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Learning path · Aimed at a maintenance or junior controls engineer

PLC foundations

For anyone starting in industrial automation who wants the four things a plant floor shows on day one.

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 · 65 modules · 40h 58m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Write and test a simple PLC program.
  • Explain how a PLC, a drive and an HMI talk to each other over an industrial network.
  • Read a control panel layout and say what each part is for.

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

  • 1A PLC course first, because every other topic here hangs off a controller.
  • 2Networks next: once you can write logic, you see why the devices need to share data.
  • 3The HMI and the control panel finish the picture, so you know what the operator sees and where the wiring ends up.

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: Siemens TIA Portal

    Adds: Free Siemens TIA Portal course for beginners: write ladder logic for a simulated S7-1200 and WinCC HMI. Learning is free; the certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 22 modules
    • 11h 50m of video

  2. Step 2: Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA

    Adds: Every network a PLC engineer meets, from RS-485 and Modbus to PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and OPC UA, with hands-on PLC-to-PLC and Modbus configuration in TIA Portal.

    • Intermediate
    • 18 modules
    • 15h 52m of video

  3. Step 3: HMI Design and Programming: Siemens WinCC and FactoryTalk View ME

    Adds: What an HMI is and how to design one well, then two mainstream tools end to end: Siemens WinCC in TIA Portal and Rockwell FactoryTalk View Machine Edition on PanelView Plus, with WinCC flexible for the legacy base.

    • Beginner
    • 16 modules
    • 9h 21m 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

65

modules

40h 58m

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 gives you eight short weeks of ladder-logic practice with automatically checked 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 PLC Programming internship

Questions

Questions about this path

Is the PLC foundations 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 58m. 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 PLC foundations?

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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