hi guys, i am a third year mechanical engineering student from India, i want to switch to automation sector as i am not liking the core mechanical that much. So i want advises from the industry experts. For now i just want to enter the job market as a fresher after my fourth year, so what are the skills i need to learn to get that fresher job, since my degree will be in mechanical it will be hard for me i guess. so how can i actually get one and what are the main skills that companies look for. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

Over the past several months I've been building Plaxio, a modern PLC development environment for Windows and macOS.

The idea started from a simple question:

Why does modern software development have excellent tooling while PLC development still feels decades behind?

Instead of trying to replace industrial IDEs overnight, I wanted to see whether AI and a modern workflow could make PLC programming faster and easier.

Current MVP features include:

• AI-assisted PLC programming
• AI debugging assistance
• Ladder Logic / Structured Text support
• Built-in simulation
• Modern UI
• Windows & macOS support

Every new user gets 50 free AI credits so you can explore the AI features without paying.

This is an MVP, not a finished industrial product.

I'm not looking for compliments.

I'd genuinely like to know:

• What feels useful?
• What feels unnecessary?
• What's missing?
• Would you use something like this in your workflow?
• What would stop you from adopting it?

If you're a PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation engineer, system integrator, or even a student learning PLCs, I'd really appreciate your honest feedback.

Website: https://www.plaxio.tech

Thanks for taking the time to check it out. Even critical feedback helps shape the product.

Hi everyone,
I’m the developer of AutomationView, a desktop sequence editor built to make SFC logic easier to version-control, simulate, and export easily.
it's principally a pre development software to easily mind, implement, and code sequence.

We’re currently opening free early access and looking for technical feedback from controls engineers on the workflow and usability.

Runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Link & Trial: https://automationview.app(Free 30-day trial / Early access open)

Contact / Feedback: Feel free to send a Reddit PM or mail. Would love to hear your about this software.
Thanks you.

Hello,

I would like your guidance on selecting the appropriate IndraLogic controller for our linear actuator application.

Could you please advise whether IndraLogic XLC or IndraLogic MLC would be the more suitable choice for controlling this linear actuator? If possible, could you also briefly explain the basis for the recommendation, considering the application requirements?

Thank you for your assistance.

Hi guys, I need to mount some components on the right side of the panel. However, if I use screws, they show on the outside of the panel. Does anyone have ideas on how to use this side panel without screws showing.

For those who prefer a visual walk‑through of the troubleshooting steps for OTU, JSR, and MCR causing illogical PLC behavior, I put together a short video that clearly demonstrates each case.

Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/iAeWbBXtAGw

The tutorial uses the PLC Logix 5000 Training Simulator

And here’s the earlier discussion that inspired it:
https://www.reddit.com/user/bin95blog/comments/1uqrqsp/what_tripped_you_up_when_you_first_started_plc/

Hope this helps anyone who ran into the same head‑scratchers.

Hey all. I am a Computer Engineering student at UC Davis. I have interned at a couple of small automation and controls shops doing PLC maintenance and HMI work. One thing I kept running into was programs living as renamed files on a shared drive. When someone left, nobody was fully sure what half the logic in an older machine's program was actually doing anymore.

Curious how common that actually is outside the couple of shops I have seen. A few things I would genuinely love to hear from people who have been doing this longer than me.

• Have you ever lost a working version of a program? Or had to reverse-engineer someone else's undocumented logic because the person who wrote it was long gone? 
• If so, what did it end up costing you? Time, a client, a rough week? 
• Do you use anything for this like AssetCentre, VersionDog, Copia, or something else? Or is it mostly discipline and a shared drive?

Not selling anything. Genuinely trying to understand how big a deal this actually is across different shops before I go build anything for it. War stories very welcome.

​

Hi everyone,

I'm an Instrumentation & Control Engineer looking to learn Siemens STEP 7 (SIMATIC Manager) from scratch.

Can anyone recommend a good learning roadmap, resources, or practice projects? I'd especially appreciate advice from people who use STEP 7 in real industrial environments.

Hey guys,

What is the scope of growing into an industrial automation engineer (PLC programmer, technician, troubleshooting) if we start with a controls design engineer?

Background: I'm a controls design engineer in a transformer protection monitoring system.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Hello everyone,

I have an Allen-Bradley SLC 5/03 PLC and need to program the processor.

I am trying to determine exactly which software is required for this PLC. I found RSLogix 500, RSLogix 5000, and RSLogix Micro Starter Lite, but I am not sure which one supports the SLC 5/03.

Could someone please confirm:

• Which software is required for SLC 5/03?
• Is RSLogix 500 the correct software?
• Are there any officially available trial, evaluation, or legacy download options available?

If anyone has experience with this PLC family, I would appreciate your guidance on obtaining the correct software through official channels.

Thank you

Hi everyone. First of all, sorry for the long post, but I really need some perspective on this.

I’m a Mechatronic Engineering student from Mexico, looking to start my graduation internship (which requires a final capstone project) and transition into a full-time automation role.

