How to stop being afraid of automated process control systems and start working?

Question

Iron

I am a PTO engineer, a graduate of a construction institute, specializing in PGS, by the will of fate working in an electrical installation organization that deals with power. This year, one customer came to our management with a proposal to modernize the line of CNC machines (replacement of the old electronic control system with a new one). Unlike strength, this type of work is difficult for me, because I do not have a specialized education, but personally I find it interesting and I want to figure it out. In this connection, the question is where to start, to be in the subject, to communicate with specialists, read control schemes, understand what it is about. Yes, it will take time, you will need courses / books / articles and communication, but still, where to start in order to start understanding at least at the teapot level? Thank you.

Answer 1

Well, one way or another, it does not hurt to "go over" such things as TAU (Theory of Automatic Control). At least at the level of understanding that there are feedbacks, stability criteria + something from the practical implementations of the TAU type of electric drive control (about the types of feedback on current, cutoff, derivatives, integrals, etc.). And of course, electric motors - types, designs, pros-cons-features-differences-applicability.
All of the above will be an excellent theoretical help.
p/s/ in the first part there should be at least such names as Kotelnikov, Nyquist, Fourier (perhaps they are already familiar from the construction institute? -))

Answer 2

What is power, brother?
Does anyone in your organization have experience with APCS? Do you know how to program controllers? but to read the same schemes, to understand why it is needed at all? If you have such a person, then communicate with him. But in fact, you need to understand electrical engineering, physics in general. not be afraid of diffuses at the level of physics of what is happening. basics of control theory (what is a PID controller, etc.). Further, it is already possible to understand the process control system itself. Questions to be answered - what is SCADA? Why is it? What should be the architecture of the APCS in general? Further on, you will understand the levels in more detail. How are the machines controlled? what is PLC? How to transfer data? And where to? What can you do to make sure they don't get lost? But how to make it so that a person would not be wound on something? Why is the machine spinning? and lavekha is not turbid? How do you respond to rejections? And how can a PC operator manage the entire process!? And how can a manager, who is resting in Bali, find out from the phone what is there at work? So you get technical specifications for your system and think about how to implement it.
Well, do not hesitate to use Google , Matlab and ready-made solutions)
a passing ACS engineer

Answer 3

IMHO:
1) Improve knowledge in electronics and control circuits
2) Take a simple controller - arduinio (work in C ++ in atmel studio, not in arduino ide, without using ready-made libraries), or any other, make a layout with motor control, loads, etc.
3) Adapt the layout from the paragraph above for a simple and non-critical operation in production - for example, open or close something, just control ventilation. Check performance for a month.
4) Expand the layout from the paragraph above and place it next to the source of large interference, making it work all right. Read relevant literature.
5) And so on, smoothly increase the complexity of the tasks being solved. If there is any misunderstanding, disassemble the relevant issue carefully.

Answer 4

FBD language + controller emulator - this is in a general sense. programming with the mouse, simply linking the inputs and outputs of the modules.
I don’t know which controllers are used where, we only have siemens s7-300, s7-400, the Germans program (they come by invitation).
for the machine, of course, the controller is too cool, but I think there are others with the same principle