Company
Praxous is a technology company building tools for students, hobbyists, and makers. The industrial control world runs on software priced for factories, which puts it out of reach of the people most eager to learn it. We build the affordable alternative — real tools, on hardware you can already afford, teaching what the field actually uses. LadderIDE is our first.
My journey into electronics started in a manufacturing plant where I was hired as a setup operator. I immediately became fascinated by the machines and would spend hours studying them. Every day I would open a new electrical cabinet and take photos of the components. When I got back home I would google their part numbers and manufacturers’ brand names to find out what these components were for and how they operated. Eventually I could point out a drive, a PLC, or a power supply. When I learned that the behavior of the machine was controlled by a program that could be edited and viewed by a special piece of software, I decided then that I needed to purchase that software. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to learn how to build and program these machines! My enthusiasm was soaring but when I realized how much money I was going to need to spend on controllers and software, it was like a punch to the gut. In my research, I found Arduino. Maybe I can’t afford Studio 5000 and learn ladder logic but I can afford an Arduino UNO and learn C.
For two years I spent all my free time learning not only how to code but also how to build circuits and control systems. One of my favorite projects was a pneumatic can crusher. I used a couple relay modules, an I2C controlled LCD screen with push buttons, an Arduino UNO, and a valve controlling a cylinder. The project forced me to learn about serial bus communications, switch-case programming, and Boolean logic. It was one of my first projects but this is the one where I had that aha moment. I remember seeing the “Can Crusher 2000” string run across the LCD screen and thinking how cool it was.
This experience led me to land a new position at the plant as an Electronic Technician. During the interview I was able to speak about these projects, explaining the circuitry, the components, and the programming. I could demonstrate knowledge about control systems because I had been building them at home.
I found while working in this position that even though many aspects of the Arduino world applied to my new job, others did not. PLC programming is primarily written in ladder logic. Diagnosis is baked into the visual-based style while with C, a programmer needs to set traps and write messages to the terminal to understand what is or is not happening. Writing functions in ladder correctly requires experience in using the language. Reading ladder logic accurately requires experience with reading programs while online with the machine. Arduino helped me build the framework of machine control but I needed actual experience with ladder logic to put the pieces together. I can’t help but think about how much further along I would’ve been if I had an affordable alternative to learn with that was based on what is actually used in the field.
Today, I am an engineer and I got to where I am in large part because of Arduino. This is the inspiration that led me to start Praxous. I want to build tools for students, hobbyists, and makers but build them the way I wish they existed when I was first trying to learn. LadderIDE is my first. It’s exactly the piece of software that I was looking for all those years ago.