Q&A Week — May 25, 2026

Another pull from r/PLC — six threads that capture what the work actually looks like, from legacy retrofits to the long climb up the controls learning curve.

In this Q&A week

1. The interview-worthy home lab — what a portfolio project should actually demonstrate, and what hiring managers really look at.
2. PLC-5 running a lumber mill, before & after — modernizing legacy Rockwell without taking down production.
3. Rewiring a 1991 robotic arm — the realities of bringing decades-old hardware back to life.
4. "The more I learn, the less I know" — why two years in feels harder than day one, and why that's the right trajectory.
5. When troubleshooting becomes an art — the line between following the manual and reading the machine.
6. The most important skills, in order — a grounded ranking of what to build first.

Full threads are linked in the show notes below.