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You're reading from  PLC and HMI Development with Siemens TIA Portal

Product typeBook
Published inApr 2022
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781801817226
Edition1st Edition
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Embedded Systems
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Author (1)
Liam Bee
Liam Bee
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Liam Bee

Liam Bee has worked in automation for over 16 years, after starting his career at 16 years old as an instrument technician in the water industry. He began his automation journey by maintaining PLCs and the instruments connected to them. He found very early on that he had an interest in PLCs and automation, taking the time to learn PLC programming in his own time, as well as exposing himself as much as possible to automation while working. After 8 years of working in maintenance, Liam started his own side business, providing bespoke controls using lower-range PLC solutions. This experience proved invaluable to his progression; he learned quickly, often through failure, and his knowledge of control design improved significantly. 12 years into his career, he moved roles again; this time, he was looking for something to fill knowledge gaps and target Siemens as he was yet to use Siemens extensively. Liam started at Aquabio Ltd and quickly found himself immersed in Siemens SIMATIC Manager and TIA Portal. Over the next 3 years, he worked hard to understand Siemens' tools and development environments, calling on knowledge from other PLC environments that he had previously worked with. Over his years working with automation, he has learned many different languages and development environments. He has worked with Siemens, Allen Bradley, Schneider, Mitsubishi, and a host of other PLC platforms, all of which have helped shape the design concepts that he uses today. Liam has also taught himself computer programming languages such as VBA, VBS, VB.NET, C#, Java, and more. Closing the space between IT and industrial automation is important as time moves forwards and he has always tried his hardest to be at the forefront of innovation.
Read more about Liam Bee

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Selecting the best language

It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong language when it comes to programming a PLC. However, there are strengths and weaknesses between different languages. There are times when choosing a particular language over another has its advantages.

The best approach is to look at what is trying to be achieved, both now and in the future, and create a block in a language that fits those needs. A PLC project will generally fair better with mixed languages that fit the needs of the project rather than sticking with a sole language and struggling through areas that are difficult to program.

Understanding the use case

Every block in a project has a use case. This relates to the following:

  • What the block has been developed to control/manage
  • How the block fits in with other blocks
  • Who is using/maintaining the block

These simple statements help us understand the best language to implement when designing a block.

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PLC and HMI Development with Siemens TIA Portal
Published in: Apr 2022Publisher: PacktISBN-13: 9781801817226
© 2022 Packt Publishing Limited All Rights Reserved

Author (1)

author image
Liam Bee

Liam Bee has worked in automation for over 16 years, after starting his career at 16 years old as an instrument technician in the water industry. He began his automation journey by maintaining PLCs and the instruments connected to them. He found very early on that he had an interest in PLCs and automation, taking the time to learn PLC programming in his own time, as well as exposing himself as much as possible to automation while working. After 8 years of working in maintenance, Liam started his own side business, providing bespoke controls using lower-range PLC solutions. This experience proved invaluable to his progression; he learned quickly, often through failure, and his knowledge of control design improved significantly. 12 years into his career, he moved roles again; this time, he was looking for something to fill knowledge gaps and target Siemens as he was yet to use Siemens extensively. Liam started at Aquabio Ltd and quickly found himself immersed in Siemens SIMATIC Manager and TIA Portal. Over the next 3 years, he worked hard to understand Siemens' tools and development environments, calling on knowledge from other PLC environments that he had previously worked with. Over his years working with automation, he has learned many different languages and development environments. He has worked with Siemens, Allen Bradley, Schneider, Mitsubishi, and a host of other PLC platforms, all of which have helped shape the design concepts that he uses today. Liam has also taught himself computer programming languages such as VBA, VBS, VB.NET, C#, Java, and more. Closing the space between IT and industrial automation is important as time moves forwards and he has always tried his hardest to be at the forefront of innovation.
Read more about Liam Bee

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