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Learning path · Aimed at an electrical or controls technician

Electrical and mechanical fundamentals

For beginners who want the base before the PLC: basic electricity, motor control, air and oil power, and the panel that holds it all.

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

See the courses in order
4 courses · 50 modules · 59h 18m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Read a simple circuit and use a multimeter safely.
  • Explain how a contactor and starter control a motor.
  • Read pneumatic and hydraulic circuit symbols, and describe how a control panel is laid out.

A path teaches skills. It does not promise a job, an interview or a salary.

Why these courses together

Each course builds on the last

  • 1Basic electricity first: motor control and panels both assume you know voltage, current and a circuit.
  • 2Motor control comes before the panel course, because the panel is where those circuits are built.
  • 3Pneumatics and hydraulics sit in the middle because many machines move with air or oil, not only motors.

A planned order also saves the time you would spend choosing what to learn next, and you finish with one story to tell: what you learnt, in order.

The roadmap

4 courses, in this order

  1. Step 1: Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians: Volts to Multimeter to Drawings

    Adds: The electrical basics every technician needs, in the order you use them: charge, voltage, current and resistance; Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws; AC and DC, single and three phase; power, energy and power factor; the multimeter and CAT ratings; cables, fuses, breakers, earthing and RCDs; IEC and NEMA symbols and schematics; relays, contactors and motors; safe isolation; and a fault-finding walkthrough.

    • Beginner
    • 14 modules
    • 8h 53m of video

  2. Step 2: Industrial Motor Control

    Adds: Free beginner motor control course: read ladder diagrams, wire starters, build reversing and braking circuits. The certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 12 modules
    • 18h 57m of video

  3. Step 3: Industrial Pneumatics and Hydraulics

    Adds: A beginner course in pneumatics and hydraulics: read symbols, size cylinders, simulate in FluidSIM. Free to learn; the certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 15 modules
    • 27h 34m of video

  4. Step 4: Electrical Control Panel Design, Building and Testing

    Adds: Free course for electrical beginners: read PLC wiring diagrams, then build, cool and test a UL 508A control panel. The certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 9 modules
    • 3h 54m of video

4

courses

50

modules

59h 18m

of video in total

Example: at 5 hours a week, the video alone takes about 12 weeks. Practice tasks and the finals come on top, and you set the pace.

Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

See the 3D lab

What you get

What joining gives you

  • Every course is free, with lifetime access and no card.
  • Video lessons by credited independent creators, with our written notes and worked examples.
  • A practice task per module, and one final assessment per course.
  • Ask-an-engineer support.
  • Optional verifiable certificate for each course you pass, US$23.99 for a beginner course. There is no single certificate for the whole path.
  • One course at a time: you start with the first, and the next is added when you are halfway through it.
  • Each course keeps its own progress. You can open any course on its own at any time.

Put it into practice

Then try it in an internship

Inside a control panel: breakers, terminal blocks, DIN-rail wiring and colour-coded cables.

Control Panel Design and Wiring Internship

Eight short weeks of control panel wiring, safe isolation and testing in the Panel Lab: notes, diagrams, a few videos and panel tasks checked by a factory acceptance test.

The Control Panel Design and Wiring internship applies the same ideas in short weekly panel tasks.

The Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate. It is training, not employment, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

See the Control Panel Design and Wiring internship

Questions

Questions about this path

Is the Electrical and mechanical fundamentals free?

Yes. Every course in the path is free in full: lessons, notes, practice tasks and the final assessment. The only paid item is the optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion for each course.

What happens when I join the path?

You are enrolled on the first course straight away. The next course is added to your account when you are about halfway through the one you are on, so you never face a pile of unstarted courses. Each course keeps its own progress, notes and final.

In what order should I take the courses?

In the order listed: each course is placed after the ones it builds on. Every course also stands alone, so you can open any of them from the list.

Do I get one certificate for the whole path?

No. Certificates are per course, issued when you pass that course's final assessment, and you only buy one if you want it. Finishing every course gives you one optional, verifiable certificate for each.

How long will it take?

The video alone is about 59h 18m. Notes, practice tasks and the finals take extra time, and you go at your own pace.

Do I have to do the internship?

No. It is a separate, optional step. The Control Panel Design and Wiring Internship is training, not employment: the Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

Ready to start Electrical and mechanical fundamentals?

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

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