why region, hiring, support networks, and vendor lock-in usually decide your PLC standard long before specs do. If you own a platform decision, this gives you the real reasoning to defend it upward.
PLC and Automation Q&A: Engineer Burnout, IT/OT Skill Gaps, and the 2026 Hiring Reality
This PLC and Automation Q&A answers six field questions on engineer burnout, IT/OT skill pressure, Studio 5000 bitwise AND, and the 2026 entry level job market.
Rockwell State of Smart Manufacturing Report 2026: What Executives Should Actually Believe [Review]
The Rockwell State of Smart Manufacturing Report 2026 is the most cited smart manufacturing study of the year. This executive review pulls apart which findings hold up on the plant floor.
Industrial Automation Q&A: From Generalist to Specialist Without Regret [Career Strategy Episode]
Industrial automation Q&A: a consultant answers six of the most consequential career and modernization questions facing engineers and managers in manufacturing today. Real questions, no vendor pitch, no oversimplified answers.
PLC Programming Q&A: Free Simulators, Browser IDEs, and Physical PLC Trainers Reviewed
PLC programming Q&A walks through five r/PLC community questions on free simulators, browser IDEs, physical trainers, automation careers, and project complexity.