Industrial Automation from Scratch: A hands-on guide to using sensors, actuators, PLCs, HMIs, and SCADA to automate industrial processes

As an Automation Technician with two years of hands-on experience with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), I’ve encountered my fair share of challenges and unanswered questions. It’s not every day that I come across a resource capable of not only addressing these questions but also enhancing my understanding of complex concepts in the field. This book is a rare find that has significantly broadened my knowledge and clarified numerous aspects of PLCs that were previously murky to me. The author’s approach to teaching is particularly noteworthy. The book methodically guides readers through the intricacies of PLCs by first laying down the foundational concepts, then reinforcing these with detailed schematics, diagrams, and photographs of actual components. This visual supplement to the theoretical explanations is invaluable, making it significantly easier to grasp how various parts connect and function in real-world applications. What sets this book apart is its ability to make sophisticated topics accessible and engaging. Whether you’re a novice just starting out in automation or, like me, a technician looking to deepen your expertise, this guide offers a wealth of knowledge presented in a clear and practical manner. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone involved in or interested in the field of automation and PLCs. It’s a comprehensive resource that goes beyond the basics, providing insights and strategies that are sure to benefit its readers profoundly.

If you are an automation engineer, a mechatronics engineer, an electrical engineer, or if you may be a self taught controls engineer, I HIGHLY suggest you buy this book. I have ammassed a rather large colletion of automation, maintenance , and PLC programming books, and I will say this is probably the mopst valuable on I have in my collection. This is not a book for beginners or experts, this is a traverse through the automation process, in detail, with easily digestable information and instructions, as well as the functions of components in the automation and controls engineering world. If you have the proper pre-requisites, I am confident that if you read this book and go along with the exercises, you will be able to hit the ground running as a well versed entry level programmer. If you already are a programmer, this is probably the best refresher for a whole that I have came across yet. This book like I said, is a journey through the automatiuon engineering process. It even has detailed information on wiring, panel design and construction. VERY MUCH WORTH THE MONEY! Super satisfied with this purchase!

This book introduces a broad array of relevant material for anyone considering or entering industrial automation. From wiring examples for select devices, through classes of devices, to industrial protocols, there is much here. An electrical engineer shifting to industrial automation, I find this to be a good reference and introduction to specific subjects to pursue elsewhere. My two disappointments: First, many pages are filled with screenshots, often of low, even illegible, resolution; e.g., TIA Portal and WinCC screenshots in chapters 9 and 10. I did not register my purchase of this book with Packt.com to access the PDF version, which might have better resolution graphics. Second, while the concepts are surely similar across PLC vendors' products, the book's description should have noted the Siemens focus; e.g., chapters 8-11, about a quarter of the book, are largely about and screenshots from Siemens PLCs. Many hands-on examples typically reference Siemens' hardware and software.

This is both good for beginners and non-beginners. It contains lots of technical information that allow both experts and amateurs to learn something new.

Very good read especially as a refresher but I think it would be good for some just getting into the field as well

Great information live this author

Just a well-written, comprehensive must have book for any automation engineer or technician!

The content of this book is very useful and easy to understand. However I have a big complain regarding the very low quality of the images. It is not acceptable how nobody noticed the very low quality of the images used. Even simple screen captures are totally unreadable. It looks like someone captured those images in 400x400 pixels and then they enlarged the pictures to include them in the book.