Automation technology and Industry 4.0 with PLC, EPLAN, C#/C++

The course covers programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the TIA Portal. Example projects are created, from device configuration to diagnostic options. You will also learn how artificial intelligence (AI) is used in your profession and how EPLAN is applied. The course also teaches object-oriented programming with C# and C++. Finally, the course introduces you to the key concepts of Industry 4.0 and also covers the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital transformation in companies.
  • Certificates: Certificate "PLC: Working with Simatic S7 in the TIA Portal"
    Certificate "Electrical planning with EPLAN"
    C# Developer" certificate
    Certificate "C++/Qt Developer"
    "Industry 4.0 Transformation Expert with TÜV Rheinland-certified qualification" certificate
  • Examination: Praxisbezogene Projektarbeiten mit Abschlusspräsentationen
    Industrie 4.0 Transformation Expert mit TÜV Rheinland geprüfter Qualifikation
  • Teaching Times: Full-time
    Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. (in weeks with public holidays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:10 p.m.)
  • Language of Instruction: German
  • Duration: 32 Weeks

PLC: Working with Simatic S7 in the TIA Portal

System overview (approx. 2 days)

Course objective, course sequence, teaching concept

Key features of the SIMATIC S7 system family

Components of the TIA portal, STEP 7


Hardware (approx. 2 days)

Design and assembly of the automation system

Display and operating elements of the SIMATIC CPU

Addressing and wiring the signal modules

Device configuration in the TIA Portal


Artificial intelligence (AI) in the work process

Presentation of specific AI technologies

and possible applications in the professional environment


Program (approx. 14 days)

Program processing by the control system

Program test with PLCSIM

Binary operations in FBD LAD IL

Time steps, counters, comparators, accumulator operations

Use of the various block types (OB, FC, FB, DB), program structuring

Data management with data blocks

FB as multi-instance

IEC-compliant blocks

Explanation and use of various organizational blocks

Program language SCL


Project handling (approx. 2 days)

Archiving and migrating projects

Using reference projects

Working with libraries

Converting S7-300 projects to the S7-1500 system


Step chain programming (approx. 5 days)

Step chain representation according to DIN 60848 (Graphcet)

Step chains in FBD and SCL

Introduction to sequence control with S7-Graph

Working with S7-Graph


Commissioning and diagnostics/working with the hardware (approx. 5 days)

Establishing a connection to a real CPU

Test tools for system information, troubleshooting and diagnostics

Recognizing and rectifying basic hardware faults

Hardware diagnostic functions of the TIA portal

Software diagnostic functions of the TIA portal

Commissioning a TIA system with software troubleshooting and fault rectification


Analog values (approx. 2 days)

Principle of analog value processing in the SIMATIC S7

Configuring the connection of analog sensors

Evaluating analog measured values in STEP 7

Output of analog values


Updating and documenting projects (approx. 1 day)

Save and document program changes made

TIA Portal tools for documentation


Project work (approx. 5 days)

To consolidate the content learned

Presentation of the project results

Electrical planning with EPLAN

EPLAN Basics (approx. 1 day)

Setting up the user interface

Create and manage projects

Define project and user settings

Backing up and restoring projects


Artificial intelligence (AI) in the work process

Presentation of specific AI technologies

and possible applications in the professional environment


Graphic editing (approx. 8 days)

Create project pages, edit page properties

Creating circuit diagrams, symbol and device-oriented

Using symbols and macros

Creating and dimensioning overview drawings

Using navigators when working with circuit diagrams


Managing EPLAN (approx. 6 days)

Creating and managing symbols and macros

Editing and creating standard sheets and forms

Creating devices and customers in the database


Evaluating circuit diagrams (approx. 3 days)

Creating terminal and cable diagrams

Automatically output parts lists and legends

Create cover sheets and integrate graphics


Project work (approx. 2 days)

To consolidate the content learned

Presentation of the project results

C# Developer

General basics (approx. 1 day)

Microsoft Visual C# development environment

Architecture of the Microsoft .NET framework and the .NET framework class library

Common Language Runtime (CLR) and garbage collection

C# as a strictly object-oriented programming language

Program structure (data (types) and instructions) and namespaces

Program start (program class with main() routine)

Step-by-step creation of console-based programs

Input/output with the Console class


Basic language concepts (approx. 6 days)

Elementary and composite data types, enumeration types, type conversion

Variables (declaration, initialization, scopes)

Operators (arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise)

Program control (branches, loops)

arrays

methods

Character strings and their processing


Artificial intelligence (AI) in the work process

Presentation of specific AI technologies

and possible applications in the professional environment


Object-oriented programming (approx. 8 days)

