Free · No card · No trial

Free automation courses

Complete courses in PLC programming, SCADA, HMI, drives, instrumentation, robotics, safety, industrial IoT, OT cybersecurity, fluid power, motor control, electrical and power-system design, CAD and BIM, lighting, building automation, control theory, and now AI and machine learning for engineers, with real plant projects: video lessons, written notes, practice problems, assessments and engineer support. Not a sample, not a lead magnet. The whole course, for nothing, with an optional verifiable certificate.

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1828

Modules

1600h 24m

Of video

New · AI for engineers

Twelve free AI courses, each with a real plant project

Python on engineering data, how language models actually work, prompting for FAT reports and I/O lists, AI agents with n8n, machine learning, computer vision, deep learning and RAG chatbots. Then the industrial track: where AI sits beside your PLC, predictive maintenance on real run-to-failure data, machine vision inspection with YOLO, and plant data over Modbus and OPC UA. Every project has a dataset, runs in a free Colab notebook on free models, and is marked against a rubric within a minute of submitting.

See the AI courses Start with the foundations path

Catalogue

Free courses in PLC, SCADA, HMI, drives, instrumentation, robotics and AI

Filter by category, brand, level or length. Every course is complete, self-paced and free, with an optional verifiable certificate. Add several to a bundle and start them together.

Showing 150 courses

Siemens TIA Portal course cover
PLC programmingBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Siemens TIA Portal

From zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.

Siemens

22 modules 12h 53m No hardware
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Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control course cover
InstrumentationBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control

Pressure, level, flow and temperature measurement, switches and sensors, 4-20 mA loops and the calculations, control valves, P&IDs, HART and smart transmitters, calibration, and how instruments meet the PLC, DCS and SCADA.

Vendor-neutral

14 modules 8h 50m No hardware
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Electrical Design Engineering: Loads, Cables, Breakers and Distribution course cover
ElectricalBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Electrical Design Engineering: Loads, Cables, Breakers and Distribution

How a building or plant electrical system is designed on paper before anyone buys a cable: AC and DC fundamentals, star and delta, power factor, connected and demand load, diversity and demand factors, load estimation in Excel, reading drawings, power factor correction, panel boards and single-line diagrams, fuses and circuit breakers with trip curves, AF and AT and breaking capacity, cable construction, derating, sizing and voltage drop, conduits, fault level, earthing systems, UPS, transfer switches and lightning protection.

Vendor-neutral

10 modules 11h 53m No hardware
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AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design course cover
Electrical CADBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

AutoCAD Electrical for Control Design

Control drawings with the industry default tool: AutoCAD Electrical versus AutoCAD, install and interface, AutoCAD essentials, projects and drawings, templates and title blocks, wires and wire numbers, components, symbols and catalogs, three-phase and starter circuits, PLC modules and I/O addressing, terminals, reports and data exchange, and practice drawings.

Autodesk

11 modules 9h 40m No hardware
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ETAP Power System Analysis: Load Flow, Short Circuit, Protection, Arc Flash and Stability course cover
ElectricalIntermediate

FreeNo card, no trial

ETAP Power System Analysis: Load Flow, Short Circuit, Protection, Arc Flash and Stability

The power-system studies every substation, plant and data-centre project needs, done in ETAP: single-line modelling, load flow and the per-unit system, cable and transformer sizing, short circuit by IEC 60909 and ANSI, relay setting and coordination with Star view, differential, distance, busbar and motor protection, arc flash, capacitor placement and power factor, motor starting and re-acceleration, transient stability, harmonics and filters, and earthing grid design.

ETAP

14 modules 29h 39m No hardware
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Industrial Motor Control course cover
ElectricalBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Industrial Motor Control

The electrical foundation of every machine: contactors, relays, overloads and protection, switches, ladder logic and documentation, manual and magnetic starters, two-wire, three-wire and hand-off-auto circuits, pumping applications, jogging, reversing and interlocks, plugging and braking, reduced-voltage and soft starters, timers, and testing and troubleshooting on a real trainer board.

Vendor-neutral

12 modules 18h 57m No hardware
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Electrical Control Panel Design, Building and Testing course cover
ElectricalBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Electrical Control Panel Design, Building and Testing

What is inside a PLC panel and why, components, wiring diagrams, 2-wire and 3-wire control, sensors and commons, building a UL 508A panel step by step, workmanship, cooling and factory acceptance testing.

Vendor-neutral

9 modules 3h 54m No hardware
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Building Management Systems (BMS): HVAC Control, BACnet and Building Automation course cover
Building automationBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Building Management Systems (BMS): HVAC Control, BACnet and Building Automation

How a modern building is controlled: BMS overview, components and architecture, sensors, actuators, controllers and field devices, BACnet, Modbus, LonWorks and KNX, HVAC applications for AHUs, chillers, cooling towers and boilers, pumps, tanks and hot water, lighting, access, CCTV, fire and energy integration, DDC panels, wiring and control logic, the front end with graphics, trends, schedules and alarms, testing, commissioning and handover, BACnet with Python, and case studies from hotels to data centres.

Vendor-neutral

13 modules 13h 46m No hardware
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Instrumentation for PLC Engineers course cover
InstrumentationIntermediate

FreeNo card, no trial

Instrumentation for PLC Engineers

The half of the loop that is not code. Follow one measurement from the transmitter in the field, down the 4-20 mA loop, into the analog card, through NORM_X and SCALE_X into engineering units, out again to a valve, and back to the control room when the reading is wrong.

