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Learn automation, free
Honest guides to free PLC training, free courses with certificate, AI for engineers, simulators and careers, written by our engineering team and checked against the sources.
Career
2.3 Million Technician Openings: Deloitte-MI Study on AI and Skills
A September 2026 study from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute says technician jobs could grow six times faster than production jobs, with 2.3 million openings to fill. What the numbers mean, which adjacent roles transfer, and a free eight-week bridge plan.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Free Training Video
4-20 mA Current Loop Explained: Wiring, Loop Power and Faults (Video)
How a 4-20 mA loop works, with Precision Digital's free webinar: why the zero is 4 mA, 2-wire and 4-wire transmitters, how much voltage a loop needs, the NAMUR NE 43 fault currents and how to check a loop.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
Contactor vs Relay: Differences, Ratings and When to Use Each
What really separates a contactor from a relay: load ratings and arc handling, IEC utilisation categories AC-1, AC-3 and AC-4, interposing relays on PLC outputs, overload relays, safety relays and solid-state relays, with Tim Wilborne's teardown video.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Free Training
Free IEC 62443 Training: OT Security Courses That Cost Nothing
What is genuinely free for learning ISA/IEC 62443 and OT security, what ISA's paid certificates add, the parts to learn first, and a six-week free route.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career Video
How to Become a Commissioning Engineer in Automation: Skills, Site Work and a First-Year Plan
What commissioning engineers actually do on site, how FAT, SAT and loop checks fit together, the skills and tickets employers ask for, and a realistic 12-month plan to get there.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career
How to Become a SCADA Engineer: Skills, Tools and a Free Path
What SCADA engineers do in water, power, oil and gas and pharma, the five skill blocks employers ask for, a free 16-week route, portfolio projects and the usual ways in.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
How to Read a P&ID: Tags, Bubbles and Signal Lines Explained
A P&ID looks dense until you know the order to read it in. Legend first, process line second, then the instrument tags, bubbles and signal lines, with a worked level-control loop.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Industry
IMTS 2026 Highlights: Automation, AI and Robotic Machining Trends
IMTS 2026 drew 91,295 registrants to Chicago. The final numbers, the order data behind the mood, what FANUC, Okuma and Intrinsic showed, and which skills the automation on the floor actually needs.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI
Intrinsic Open-Sources Intrinsic Core at ROSCon 2026: What It Means
Intrinsic, now part of Google, has released Intrinsic Core under Apache 2.0, plus an open CNC machine-tending reference design for FANUC and Universal Robots. What is in it, how it relates to ROS 2 and MoveIt, and how to learn the skills.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Free Training
IP Rating Chart: IP65 vs IP67 vs IP69K and NEMA Equivalents
A clean IP rating chart for both digits, why IP67 is not automatically better than IP65 or IP66, what IP69K adds for washdown, and how IP codes line up with NEMA enclosure types.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Industry
Iran-Linked PLC Attacks in 2026: CISA's Warning and a UK Power Plant Outage
US agencies attribute a campaign against internet-exposed PLCs to Iranian-affiliated actors, and in July a small UK generator was knocked offline. What is confirmed, which controllers are targeted, and a self-check any PLC engineer can run.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Digital AI Video
MQTT Sparkplug B Explained: Topics, Birth/Death and UNS (Video)
What Sparkplug B adds to plain MQTT: a fixed topic namespace, birth and death certificates, a Protobuf payload and a primary host. Plus how it fits a unified namespace and when you still want OPC UA.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