Basic concepts of object-oriented thinking

Classes as abstractions of concrete objects, encapsulation principle

Structure and elements of classes

Step-by-step creation of own classes

Instantiation and use of objects

Properties, delegates and events

Reference and value types (class vs. struct), boxing

Overloading methods/operators

Inheritance and polymorphism

Overwriting methods, virtual methods and dynamic binding

Abstract classes and interfaces


Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) (approx. 10 days)

Step-by-step creation of Windows Forms and WPF applications

Interface design via Designer and C# code (Windows Forms)

Interface design via Designer and eXtensible Application Markup Language XAML (WPF)

Event-based program flow (events and event handlers)

Use of control elements (for design and runtime)

Processing graphical elements and images

User-defined controls (user controls)


Further topics (approx. 5 days)

Error handling (exceptions) and debugging techniques

Polymorphic and generic containers in .NET

Iterators (interface IEnumerable and 'foreach' loop)

File access

Class libraries (Dynamic Link Libraries DLLs)

Database access (ADO.NET)

Generic programming (Reflection)

Multithreading

LINQ (Language INtegrated Query)


Project work (approx. 10 days)

To consolidate the content learned

Presentation of the project results

C++/Qt developer

Basic language concepts (approx. 5 days)

Elementary and composite data types, enumeration types, type conversion

Variables (declaration, initialization, scopes)

Operators (arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise)

Program control (allocations, loops)

Functions


General basics (approx. 4 days)

Basic understanding of IDEs, compilers, linkers

What is and is not possible with C++

Variables

Literals/constants/variables

Operators/binding strength/L+R values

Loops (for, while)

Branches (if, switch)

Streams (console/file input/output)

A container from the standard library

Structure and compilation of programs

Classes and methods (constructors, destructors)

Functions (passing arguments)

Function overloading (same function names for similar tasks)

Default arguments

Inline expansion for functions

Object libraries: IOStream

Input (streams)

Output (streams)


Artificial intelligence (AI) in the work process

Presentation of specific AI technologies

and possible applications in the professional environment


Language concepts in the C++ standard (ISO/IEC 14882) (approx. 3 days)

Arrays and (dynamic) memory structures, iterators

Pointer (arithmetic), references, function pointers

Character strings and their processing


Object-oriented programming (approx. 8 days)

Basic concepts of object-oriented thinking

Class diagrams, classes as abstractions of concrete objects, encapsulation principle

Structure and elements of classes

Step-by-step creation of own classes

Instantiation and use of objects

Overloading methods/operators

Templates (class and function templates)

Inheritance and polymorphism

Overwriting methods, virtual methods and dynamic binding

Abstract classes


Qt basics (approx. 3 days)

Library modules and Qt tools

Development: Qt Creator IDE, Qt Assistant, Qt Designer, Qt Linguist, Qt Confiq

Multilingualism and localization

Unicode support and codes


Signal slot concept (approx. 1 day)

Connecting signals with slots

Implementing signals and slots

AutoConnection, DirectConnection,

QueuedConnection


Objects in Qt (approx. 3 days)

Object management trees

Window programming

Layout management

Meta-Object System

Memory Management

Event Handling


GUI techniques (approx. 4 days)

QWidget class and nesting

GUI programming with QtDesigner

Qt Quick and QML (Qt Meta-Object Language)

QPainter, variants of data drawing,

2D transformations

Status bar, toolbar, dockbar

Dialog variants and simple input widgets

Scroll and splitter widgets

Drag & drop support


Supporting techniques (approx. 2 days)

Printing under Qt

Qt container classes and iteration forms

SQL accesses and SQL models

Inter-thread communication and synchronization


Multimedia (approx. 2 days)

Application Navigation

Life-Cycle

Native API Access

Localization and positioning


Project work (approx. 5 days)

To consolidate the content learned

Presentation of the project results

Industry 4.0 Transformation Expert with TÜV Rheinland-certified qualification

Industry 4.0 basics (approx. 2 days)

4th industrial revolution - development stages in brief

Definitions and technical terms

Factors for the digital transformation

Agile systems and processes


Key technologies of Industry 4.0 (approx. 3 days)

Overview of Big Data

Social media basics and functional knowledge

Understanding transmitter-receiver systems: RFID, NFC

Explanation of machine applications: Bots, crawlers, blockchain, AI (from machine learning to generative AI and LLM)

Areas of application and limits of additive manufacturing and 3D printing

Assistance systems: small helpers with a big impact

Cloud computing: infrastructure and service in data storage

Augmented and virtual reality: augmented realities and their potential applications

