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Learning path · Aimed at a PLC programmer for Omron and Mitsubishi systems

Japanese PLC platforms

For learners who expect to meet Omron or Mitsubishi controllers in packaging, textile and automotive machines.

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 · 62 modules · 35h 25m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Program Omron controllers in CX-Programmer and Sysmac Studio.
  • Program Mitsubishi controllers in GX Works2 and GX Works3.
  • Choose the older or newer software for the controller in front of you.

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

  • 1Each brand has an older and a newer tool, and you meet both in the field, so each brand's pair sits together.
  • 2Meeting the newer tool and then the older one shows what stayed the same and what changed.
  • 3Two brands in one path means the second feels familiar.

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: Omron Sysmac Studio: NX and NJ Machine Controllers

    Adds: Omron's modern platform end to end: NX1P and NJ controllers, Sysmac Studio, variables and tasks, EtherCAT and I/O, analog and IO-Link, networking, HMI, advanced programming, 1S servos and camming, NX Safety and CIP Safety, SQL and recipes, backups and maintenance, with Omron's own five training sessions built in.

    • Beginner
    • 15 modules
    • 13h 24m of video

  2. Step 2: Omron PLC with CX-Programmer

    Adds: Omron from first principles: automation, the PLC, CX-Programmer, every instruction family, and the worked programs that make it stick.

    • Beginner
    • 16 modules
    • 10h 8m of video

  3. Step 3: Mitsubishi GX Works3: MELSEC iQ-R and iQ-F

    Adds: The current Mitsubishi platform: GX Works3, iQ-R and FX5U hardware, communication and setup, I/O and CC-Link cards, the ladder editor with labels, sequence basics with the GOT simulator, timers, counters, data moves, index registers, arithmetic, CC-Link IE Field, built-in functions, MELSOFT Navigator and Mitsubishi's e-learning.

    • Beginner
    • 14 modules
    • 8h 44m of video

  4. Step 4: Mitsubishi FX with GX Works2

    Adds: The Mitsubishi FX family instruction by instruction: devices, contacts, timers, counters, data, analog and high-speed counting in GX Works2, with a look ahead to GX Works3.

    • Beginner
    • 17 modules
    • 3h 10m of video

4

courses

62

modules

35h 25m

of video in total

Example: at 5 hours a week, the video alone takes about 8 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

An engineer in a hard hat checking neat, labelled wiring on I/O racks inside an open control cabinet.

PLC Programming Internship

Eight short weeks of PLC ladder logic on free simulators: notes, diagrams, a few videos and auto-tested tasks.

The PLC internship uses free simulators (CODESYS, OpenPLC) rather than this vendor's software, so you practise the same ladder-logic ideas on a different tool.

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

See the PLC Programming internship

Questions

Questions about this path

Is the Japanese PLC platforms 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 35h 25m. 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 PLC Programming 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 Japanese PLC platforms?

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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