NPN vs PNP Sensors: Sinking and Sourcing PLC Inputs Explained
PNP sources current, NPN sinks it, and the PLC input has to be the opposite. The wiring for both, the naming trap between vendors, 2-wire leakage and a fault-finding checklist.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Industry
PACK EXPO International 2026: Automation to Watch (Oct 18-21)
PACK EXPO International 2026 opens in Chicago on 18 October with more than 2,600 exhibitors. The show facts, the controls technology behind the booth headlines, what to ask exhibitors, and how to learn each skill free.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Free Training Video
PLC Counters CTU, CTD and CTUD Explained With a Video Demo
How CTU, CTD and CTUD counters work, how the same box-counting job looks in IEC 61131-3, Rockwell Logix and Siemens TIA Portal, and when a normal counter is too slow and you need a high-speed counter.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Career
PLC Programmer Salary by Country (2026): A Free Salary Estimator
What PLC programmers and controls engineers earn in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and the UAE, each figure with its source and date, plus what actually moves pay.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training
PROFINET vs EtherNet/IP: Differences, Speed and Which to Learn
A fair comparison of PROFINET and EtherNet/IP: how each moves I/O data, real-time and motion options, ring redundancy, device files and addressing, 2026 market share, and which one to learn first for the jobs near you.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI
Qualcomm to Buy PickNik: What Happens to MoveIt and ROS 2 Users
Qualcomm has agreed to buy PickNik, the company that maintains MoveIt. MoveIt 1 and 2 stay open source and hardware-neutral; MoveIt Pro moves closer to Qualcomm Dragonwing. What the deal says, what it does not, and what MoveIt users should do.
5 Oct 2026 · 8 min
Career
Remote PLC Programming Jobs: Where They Exist and How to Land One
Most remote controls work is hybrid: design, code and virtual commissioning from home, start-up on site. Which tasks travel, which employers hire remotely, what to show them, and how to filter the job board.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Free Training Video
RS-485 Wiring Explained: Termination, Biasing and Daisy Chains (Video)
How to wire an RS-485 bus that works first time, with RealPars' short video: daisy-chain topology, termination at both ends, biasing at one point, the A/B naming problem, cable length and a checklist for a silent Modbus RTU bus.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Industry
Schneider Electric to Buy PTC for US$22.6 Billion: What It Means for Engineers
Schneider Electric is buying PTC, the maker of Creo, Windchill and Onshape, for about US$22.6 billion. The deal terms, how it fits with AVEVA and Cognite, and what it means for CAD, PLM and automation engineers.
5 Oct 2026 · 8 min
Free Training
Soft Starter vs VFD: Which Motor Starter Fits Your Application?
A soft starter softens the start and stop; a VFD controls motor speed all the time. Starting current, torque, energy, harmonics, size and cost compared, with a pump energy example and a decision guide.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
Star-Delta Starter Explained: Power Circuit, Control Circuit and Timer Setting (Video)
How a star-delta (wye-delta) starter works, with Jim Pytel's free lecture: the three contactors, the six motor leads, the timer and interlocks, the overload setting, and when to use a soft starter or VFD instead.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
Structured Text Programming Tutorial: IF, CASE, Timers (Video)
A practical structured text tutorial with Tohid Alizadeh's free CODESYS lessons: the syntax, a ladder-to-ST translation table, five worked examples, and how Siemens SCL and Rockwell ST differ.
5 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Physical AI Video
Universal Robots Pick and Place Program in PolyScope (Video)
A first Universal Robots program, step by step: the approach, grip and retract waypoint pattern, gripper I/O, subprograms you can reuse, and how to practise in the free URSim simulator. With Ray Fulks's video walkthrough.
