Industrial Automation

PLCs, DCS, SCADA and industrial networks. The systems that execute control in industry: PLC programming with IEC 61131-3, P&IDs and loop documentation, distributed control systems, SCADA, and industrial communication from HART and Modbus to PROFINET, OPC UA and cybersecurity.

• PLC Programming (IEC 61131-3) — Programmable logic controllers run factories and machines. Learn PLC hardware (CPU, I/O, racks, remote I/O), the scan cycle, the five IEC 61131-3 languages (Ladder, Function Block Diagram, Structured Text, Instruction List, Sequential Function Chart), contacts and coils, seal-in circuits, timers (TON/TOF/TP), counters, edge detection, analog scaling, state machines, and good practice — with a Python model of a PLC scan.
• P&ID & Process Instrumentation — Process instrumentation documents and wires the plant's measurement and control. Learn P&ID symbols and ISA tag numbers, loop diagrams, 4–20 mA loops and loop-power budgets, HART and fieldbus, hazardous-area protection (intrinsic safety, explosion-proof), calibration and instrument datasheets.
• Distributed Control Systems (DCS) — A Distributed Control System runs continuous process plants. Learn DCS architecture (controllers, I/O, networks, operator stations, engineering and historian servers), function blocks, redundancy and availability, scan times, alarm management, and integration with safety systems and MES.
• SCADA — SCADA supervises geographically spread assets — pipelines, water networks, well pads, power grids. Learn RTUs and PLCs, telemetry communication (radio, cellular, satellite, fibre), protocols (Modbus, DNP3, IEC 60870-5-104, OPC UA), polling and bandwidth, historians and alarms, and cybersecurity.
• Industrial Communication: HART, Modbus, Fieldbus & OPC UA — How instruments, controllers and computers talk. Learn the automation pyramid, HART, Modbus RTU/TCP (function codes, registers, CRC), PROFIBUS/PROFINET, Foundation Fieldbus, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, IO-Link, wireless (WirelessHART, ISA100), OPC UA and MQTT for IIoT, determinism, topologies and cybersecurity — with Python that builds a real Modbus frame and decodes a float.