Vendor-neutral

12 modules 6h 28m No hardware
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EPLAN Electric P8 and Pro Panel course cover
Electrical CADBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

EPLAN Electric P8 and Pro Panel

Electrical design the way panel builders and OEMs do it: projects and settings, pages, structure and plot frames, symbols and devices, modular engineering to DIN 81346, terminals, cables and interruption points, PLC design, macros, parts management and the Data Portal, reports and checks, tracking and options, 2D panel layout and Pro Panel 3D, routing, Smart Wiring and the EPLAN Cloud.

EPLAN

14 modules 13h 25m No hardware
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Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours course cover
PLC programmingBeginner

FreeNo card, no trial

Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours

The first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.

Siemens

9 modules 3h 16m No hardware
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Showing 12 of 150

Bundles

Learning paths you can start together

Pick a path and every course in it is added to your account in one go. Or build your own: add courses above and press Start.

Siemens engineer path

13 courses

The Siemens stack most plants actually run: TIA Portal from zero, the S7-1200 instruction series, program structure, HMI panels, interrupts, PID, commissioning, Factory I/O projects, the S7-300 installed base, advanced S7-1500, safety, WinCC SCADA and LOGO!.

128h 17m of video · Free

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Building services engineer

4 courses

The MEP consultant's toolkit: electrical design for the loads, Revit MEP for the BIM model, DIALux evo for the lighting and a BMS course for how the building is controlled once built.

70h 12m of video · Free

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Every free course, by subject

Show all 150

PLC programming

Instrumentation

Cybersecurity

HMI

Process control

Industrial networks

Drives

Robotics

Motion control

Electrical

SCADA

DCS

Safety

IIoT

Fluid power

Electrical CAD

Control engineering

CAD

Building automation

AI and machine learning

Software and DevOps

Data and analytics

Renewable energy

Manufacturing excellence

Quality management

Condition monitoring

Power systems

AI for professionals

Electric vehicles

Project management

Engineering data

Networking

Browse free courses by category and brand

Automation and control

Electrical, power and energy

Cybersecurity

AI and data

AI for professionals

Design and CAD

Management, quality and reliability

Brands

Free PLC courses with certificate: questions people ask

Straight answers, because the search results for free PLC training are full of samples dressed up as courses.

Is there a genuinely free PLC course with a certificate?
Yes. Every course here is complete and free: all modules, notes, practice tasks and assessments, with no card and no trial. The EDWartens Certificate of Completion is optional and paid (a small one-off fee), verifiable by code, and issued only after you pass the final assessment.
Which free Siemens PLC course should I start with?
Siemens TIA Portal if you are new: it starts from zero and runs fully in PLCSIM. Take Siemens S7-300 with STEP 7 if you maintain older plants, S7-1500 Advanced after TIA Portal, and WinCC SCADA when you need the supervisory layer.
Can I learn PLC programming online for free without hardware?
Yes. Most courses run in the vendor's free or trial software with a simulator (PLCSIM, RSLogix Emulate, GX Simulator, CX-Simulator, the Micro800 Simulator, CODESYS). Use the 'runs fully in simulation' filter to see them.
Do these courses cover Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi, Omron and other brands?
Yes: Allen-Bradley Studio 5000, RSLogix 500 and Micro800, Mitsubishi GX Works2, Omron CX-Programmer, Schneider Machine Expert, Delta ISPSoft, ABB AC500, Beckhoff TwinCAT and CODESYS, plus SCADA (InTouch, Ignition, WinCC, Citect), HMI, drives, PID, instrumentation, networks, panel building and FANUC, ABB and KUKA robots.
How long does a free PLC course take?
Between about five and twenty hours of video per course, plus the notes and practice. Everything is self-paced with lifetime access, so a working engineer can finish one in two to four weeks of evenings.
Can I take several courses together?
Yes. Add courses to a bundle, or pick a learning path such as the Siemens engineer path or the SCADA specialist path, and every course is added to your account in one step. Each keeps its own progress, final and certificate.
Who made the video lessons, and is this an official vendor certificate?
The video lessons are by independent creators on YouTube, credited on every course page; EDWartens wrote the study plans, notes, practice tasks and assessments. The certificate is from EDWartens, not from Siemens, Rockwell or any other vendor.
Will a free course help me get an automation job?
It teaches the same skills as classroom PLC training: wiring, programming, HMI, networks, diagnostics. It is a strong start for technicians, diploma holders and engineering graduates anywhere; EDWartens' regional centres in India, the United Kingdom, Germany and the UAE add hands-on hardware and placement support in person.

What you get, on every free course

The same student portal our paid trainees use, not a stripped-down viewer.

Written notes, not just video

Every module has a paged booklet with diagrams, worked practice problems and quick checks you answer as you read.

Ask a practising engineer

Stuck on a module? The Ask-your-trainer panel reaches the same engineers who teach the paid programme.

A shareable certificate

Finish the course and pass the final assessment, and a verifiable certificate is from US$2.99. The course itself stays free.

Career tools included

CV builder, public job listings and the LADX skills tracker come with the free account.

How it works

  1. 1

    Create an account

    An email address. No card, ever.

  2. 2

    Work the modules

    Video, notes, worked problems and a practice task in each.

  3. 3

    Pass the final

    It unlocks once every module is complete.

  4. 4

    Claim your certificate

    Optional, from US$2.99, verifiable by code.

Taking several courses? A certificate pass covers every certificate you earn for 30 days or a year. Practise with mock exams. For colleges and employers: team licences with a progress dashboard.

About the video lessons. Lessons stream from their creators' own YouTube channels. EDWartens does not host or sell that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. The study plans, notes, practice problems and assessments are original EDWartens material.