M2M communication: automatic data exchange between technical systems


Artificial intelligence (AI) in the work process

Presentation of specific AI technologies

and possible applications in the professional environment


Internet of Things and Services (approx. 3 days)

Technical challenges and big data (IoT/IoS/IoE/AIoT)

The economic power of the IoT/IoS

Data protection and data security in the IoT

Smart services: Development of data-based, digital services


Digital transformation (approx. 4 days)

Horizontal and vertical integration: networking of departments, divisions and companies

Phase plan and implementation

Change and innovation management

Effects of new business models

Digital leadership: from lean to smart in production

Performance controlling with key figures, key figure systems and business intelligence

Effects on logistics

Industry 4.0-ready maintenance


Effects on organization and employees (approx. 2 days)

The new role of employees in the digital factory of the future

The human factor in Industry 4.0

Employees' willingness to change

Cybercrime and the human factor


Legal framework (approx. 3 days)

IT and data protection law: avoiding legal pitfalls, BDSG and GDPR

IT Security Act 2.0: KRITIS, reporting obligations

EUAI Act: EU law on the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI)

Product liability law: who is liable for what damage in a networked world

IP law and data sovereignty: the importance of industrial property rights

Labor law: Legal regulations for the special protection of employees

Implementation status of Industry 4.0 in Germany


Project work, certification preparation and certification exam "Industry 4.0 Transformation Expert with TÜV Rheinland certified qualification" (approx. 3 days)



Changes are possible. The course content is updated regularly.

After this course, you will understand the interaction of the TIA components. You will be able to modify and adapt existing STEP 7 programs and systematically diagnose and rectify hardware and software faults in a simple TIA system.

You will also learn how to use the new EPLAN drawing environment. This includes the drawing of circuit diagrams in the areas of device, machine, plant and building technology. After the course, you will also be able to evaluate these plans and document electrical systems and devices.

You will also learn how to work confidently with the object-oriented programming language C#.

You are also proficient in programming with C ++, one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.

You will also be familiar with the technical terms and processes associated with the digital revolution and have knowledge of how to introduce and support digital transformation in a company.

People with a degree in engineering, electrical engineers, automation specialists, mechatronics engineers, technicians, master craftsmen and specialists with relevant professional experience.

Specialists in the field of automation technology and electrical planning are in demand in many technical sectors. Their field of activity includes, for example, the planning, installation and commissioning of technical systems, the programming of machine control systems, as well as project management and customer service.

C# is used to create innovative web and business applications. A professional approach to C# when programming in Microsoft environments is becoming increasingly commonplace.

Programmers with knowledge of C++ can also be employed in both system and application programming. Typical fields of application in system programming are operating systems, embedded systems, virtual machines, drivers and signal processors.

In addition, specialists in the field of Industry 4.0 will not only find employment in large industrial companies, but also in smaller and medium-sized companies. After the course, you can provide meaningful proof of your new skills with a TÜV Rheinland-certified qualification.

Didactic concept

Your lecturers are highly qualified both professionally and didactically and will teach you from the first to the last day (no self-study system).

You will learn in effective small groups. The courses usually consist of 6 to 25 participants. The general lessons are supplemented by numerous practical exercises in all course modules. The practice phase is an important part of the course, as it is during this time that you process what you have just learned and gain confidence and routine in its application. The final section of the course involves a project, a case study or a final exam.

 

Virtual classroom alfaview®

Lessons take place using modern alfaview® video technology - either from the comfort of your own home or at our premises at Bildungszentrum. The entire course can see each other face-to-face via alfaview®, communicate with each other in lip-sync voice quality and work on joint projects. Of course, you can also see and talk to your connected trainers live at any time and you will be taught by your lecturers in real time for the entire duration of the course. The lessons are not e-learning, but real live face-to-face lessons via video technology.

 

The courses at alfatraining are funded by Agentur für Arbeit and are certified in accordance with the AZAV approval regulation. When submitting a Bildungsgutscheinor Aktivierungs- und Vermittlungsgutschein, the entire course costs are usually covered by your funding body.
Funding is also possible via Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF), Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV) or regional funding programs. As a regular soldier, you have the option of attending further training courses via Berufsförderungsdienst (BFD). Companies can also have their employees qualified via funding from Agentur für Arbeit (Qualifizierungschancengesetz).

We will gladly advise you free of charge. 0800 3456-500 Mon. - Fri. from 8 am to 5 pm
free of charge from all German networks.
Contact
We will gladly advise you free of charge. 0800 3456-500 Mon. - Fri. from 8 am to 5 pm free of charge from all German networks.