PLC programming 路 Free
ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder
The AC500 family and Automation Builder (CODESYS-based): first project, ladder, latching, interlocks, timers, counters, retentive data, PROFIBUS and PROFINET, visualization, CP600 HMI and platform features.
Inside the course
From the lessons
The AC500 Platform and Automation Builder
PLC SCADA Training
First Project and Commissioning
PLC SCADA Training
Contacts, Coils and Gates
PLC SCADA Training
Latching, Interlocks and Memory Bits
PLC SCADA Training
Timers
PLC SCADA Training
Counters and Retentive Data
PLC SCADA Training
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Describe the AC500 platform, install Automation Builder, create and commission a project, write ladder with latching and interlocks, use timers, counters and retentive data, connect PROFIBUS DP and PROFINET IO, build a visualization and CP600 project, upgrade projects and know safety I/O, hot swap and condition monitoring.
- Install Automation Builder and create an AC500 project
- Write ladder with contacts, coils, latching, interlocks and memory bits
- Use TON, TOF, TP, RTC, counters and retentive data
- Connect PROFIBUS DP and PROFINET IO devices
- Build a visualization and a CP600 HMI project
- Upgrade projects and know the safety, hot-swap and condition-monitoring features
For you
Taking ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$23.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 18 hours
Conveyor and bucket-elevator start-up sequence on an AC500 PM573: narrative, interlock list, I/O and FAT
Design, program, test and document the group start-up and stop sequence for a belt conveyor feeding a bucket elevator at a cement mill: pre-start siren, downstream-first starting with run-feedback and speed proving, upstream-first stopping with run-out timers, and the belt-sway, pull-cord, zero-speed, chute-block and overcurrent interlocks, on an ABB AC500 PM573-ETH with a CP600 panel. You deliver the Automation Builder project, your own I/O list, interlock list and FAT record. The sample pack shows what an integrator hands a cement plant's electrical department.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Control narrativeControl Narrative: Cement Mill 3 Feed Group (BC-301 and BE-302)
- SDSSoftware Design Specification: CP-301 AC500 Program
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-301
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-301 and Field Devices
- Interlock listInterlock and Permissive List: Mill 3 Feed Group
- Alarm listAlarm List: Mill 3 Feed Group
- FATFactory Acceptance Test Record: Panel CP-301
- O&M manualOperation and Maintenance Manual: Mill 3 Feed Group (Operation section)
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
10 modules 路 29 lessons 路 5h 25m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01The AC500 Platform and Automation Builder3 lessons32m
- 02First Project and Commissioning4 lessons48m
- 03Contacts, Coils and Gates2 lessons55m
- 04Latching, Interlocks and Memory Bits3 lessons36m
- 05Timers4 lessons51m
- 06Counters and Retentive Data2 lessons22m
- 07PROFIBUS DP and PROFINET IO2 lessons22m
- 08Visualization and CP600 HMI3 lessons37m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner.
- Software
- ABB Automation Builder (free basic licence) What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None required.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Required
- 01Free Basic edition
ABB Automation Builder
ABB
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11 (32/64-bit) Professional or Enterprise, Windows Server 2012 R2 or 2019
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- needs 5 to 18 GB free disk space
The Basic edition is free and covers AC500 PLC programming, PLC simulation and debugging. After installing you can also choose a free 30-day trial of the Standard and Premium features.
Steps
- 1.Open the Automation Builder download page on abb.com.
- 2.Download the current Automation Builder installer.
- 3.Run the installer as administrator.
- 4.When asked for a licence, choose the free Basic edition (or the 30-day trial).
- 5.Create an AC500 project and test it with PLC simulation.
- Minimum PC: 1 GHz processor and 4 GB RAM.
- Advanced virtual PLC simulation is a paid option; basic PLC simulation is in the free edition.
Official download pageabb.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder at a glance
ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation. It has 10 modules and 5h 25m of video lessons by PLC SCADA Training, PLC Programming, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation
- Format
- 10 self-paced modules, 5h 25m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner.
- Brand
- ABB
- Software
- ABB Automation Builder (free basic licence)
- Hardware
- None required.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- PLC SCADA Training, PLC Programming (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
Robotics 路 FreeABB Robot Programming with RobotStudio and RAPIDRobotStudio from install to a running pick-and-place: stations, jogging, the FlexPendant, frames, paths, RAPID, collision checking, signals, physics, sharing and RobotStudio Cloud.
DCS 路 FreeABB Ability System 800xA DCSABB's DCS in metals, cement, paper and power plants worldwide: what 800xA is, Select I/O and xStream engineering, Control Builder's control diagram editor with function blocks, structured text, SFC and PID, the 800xA training sessions, and the cyber security reference architecture.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe 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.More free courses: Free ABB courses: AC500 PLC and RobotStudio 路 Free PLC programming courses
Learning paths with this course
- IEC 61131 and software PLCs 路 3 coursesCODESYS, TwinCAT and Automation Builder: structured text, PC-based control and the IEC languages behind hundreds of PLC brands.
Learner reviews
5.0
1 review from learners who finished the course
- 51
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 10
- A learner路 finished the course 路 September 2026
Excellent course
Excellent course eng ahmed roshdy
Common questions
Is Automation Builder free?
ABB offers a free basic licence that covers everything here.
Is this the same as CODESYS?
Automation Builder is built on CODESYS, so the CODESYS course on this site transfers directly; this course adds the ABB hardware, networks and HMI.
Do I need an AC500?
No. The simulation runs every exercise.
Is the ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a ABB qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a ABB credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder course take?
Plan on about 11 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the ten modules at your own speed.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for ABB AC500 PLC with Automation Builder
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$23.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- PLC SCADA Trainingthe AC500 Automation Builder tutorial series
- PLC Programmingthe ABB AC500 platform, network and visualization videos
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.