I am studying Electrical Engg. @Bangladesh Univ. of Engg. & Technology... Im a sophomore now... and in a short while Im going to be a junior student.

I want to be a control expert and I want to begin study from now on... could anybody kindly suggest me how to begin???

For information... its noteworthy that I've studied Laplace Transform and Differential Equations and Matrices.

Plz Help me!!

Automator

 

> I want to be a control expert and I want to
>begin study from now on... could anybody kindly
>suggest me how to begin???

I hate to break this to you, but that is not the way to think about this. The only way to become a controls expert is to actually do it; studying Laplace Transforms will not help you.

For the most part, controls engineers do not deal with the math going on behind the scenes on a daily basis. Yes, it helps to understand it. Yes, every once in a while you get problem where you dust off your Diff'eq skills. Most days, though, you just throw in a PID block and play with the numbers until they are roughly tuned.

This brings up another problem; there are lots of different kinds of controls. It would be difficult to be an expert on motion control, discrete control, temperature control, plant control, building control, and pipeline control. There are some overlapping fundamentals, but there's just not enough time in the day to become an expert in all of them.

The next problem is that you can only learn by doing. Sit in your dorm room and play with PLCs from dawn till dusk; you still won't be an expert. What makes an expert is experience. You will not graduate college as a controls expert. You will not be a controls expert after 2 years on the job.

The best you can hope for at this stage is familiarity. You should know the common acronyms: PLC, DCS, PID, P&ID, ISA, etc. You should know the major players: Allen-Bradley / Rockwell Automation, Siemens, Schneider, Honeywell, Foxboro, etc. You should know the major fieldbuses: Profibus, Devicenet, Foundation Fieldbus, Modbus, etc. You should know what ladder logic is. You should know about standard I/O formats (0-10V, 4-20mA, discrete 24VDC or 110VAC). You should know what a relay is. You should know some basic sensors (photo-eyes, proximity switches, pressure gauges, temperature sensors). You should know something about drives and motors.

Read Control.com, plcs.net, Control Engineering, Managing Automation, InTech, and the A-B Journal. Daily, where applicable.

You get that far, you'll be ready for Day 1 in the life of a controls engineer.

As for becoming an "expert", you'll have to find one to ask.

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.

 

1) Get a formal education (EE, EET, Controls Tech, etc)
2) While going to school, get a part time job as a technician someplace with lots of controls, even at minimal wage if you have to. See what control equipment looks like, how it's used, and READ THE EQUIPMENT MANUALS. You need to get hands-on practical experience as well as formal book knowledge.
3) Learn the practicalities by working with an experienced engineer, technician, or electrician.
4) Learn the theory at school.
5) Play with the toys! Borrow demo equipment from distributors, and play with it. Do some sample programming and see how you might use the equipment for some real application. You can even learn from simple devices like garage door openers. There's a motor, limit switches, photocells, and controls. How does it work? Download application notes, sample programs, and equipment instruction manuals from the web.
6) Learn the processes - Its as much about understanding the process you are controlling, as it is about control system equipment. Get plant tours where possible, see how things are made, ask questions about the processes.
7) Look at other people's designs - you can learn a lot by looking at and understanding their drawings and logic, and discussing it with them.
8) Continuously learn throughout your career. New people can introduce you to new ideas and better ways of doing things. Vendors can introduce you to new technologies and applications. Always continue to play with the toys!

Richard E. Lamb, P.E.
SpecPlus! Automation Consultants
Division of Midwest Technology Ventures, Inc.
[email protected]
317-873-0021 Voice Indy
312-416-7961 Voice/Fax Chicago
www.MidTechV.com