5 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
AI Copilots for PLC Programming in 2026: Siemens, Rockwell, CODESYS and Beckhoff
Every major PLC platform now has an AI assistant. Here is what each one can generate, where they fall short, and a step-by-step way to verify AI-written ladder and Structured Text.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career
ATS-Friendly CV for Automation, PLC and Controls Engineers: Keywords, Bullets and Mistakes
How applicant tracking systems read a controls CV, where the platform and protocol keywords go, how to write bullets with real numbers, and what the free EDWartens checkers can and cannot tell you.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Industry Video
Cyber Resilience Act Reporting Obligations: What Machine Builders and OEMs Must Do Now
Since 11 September 2026, makers of connected products sold in the EU must report exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents within 24 hours. What that means for PLC, HMI, IIoT and machine makers.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Digital AI
EU AI Act After the Digital Omnibus: New Deadlines for Industrial AI
The Digital Omnibus on AI delayed the AI Act's high-risk rules and moved machinery to its own regime. Here are the new dates and what they mean for vision inspection, predictive maintenance and AI safety functions.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
Free Engineering Calculators Online: 4-20 mA Scaling, Motor and VFD, PID Tuning
Three calculators automation engineers reach for every week, with the exact formulas behind them, worked examples you can check by hand and the cases where a calculator will mislead you.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training
Free Learning Paths to a Controls, Automation or Industrial AI Role: Plan a Self-Taught Route
How to plan a self-taught route into controls, SCADA or industrial AI work, using the real EDWartens learning paths, their course counts and study hours, and what joining a path does.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training
How to Actually Finish a Free Online Engineering Course
Only about 3% of MOOC participants finished their courses in a large MIT and Harvard study. Here is a study system built on the research that works, and how EDWartens supports it.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Career
How to Build an Engineering Portfolio From Course Projects (Automation and Controls)
Certificates say you finished; a portfolio shows you can do the work. What to put in an automation portfolio, how to publish it, and how the EDWartens course projects and document packs fit in.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career
How to Verify an Engineering Training Certificate (and Spot a Fake)
A certificate is only worth what you can confirm. A practical guide for employers: what to check, where vendor credentials can be verified, the signs of a fake and how EDWartens certificates are checked.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Humanoid Robots in Factories in 2026: Real Deployments vs Hype
Humanoids are moving totes and loading parts in a handful of real plants. Here is what each deployment achieved, where the hype runs ahead of the numbers, and the skills that matter.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Industry Video
IFR World Robotics 2026: 5 Million Robots and What It Means for Engineers
The IFR counts a record 5 million industrial robots in service and forecasts 806,000 installations a year by 2029. Here are the country figures and the robot skills they point to.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Modbus TCP Explained by Doing: Read a Register in 10 Minutes (Video)
A hands-on Modbus TCP exercise with free tools: simulate a server, read register 40001, decode the bytes on the wire, then see the same thing on a real S7-1200 in iipd Global's lesson.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Digital AI Video
Node-RED PLC Dashboard: Read Live Data and Build an Operator Page (Video)
How to read live values from a PLC or controller in Node-RED and put them on a browser dashboard, with the Modbus, OPC UA and MQTT options, and ACC Automation's dashboard lesson to follow.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career
PLC and Automation Jobs by Country: How to Search Internationally
Automation jobs hide behind different titles in different countries. Here is what to search for, what employers ask for, where the adverts are, and how the free EDWartens job board collects them.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Subnetting Explained for PLC and OT Networks, With a Free CCNA Video Lesson
How to subnet any IPv4 network in under two minutes, why it matters for PLCs, HMIs and drives, and a worked VLSM plan for a packaging line, alongside a credited CCNA lesson.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Career
The Manufacturing Skills Gap in 2026: The Numbers and the Skills to Learn
Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute estimate US manufacturing could need 3.8 million workers by 2033, with 1.9 million at risk of going unfilled. Here are the figures, the skills in demand worldwide and a free six-month plan.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Industry
TIA Portal V21: What's New, Who Should Upgrade and How to Learn It Free
Siemens' TIA Portal V21 brings a text-based code format that works with Git, a new WinCC Unified screen editor and SINAMICS S220 support. Here is what changed, who should upgrade and how to learn it free.
