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Learning path · Aimed at a PLC programmer for machine builders

Machine-builder PLCs

For learners who expect to work on packaging, textile, plastics or food machines with compact controllers.

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 · 73 modules · 40h 43m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Program Mitsubishi, Omron, Schneider and Delta controllers in their own software.
  • Move a ladder program between brands without starting from scratch.
  • Wire up and test inputs and outputs for a small machine.

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

  • 1All four controllers are programmed in similar ladder logic, so each course shows how one idea changes name between brands.
  • 2Compact PLCs are what machine builders actually fit, which is why these four sit together.
  • 3A learner who has met four brands is less surprised by the fifth.

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: 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

  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: Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic

    Adds: The Modicon M221 from the first download to a hundred solved ladder problems, with the official Schneider how-tos for the tooling.

    • Beginner
    • 18 modules
    • 18h 40m of video

  4. Step 4: Delta DVP PLC with ISPSoft

    Adds: Delta from the memory map to Modbus: instructions, timers, counters, analog, PID, high-speed counters, PLC Link and an HMI, with Factory I/O projects throughout.

    • Beginner
    • 22 modules
    • 8h 46m of video

4

courses

73

modules

40h 43m

of video in total

Example: at 5 hours a week, the video alone takes about 9 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 Machine-builder PLCs 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 40h 43m. 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 Machine-builder PLCs?

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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