How do I get into the automation business?

[proserv]

First of all, hello and my hat's off to all people here in these forums. Let me get to the reason I'm posting this now. I am a mechanical engineer with almost 10 years of experience working for one of the Big 3 (automotive). The plant I'm working is posted for closure in 2 months ( I have to tell you this with sadness because I really enjoyed my job ). Currently I'm the engineering manager at the plant. The thing is that in the past 3-4 years this position has taken me more to the administrative or management side of the business and sometimes I think I have now more managment skills (which is good in some way) than technical skills. In the plant we have a lot of A-B and GE-Fanuc PLC's. Also Mitsubishi VFD, Baldor and some other components that all of them I know what they do but not so sure sometimes of how they do. My plans are, and here is where I need as your advice, that I don't want to look for a job at another company but like to dedicate to my own business. I have had for the past 3 years a small computer business, aside from my main job at the plant, and want to expand that to offer industrial services like PLC trainings, integration and the alike. I know what my current suppliers charge me for all products and services I buy (like the DirectConnect 8-5 technical support from Allen-Bradley) so I have like an idea of how the market pricing is for sensors, plc's, vfd's, servos's, etc. My weakness is that I need more knowledge and don't have too much time to do it. What do you recommend as an approach I need to take to accomplish this?, What courses or trainings?, What hands-on training?. Please give me all your thoughts, I assure you all of them will help me. Could you give me ideas of how and what I need to assemble a training station for me at home. I am currently compiling a list of potential customers from those I have known during this years and I am preparing a 1-page brochure and plan to visit all of them in person. Also, I have bought a couple of PLC's from Automation Direct and their DirectSOFT32 to assemble myself a training station for me to practice at home ( I choose them becuase I see more value for the price they charge and becuase I think their software appears to be more easy to understand, later I plan to do the same for practice with A-B in case some customers demand it). You may laugh at this, but maybe I need the traffic light kit to practice myself. If you have it or knowe someone who does please let me know that also, please. Do you think that for me to go with Automation Direct is a good choice? Sorry for the long post but I really need to know from those of you with more knowledge and expereince than me. Excuse also my English, it is not my first langauge. Hope you got my points. Thanks for your attention and please keep posting here so that me and maybe others in a similar situation can learn more. Take care.

[TimWilborne]

See the replies in the post "How to get started in PLC programming" below this post

[Steve Bailey]

If you expect to be taken seriously as a systems integrator in the USA or Canada you will need to at least get familiar with Allen Bradley and Siemens. That being said, neither of them are the least expensive choice to get some hands-on PLC experience. Since you already have a PLC from Automation Direct and the software to program it, take a look at this thread: http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?showtopic=5855 In addition to hands-on experience programming PLCs, you should also get experience with pneumatic and hydraulic components and systems, variable speed drives, motion control systems, mechanical limit switches, proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, ultrasonic and laser distance measuring products, pressure and flow sensors, encoders, resolvers, and any other types of automation components that your potential customers might be using. Get a copy of the book by Hugh Jack. http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?&act=Down...&CODE=02&id=156 It has a wealth of information on the components you'll be using.

[proserv]

Thanks to both of you. Mr. Bailey, thanks for the advice, I took note of all the topics you recommended. Regarding A-B, as I said in my original post, I am familar with them, but intend to get more involved and know more of their programming.

[Chris Elston]

Here is my 2 cents about the business end: http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?showtopic=1258

[gravitar]

Are you in the Detroit area by chance? If so, I can take you through some plants, show you some panels, and even have you help out with some panel builds/upgrades if you'd like. I can give your name to several integrators in town for you to work with. IMHO, you shouldn't do this alone. Like you said, you have several years of managerial experience. You surely have automotive contacts. You must have good diplomatic, financial, and people skills to survive in an auto plant. (ask me how I know this :) What I'm getting at is maybe you should be predominantly the sales/customer service/bookkeeping half of a SI business. Sounds like the skills you have right now would be best used out in front of a customer. Your background would give your company a very high level of credibility. Conversely, and again this is just my humble opinion, not a put-down of any sort.. if you're asking about doing a traffic light project, you are not today where you need to be in order to go off ON YOUR OWN, as a machine designer. Assuming your aptitude is roughly equal to ours, it'll be at least a few years before you'll be able to prosper at this. If you're serious about this, I would say your best bet would be to bite your tongue and go work at a panel shop for a while, or (maybe better) partner with someone that has a good controls background but maybe doesn't have the interpersonal skills to market his talent. I think you'll find that there's more of them looking for you than people like you looking for them! As an aside.. One of the smartest machine builders I ever met was an old guy named Robert. To look at him, you'd think he was a vagrant off the street. His grooming skills were EXTREMELY poor, he was constantly filthy, and his smell was not of this earth. Even his tools stunk! Flies would leave fresh feces to follow him. Also we were working at a screw machine shop and the running joke was he was stealing cutting oil and selling it after work by wringing out his clothes :) But anyway, turns out this guy was SMART. He "came with" some machinery that my boss bought from a bankrupt company, and I wasn't familiar with it. I asked him if he knew how the clutch head in the motors worked, and before I knew it I had a sketch in my hands that would make DaVinci jealous! you could give him an unmachined part and a pile of surplus machinery, and in a few hours he would have a machine layout for you that few design houses could rival. It even turns out that he was the patentholder for quite a few mechanisms that he designed. Well to make a long story short, this guy could never seem to hold down more than a $10/hr job.. Even those, he had trouble holding on to. Maybe it was for the reasons given above, maybe it was for his temperment and vile language. But anyway, the reason I bring this up is someone like you and someone with his skills would make a winning combination. You could start bidding on jobs immediately, and learn the technical skills from him along the way.

[Guest Guest_proserv]

Gravitar, thanks for the advice. You have given me another point of view for my business initiative. This forum really works. As for me, thanks for the offering to me to get more of the hands-on experience needed. I am not from the Detroit area but very very familiar with the area as I currently work for a Tier 1 Automotive supplier and before business started to go down used to travel there 2-3 times a year. I am really interested in your offer. Can it be for early next year as for the remaining portion of 2005 I already have other plans to accomplish regarding this? Maybe we can agree on some dates later before the end of this year. If possible like to be there maybe 2-3 weeks and I offer to help in anything possible as a training for me. I can travel there, I'm most familiar with Dearborn area and the longest distance I have been is Jackson, MI once but most of my visits there have been to Sterling Heights, Plymouth, and the Rouge plant area. Again, thanks for the advice to you and all other person who have helped me here with information.