1 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
VFD Start-Up and Parameter Setup: A First Commissioning Walkthrough (Video)
A first VFD start-up, step by step: nameplate data, command wiring, ramps and speed limits, autotune and the faults you will meet first, around Schneider Electric's ATV320 getting-started video.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Physical AI Video
Your First FANUC Teach Pendant Program, Step by Step (Video)
From the program list to a robot that runs a four-corner square: how a FANUC TP program is created, what every field of a motion line means, and how to test it safely in T1 or ROBOGUIDE.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
Your First WinCC HMI Screen in TIA Portal, From Panel to Simulation (Video)
Add a Basic panel to an S7-1200 project, connect it, create tags, a start/stop button pair and an I/O field, and test it in the runtime simulator with PLCSIM, following Hegamurl's lesson.
1 Oct 2026 · 10 min
Free Training Video
A Free Industrial Automation Course With Certificate: A 12-Week Curriculum
Twelve weeks, eight free courses, one plan: from your first PLC rung to industrial networks and safety, with honest notes on software trials and certificate costs.
26 Sept 2026 · 9 min
Free Training Video
ABB RobotStudio: Your First Pick-and-Place in RAPID (Video)
Watch a step-by-step RAPID pick-and-place lesson, then check your own program against our annotated RAPID, from approach points to a six-part pattern with Offs and a loop.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Career
Are Free PLC Certificates Worth It? What Employers Actually Check
Completion certificates, free vendor credentials and real vendor certifications are three different things. Here is what each proves, and the evidence that matters more.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Digital AI
Best Free AI Courses With Certificate for Engineers (2026)
Nine AI courses checked on the providers' own pages and ranked for engineers: what is free, what the certificate costs, and how much coding each one needs.
26 Sept 2026 · 8 min
Free Training
Best Free PLC Courses With Certificate in 2026 (Verified)
Seven real options, checked on each provider's own page: what is free, what the certificate costs, and which one fits what you need it for.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Digital AI Video
Build a RAG Chatbot for Equipment Manuals (Video)
Watch LangChain's overview of retrieval-augmented generation, then build a manual-reading chatbot that cites the page, refuses what it cannot find, and resists injection.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
CODESYS for Free: Learn IEC 61131-3 Without Buying a PLC
The vendor-neutral way into PLC programming: what the free CODESYS download includes, which brands build on it, and how to practise all the IEC languages.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free Allen-Bradley Software for Learning: CCW, Micro Starter Lite and Emulate
Which free Rockwell tool goes with which controller, what Rockwell's own pages say about each one, and a learning order for the Micro800 and MicroLogix.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free AutoCAD Electrical and EPLAN Courses for Electrical Engineers
AutoCAD Electrical and EPLAN are the two tools panel shops name in job posts. Here is what each is used for, how to get the software legally for free or on trial, and a free course for each.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training
Free Courses With Certificate: What 'Free' Really Costs on Each Platform
Most free online courses are free to learn and paid to certify. Here is where the free part stops on eight platforms, and what each certificate costs.
26 Sept 2026 · 9 min
Digital AI Video
Free Generative AI and Prompt Engineering Courses With Certificate, Compared
Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Hugging Face, DeepLearning.AI and EDWartens, checked on their own pages: the course and the certificate are separate questions.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free HMI Software for Learning HMI Design (2026)
You can learn HMI design on a laptop without buying a panel. Here is which HMI software is free, which is a trial, what each one limits, and a free course for each.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free Industrial Robotics Courses With Certificate (for Adults and Engineers)
Most free robotics courses with certificates are built for children. This guide covers industrial robot training for adults: free vendor e-learning, free simulators and complete free courses.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Digital AI Video
Free Machine Learning Course for Mechanical and Electrical Engineers
Machine learning taught on motor currents, vibration windows and energy logs, in a free Colab notebook. The route, the tasks, and what the certificate is.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free PLC Courses for Mitsubishi, Omron, Delta, LS and Keyence
For engineers in the Philippines, Pakistan, South-East Asia and the Gulf: structured free courses for the Asian PLC brands, and how to get each maker's software.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free PLC Simulators Compared: PLCSIM, CCW, CODESYS, OpenPLC and Browser Simulators
Eight ways to practise PLC programming without hardware, checked on each maker's own page: what runs where, which languages, and where the free part stops.