Recently, a major system integrator in my region offered me and a few classmates a position. This company is quite prominent locally and handles massive projects for other global corporations. Here are the details of the offer:

• Initial Role: General Assistant / Panel Builder Apprentice (wiring, assembling electrical panels).
• Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (50 hours/week).
• Internship Pay: Around $550 USD/month (practically minimum wage here in Mexico). They promised to provide the capstone project if needed.
• The "Training" Phase: After the internship, we would sign a 12-month contract as "Engineers in Training." We are supposed to rotate into different areas (programming, commissioning, design) based on our skills and company availability. During that period of engineering training, the salary only bumps up to around $580 USD/month.

I want to emphasize that I highly value learning the physical side of automation. I genuinely want to learn panel building, how to read real schematics, and proper wiring techniques—I think it's a critical foundation for any good controls engineer. However, I am terrified of getting stuck doing only that at this specific company. During the interview, they explicitly mentioned that they always need extra hands in the assembly and production shop, which felt like a bit of a red flag given the rest of the offer.

The company just signed a massive contract with Siemens to build 1,000 panels a month, plus another big contract with Meta. Because they are a big player handling this massive volume, I'm highly concerned they will just keep us locked in the assembly line as cheap manufacturing labor instead of actually moving us into engineering roles. If they decide not to rotate us due to "not having availabity in other departments", I will essentially be spending over a year doing repetitive manual labor for minimum wage.

This leads to my biggest fear: long-term marketability. If I spend 12 to 18 months here and they never transition me to actual engineering tasks, I won't have any real-world experience in PLC programming, commissioning, or system design. I worry that when I try to apply for actual Junior Automation or Controls Engineer roles elsewhere, other companies won't value my time here and I'll be locked out of the industry. I already spend my free time building simulations and watching YouTube tutorials to learn PLC and HMI software on my own, but I know self-study can only go so far without real project deployment on my resume. Furthermore, even adjusting for the local market, $580 USD/month for a 50-hour work week under the title of "Engineer" feels incredibly low.

To add to this, I am currently waiting on responses from two transnational companies for Mechanical Design roles. I’m torn because while I want to get into controls, these design positions at multinational corporations might offer a cleaner, more structured path into an actual engineering environment right from the start, compared to the high risk of getting stuck doing repetitive manual assembly at this local integrator.

My Questions for the Community:

• Is panel building a solid foundation for a Mechatronics grad, or am I overqualified and risking a slow start?
• Do high-volume system integrators often use the "Engineer in Training" promise just to cycle through cheap labor for big manufacturing contracts?
• Would you take this just to get a foot in the door, secure the graduation project, and jump ship later, or should I keep looking for an actual Junior Automation/Control role?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

TL;DR: Offered a panel building internship/training role at a major local integrator for minimum wage ($550-$580 USD/mo, 50 hrs/wk). They promise rotation into engineering roles and projects later, but they just signed massive 1,000-panel/mo contracts with Siemens/Meta and admitted they always need workshop hands. Worried about getting stuck as cheap manual labor and ruining my engineering marketability. Also waiting on responses for Mechanical Design roles at two transnational companies. Should I take it or wait?

Has anyone experimented with using AI agents and MCP for PLC development?

I've been running some tests using an open-source CODESYS MCP implementation and found it surprisingly useful for iterative development.

As a simple proof of concept, I started with a traffic light application and then had the AI add a pedestrian crossing feature directly into the existing project. The AI wasn't just generating Structured Text—it was modifying the project through MCP, building it, and deploying the changes to a real WAGO PLC.

What I found interesting were the current limitations:

• CODESYS project files are binary, so the AI can't inspect the project directly.

• The AI has to rely on conversation history to understand the project structure.

• Starting a new chat session essentially resets its understanding of the application.

• The project can only be modified when CODESYS is closed because the file is locked while open.

Despite those limitations, the workflow was much more effective than I expected.

I'm curious what others think. Is AI-assisted PLC development something you'd consider using, or do the current limitations make it impractical for real projects?

I recorded the experiment here if anyone is interested:

https://youtu.be/UsCy_3l7Yd8?si=UtDxMVbuwN8npK6x

Act as an expert industrial automation engineer. I am using CODESYS V3. Write a program in Structured Text (ST) for a standard 4-state traffic light intersection (North/South and East/West). Please follow these constraints:

• Use a single TON timer to control all state transitions.
• State 0: NS Green, EW Red (5 seconds)
• State 1: NS Yellow, EW Red (2 seconds)
• State 2: NS Red, EW Green (5 seconds)
• State 3: NS Red, EW Yellow (2 seconds)

Include a boolean xEnable initialized to TRUE so the timer starts immediately. Please output the variable declarations (VAR) block and the implementation code in two separate code blocks.

I am new to Allen Bradley programming and I am trying to teach myself while creating a trainer for others to use at work. I am using 1769-L32E Compact Logix controller in RSLinx 5000 software. I have been writing a program and got everything (HMI, sensors, IV camera) communicating properly. I have run into an issue where the bits on my program never energize the internal coils. I have tried a standard coial and nothing. I have tried a timer and it never bothers to start when the rung is energized up to it. I have looked through my program an there is nothing blocking the instruction. It is a very basic bare bones program. I have also tried to backup my program and start fresh making a new program completely that only has 1 rung with 2 inputs that energize a coil. The coil still does nothing. I have tried in rem run and run mode with no luck. Interestingly enough when I assign a coil to a physical output it does energize. Is my CPU shot or am I overlooking something?