Tell me what I'm looking for.....

[PhyrraM]

Ok, after that rather cryptic subject line I have what amounts to a simple question.

I run a maintence shop for a plant that makes cardboard boxes. I am in need of a rather specialized employee, but I do not know what the "title" is to start my search. I'm hoping that some of the electronics/computer guys can help me out.

We have a highly automated press that is about 3 years old. It's a combination of traditional PC based software that inrfaces with PLC netoworks and servomotor drives. It also has alot of traditional motor controls and encoders and such. The problem is that the machine manufacturer has gone bankrupt and the company that bought the rights to the machine AND software is under no obligation to support our machine.

I am left in the unenviable position of having to keep this machine running without factory support. While it's currently running OK, I need to find someone who can reverse engineer the hardware and software BEFORE it breaks down. Sort of like what Rob, Revtronix and ECU Flash guys do with ECUs- I need done to this machines systems.

My question is what type of person am I looking for? Software Engineer? Integrated Systems Guy? I've always just hired "mechanics". Even my HR guy has never looked for somebod with these types of qualifications.


P.S. When the company went bankrupt, we tried to hire the guy that originally programmed the press but he had no desire to move away from Germany.

[evolutionmovement]

What about replacing the controls with a new one? If you can get the motor parameters, you should be able to program a new PLC to run it. You might have to go to the motor manufacturer to get them. I used to do a little of that in process engineering (setting up am X and Y axis on a solder station that only had Z with spare parts from dead screen printers), but I did a lot of things I wasn't actually hired to do, so I'm not sure how much that actually falls under the title. In fact, they kept arbitrarily changing my title since I don't think they knew what to call me either (though plenty of other people have little trouble with that). I don't really know if replacing the control would be cheaper or not, but it's another option I'll throw out there in case you haven't thought of it.

What about something like, "industrial machine programmer"?

[93forestpearl]

Manufacturing engineers have typically worked with PLC's, but and entry level person is probably too much of a learning curve for you.

Someone with a heavy does in PLC's and is capable of running other software/firmware systems might help you out.

[PhyrraM]

It wierd, I'll know the right person when I interview them-I just don't know where to look.

It's a bit more intergrated than just PLCs and drives. Those can be replaced by thier respective manufactures, they can even lift the programming out of the old ones to drop into new ones- The machine as a whole doesn't even realize it's got a new drive installed. The main problem is the proprietary boards and software that keeps all the "sourced" stuff talking to each other.

The machine has had a tendacy to lose all it's programmable variables occasionally. The usual procedure is to call the manufacture of the machine (not the drives and PLCs). The come out with "special" laptops and passwords and reenter the variables. They have the rights to the software and passwords so we are powerless. Then they decide to go belly-up and company that bought the rights basically says "F.U.- your little potatoes". Funny..how does a 12 million dollar machine become "small potatoes".

I want to approach it from the software side. Reverse engineer the hardware, then the software. Figure out what it does, then build our own "special" laptops and eradicate stupid passwords. I know it can be done, but my personal skill-set is a bit shy of those goals, and I've got way too much other stuff on my plate to be able to dedicate the time to learn it myself. Besides, I don't learn as well as I used too. Getting old....uggg.

[fishbone79]

Have you considered buying the code and expertise off the German dude who originally programmed the machine (rather than hiring him as a consultant)? I had a very similar problem with a 1980's GVI mass spectrometer here at work. GVI became GV, then VG, and was eventually absorbed into Thermo who did not give a rat fuck about older GVI instruments (which were actually of much higher quality).

I ended up locating the design/programming engineer (now working for Finnegan Mass Specs) and tried hiring him to reprogram the machine... He was reluctant, so we basically convinced the university that we needed to outright buy what was stored in his brain. However, once we finally had him willing to work with us, the university discovered that Finnegan essentially owned this guy's brain and we weren't allowed to peruse it's contents for purchase without jeopardizing his job...

Long story short, we finally ended up hiring a PLC Programmer/Automation Controls Engineer as a consultant (basically an electrical engineer who knows machine language and C, e.g., a more sophisticated version of this guy). It was the far more expensive option, but once we got him onsite he was done in 2 months or so.

However, mass specs are pretty simple to control - basically just valves, vacuum gages and high-voltage controllers in a series of if/then routines. Your needs might require someone more sophisticated.

[93forestpearl]

^ This is what I was trying to get at. Someone who knows how to program and maintain the PLC/automation software without needing to depend on the supplier.

[magicmike]

Let me chime in. You really need a controls engineer, a mechanical engineer, an electrician and a mechanical assembler to accomplish the overall goal that you seek. I've worked as a field service engineer in the past and I fit that description pretty well. The "Field" part of a field service engineer implies traveling. You might want to look for a "Service engineer" or maybe find a really good mechanical guy who has some controls experience.

When it comes down to it it doesn't really matter what you put in the title for the position. Just make sure the description is what you are looking for. Also, its important to specify what controls are being used i.e Allen Bradley, Siemens, etc.

You could start by looking for someone who has experience with that tool specifically, put an ad out for a "press's name here" Tech to support the equipment. From there you can see who applies and they might even have all the controls knowledge you are seeking.