26 Sept 2026 · 8 min
Free Training Video
Free Robot Programming Simulators: RobotStudio, RoboDK, URSim and ROS 2
Every robot simulator says free somewhere. Here is exactly what is free in RobotStudio, RoboDK, URSim and ROS 2 with Gazebo, where the limits bite, and which to install first.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Free SCADA Courses With Certificate: Ignition, WinCC and AVEVA Compared
Which free SCADA course gives you a certificate worth having? Inductive University wins for Ignition; for WinCC, InTouch and Citect, here is where to learn free and what each certificate really is.
26 Sept 2026 · 8 min
Free Training
Government Free Courses With Certificate vs Online Academies (India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines)
India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nigeria all run free government courses. Here is what each certifies, what it costs, and where industrial automation is missing.
26 Sept 2026 · 9 min
Free Training Video
How Long Does It Take to Learn PLC Programming? A Week-by-Week Plan
Real hour counts from a 22-module Siemens course, and a six-week evenings plan built around the 21-day TIA Portal trial.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training
How Much Does an EDWartens Certificate Cost?
What is free on EDWartens, what the optional certificate costs, when you can buy it, what it is and is not, and how anyone can verify it.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
Ignition SCADA First Project: Install, Tags and Your First Screen (Video)
Watch Inductive Automation's getting-started video, then follow our written steps from a fresh install to a working Perspective screen bound to live tags.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
Micro800 in Connected Components Workbench: Your First Ladder Program (Video)
Rockwell Automation's own lesson on building and simulating a Micro800 project, with a written companion: every step of a first start/stop rung, on an all-free toolchain.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
OpenPLC on a Raspberry Pi or Arduino: Build a Real PLC on a Hobby Board (Video)
Eric Romine's lesson on programming an Arduino with OpenPLC, with a written companion: the free toolchain, the board options and their list prices, and a start/stop to flash.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
PID Tuning Explained With a Simulator (Video)
What P, I and D really do, a manual tuning procedure you can practise on a simulated loop, Ziegler–Nichols without the myths, and a worksheet to keep.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
PLC Timers TON, TOF and TP Explained With a Video Demo
TON waits, TOF holds, TP fires a fixed pulse. A plain-English timing walkthrough of the three IEC timers, with a credited TIA Portal video demo.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Digital AI Video
Predict Machine Failure From Sensor Data in Google Colab (Video)
Watch the end-to-end workflow, then build a failure classifier on the public AI4I 2020 dataset step by step, without the data leakage that fools most tutorials.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
Start/Stop Seal-In Circuit in Ladder Logic, Explained Rung by Rung (Video)
The most common rung in industrial control, in Siemens and Rockwell notation, with the NC stop-button wiring explained properly and a credited video lesson.
26 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Free Training Video
TIA Portal Free Trial and Licences Explained (and What PLCSIM Needs)
What Siemens' 21-day trial includes, the one-time activation rule, PLCSIM, PC requirements and your options when the trial ends. Checked on Siemens' own pages.
26 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Free Training Video
Your First S7-1200 Program in TIA Portal and PLCSIM (Video)
A credited video lesson and a written companion: project, hardware configuration, first rung, download to PLCSIM, testing, and a troubleshooting table.
26 Sept 2026 · 5 min
Physical AI Video
What Is PLC Programming? A Complete Beginner's Guide
What a PLC is, how the scan cycle works, the five IEC 61131-3 languages, a first start/stop program, and a free step-by-step route to learning it in a simulator.
20 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Siemens PLC Training: A TIA Portal Guide From S7-1200 to S7-1500
What Siemens PLC training covers, which controller to learn on, how a TIA Portal program is organised, and a free learning order from your first rung to S7-1500.
18 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Allen-Bradley PLC Training: A Studio 5000 Guide for Beginners
What Allen-Bradley training covers, how Studio 5000 organises a project, the instructions you use first, and how to learn Rockwell PLCs free with simulation.
15 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
SCADA Training: A Complete Guide to Architecture, Protocols and Skills
What SCADA is, how data travels from a sensor to an operator's screen, the protocols and standards you will meet, and a free route to learning SCADA properly.
12 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
PLC and SCADA Training Together: Why the Combination Matters and How to Learn Both Free
Why PLC and SCADA skills belong together, the interface rules that stop projects going wrong, one project that proves both, and a free study route.
10 Mar 2026 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Industrial Robotics Training: A Robot Programming Guide for Beginners
The robot types, coordinate frames and motion commands every programmer uses, how FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa and UR differ, and how to learn free in simulation.
8 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
Cobot Training: How to Program Collaborative Robots Safely
What makes a robot collaborative, the four ways it can work beside people, how cobot programming works on a UR arm, and a safety checklist for your first cell.
5 Mar 2026 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
HMI Programming Training: How to Design Industrial Operator Screens
What an HMI is, how an HMI project is built, the high-performance design rules that make screens readable, and the common mistakes that cause trouble on site.
3 Mar 2026 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
VFD Training: A Practical Guide to Variable Frequency Drives
How a VFD controls motor speed, the parameters you set on every drive, how a PLC commands it, where the energy savings really come from, and how to find common faults.
1 Mar 2026 · 9 min
Physical AI Video
DCS Training: What a Distributed Control System Is and How to Learn One Free
A DCS runs a whole process plant from one engineering database. What sits inside one, how it differs from PLC plus SCADA, and how to learn the big five free.
27 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
IIoT Training: How Plant Data Gets From a PLC to a Dashboard, and How to Learn It Free
The Industrial Internet of Things is plant data moved safely from controllers to the people and models that use it. The layers, the protocols and a free route.
25 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Machine Learning for Beginners: What It Is, How It Works and How to Start Free
What machine learning actually does, the three kinds with plant examples, the workflow every project follows, and the mistakes that fool beginners.
23 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Deep Learning Explained: Neural Networks, CNNs and LSTMs, and When You Need Them
How a neural network learns, which architecture fits images, signals and text, and the honest test of whether deep learning is worth it on your data.
20 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Computer Vision for Industrial Inspection: How It Works and How to Learn It Free
Most inspection problems are solved by lighting before software. The parts of a vision station, when OpenCV is enough, when YOLO is worth it, and a free route.
18 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Generative AI for Engineers: What LLMs Can and Cannot Do for Technical Work
An LLM predicts the next token; that explains both its fluency and its invented part numbers. What engineers can safely use it for, and how to learn it free.
15 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Natural Language Processing for Engineers: From Maintenance Logs to Manual Search
Plants hold years of text in work orders, shift logs and manuals. What NLP can do with it, classic methods against LLMs, and an honest free route.
13 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Career Video
Automation Engineer Career Guide 2026: Roles, Skills and a Free Learning Route
Automation is several jobs, not one. The roles, the core and advanced skills, how to prove them without experience, and a free route through PLC to SCADA.
10 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Career
AI Engineer Career Path: A Realistic Route From Engineering or From Scratch
AI engineer, ML engineer, data scientist, MLOps: what each does, the skills in order, why domain knowledge is an advantage, and a free route with projects.
8 Feb 2026 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
PLC Programming Languages: Which One to Learn First in 2026
Ladder, structured text, FBD, SFC and the retired Instruction List: where each one turns up at work, what each vendor calls it, and a sensible learning order.
5 Feb 2026 · 6 min
Industry Video
Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing: A Practical Guide for Engineers
What Industry 4.0 actually means on a plant floor, the building blocks in the order you meet them, and a one-machine project that teaches most of them.
3 Feb 2026 · 7 min
Physical AI Video
PLC Training Online vs Classroom: Which Should You Choose?
What you can learn fully online, what only a panel in front of you teaches, and a way to use both without paying for the parts a simulator does just as well.
1 Feb 2026 · 7 min
Physical AI
How to Choose a PLC Training Provider: A Checklist for Any Country
The questions that separate a good PLC course from a good brochure: rig time per learner, who marks your work, what the certificate is, and what a placement claim really means.
28 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Physical AI
PLC Training in the UK: Apprenticeships, Vendor Courses and What 'Accredited' Means
The five routes into PLC skills in the UK, what each suits, and how to read the words providers use: CPD accredited, UKRLP registered, regulated qualification.
25 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Physical AI Video
Modbus Tutorial: RTU, TCP, Registers and Function Codes Explained
How Modbus really works: the four data tables, the function codes you will use, why 40001 is offset 0, what an RTU and a TCP frame contain, and how to fault-find a link.
22 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Physical AI Video
OPC UA Explained: Address Space, Subscriptions and Security for Engineers
What OPC UA actually is, how its address space and subscriptions work, why connections fail on certificates, and when to choose it over Modbus or MQTT.
20 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Physical AI Video
Safety PLCs, SIL and SIS Explained: Functional Safety for Engineers
What a safety instrumented system is, why SIL belongs to a safety function rather than a plant, how voting and proof testing work, and what changes when you program a safety PLC.
18 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Digital AI Video
Python for Automation Engineers: What to Learn and What to Build
Where Python fits beside a PLC, the libraries worth learning first, five projects that pay back quickly, and the rules that keep a script from upsetting a running plant.
15 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Digital AI Video
Predictive Maintenance With AI and Machine Learning: How It Works
The concepts behind predictive maintenance with machine learning: maintenance strategies, the P-F curve, which sensors see which faults, the four model families, and how a real project runs.
13 Jan 2026 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Edge AI in Industrial Automation: When to Run Models on the Plant Floor
Why some industrial AI has to run beside the machine, how to decide edge or cloud, how the model talks to the PLC without taking control, and how to keep it running.
10 Jan 2026 · 8 min
Industry Video
Digital Twins in Manufacturing: What They Are and How Engineers Use Them
What separates a digital twin from a simulation, the four uses that pay back in manufacturing, virtual commissioning with a PLC, and how to keep a twin honest.
8 Jan 2026 · 8 min
Career
Women in Automation Engineering: A Practical Guide to Starting and Growing
Routes into automation engineering, building skills around other commitments, proving them with projects, finding networks and mentors, and the questions worth asking an employer.
5 Jan 2026 · 7 min
Career Video
Automation Training for Fresh Engineering Graduates: From Degree to First Job
The gap between an engineering degree and a first automation job, the entry-level roles worth aiming at, what to learn in what order, and how to show it.
3 Jan 2026 · 8 min
Career
PLC Interview Questions and Answers: 30 Questions With Model Answers
Thirty questions PLC interviewers ask, each with a short model answer: basics, programming, analog and PID, networks, fault-finding and safety.
1 Jan 2026 · 10 min
Industry
The Wartens Ecosystem Explained: Where EDWartens Fits
Wartens is the parent; EDWartens is its training division. The companies the ecosystem lists, what each does, how it grew, and what it means for a learner.
28 Dec 2025 · 4 min
Industry
EDWartens Named National Winner at the UK StartUp Awards 2025
EDWartens was named National Winner in the Engineering and Manufacturing category of the UK StartUp Awards 2025. What that recognised, and what it does and does not mean for learners.
25 Dec 2025 · 4 min
Physical AI Video
Factory I/O for PLC Training: Setup, Editions and a First Project
What Factory I/O is, what each edition connects to and costs after the free trial, how to link it to TIA Portal and PLCSIM, and the first scenes to program.
22 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
What Is MES? Manufacturing Execution Systems and ISA-95 for Automation Engineers
MES is the plant software between ERP and the control layer. Here is where ISA-95 puts it, what it actually does, how it talks to PLCs, and the skills an automation engineer needs to work on it.
20 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Electrical Control Panel Design: A Step-by-Step Guide With IEC 60204-1 and UL 508A
Control panel design turns an I/O list and a load list into a safe, buildable enclosure. The steps, the standards that decide the rules, the heat calculation people skip, and how a panel is tested before it ships.
18 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Process Instrumentation Basics: Pressure, Level, Flow, Temperature and the 4-20 mA Loop
The half of the control loop that is not code. How the four core measurements work, why 4-20 mA is still everywhere, how to scale a signal correctly, and how to tell a bad reading from a real one.
15 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Servo Drives and Motion Control: What to Learn, From Tuning to Electronic Cams
What a servo system is, how its control loops work, how an axis is commissioned and tuned, and how gearing and cams replace mechanical parts. With a learning order and free courses.
12 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Industry Video
OT Cybersecurity Explained: IEC 62443, the Purdue Model and Where to Start
Why securing a plant is not the same as securing an office, what the Purdue model and ISA/IEC 62443 actually describe, and the first practical steps an automation engineer can take.
10 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Industry Video
Renewable Energy Automation: How PLC and SCADA Run Solar, Wind and Battery Plants
Solar farms, wind parks and battery systems are control systems with a grid connection. What is automated in each, which protocols carry the data, and what an automation engineer needs to learn to work on them.
8 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Water Treatment Automation: How PLC and SCADA Control a Treatment Works
A treatment works stage by stage: what is measured, what the PLC controls, how dosing loops and filter backwash sequences work, and how SCADA and telemetry tie the works and network together.
5 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Pharmaceutical Automation: GMP, GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11 and ISA-88 for Control Engineers
What changes when a PLC or DCS makes medicines: the validation lifecycle, electronic records and audit trails, data integrity, and ISA-88 batch control, explained for control engineers.
3 Dec 2025 · 9 min
Physical AI
Food and Beverage Automation: CIP, Batching, PackML and Hygienic Design for PLC Engineers
What PLCs do in food and beverage plants: batching and heat treatment, clean-in-place cycles and their records, hygienic design, PackML on packaging lines, and lot traceability.
1 Dec 2025 · 8 min
Physical AI Video
Oil and Gas Automation: How DCS, SCADA and Safety Systems Fit Together
Upstream, midstream and downstream each lean on a different control system. Where DCS, SCADA, ESD and fire and gas sit, the standards behind them, and a free route to learn them.
28 Nov 2025 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
TensorFlow vs PyTorch for Engineers: Which Should You Learn First?
The two frameworks build the same networks from the same ideas. What actually differs in 2026, where each helps on plant and edge projects, and how to choose.
25 Nov 2025 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
MLOps for Engineers: From Notebook to a Monitored Model in Production
The habits that turn a notebook into a service you can run, watch and roll back, in order, with the extra rules that apply when the model sits beside a PLC.
22 Nov 2025 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
Data Engineering for Industrial AI: Getting Plant Data Ready for a Model
Before a model can learn anything, plant signals have to be collected, time-aligned, cleaned and labelled. The five jobs, the traps in each, and a free route to learn them.
20 Nov 2025 · 8 min
Digital AI Video
AI Quality Inspection in Manufacturing: When It Works and How to Build It
Cameras and trained models find defects that fixed rules miss, but only when the lighting, labels, timing and threshold are right. The decisions in the order you make them.
18 Nov 2025 · 8 min
Industry Video
VR and AR in Industrial Training: Where They Help and Where a Simulator Does More
Headsets earn their place for hazards, spaces and procedures. For programming skills, laptop simulators already do most of the work. How to tell the difference.
15 Nov 2025 · 7 min
Career
How to Become a Freelance Automation Engineer: Skills, Clients and the Business Basics
Freelancers are hired to be useful on day one. The experience to build first, where PLC and SCADA contract work comes from, and the paperwork that protects you.
12 Nov 2025 · 8 min