PLC programming
Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix
Program a MicroLogix PLC in RSLogix 500, from wiring and file-based addressing to timers, counters, analog and fault clearing.
Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation. It has 19 modules and takes about 23.8 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 23.8 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- RSLogix Micro Starter Lite (the free edition of RSLogix 500, for the MicroLogix 1000 and 1100), with the free RSLinx Classic Lite and RSLogix Emulate 500. Hardware: none. Emulate 500 runs the exercises and every program can be written and verified offline; the videos use a real MicroLogix trainer so you see the real thing.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Wire and connect a MicroLogix
- Write ladder with XIC, XIO, OTE, OTL, OTU and one-shots
- Use timers, counters, comparators, math and move instructions
- Scale an analog input with SCP
- Use forces safely and clear faults
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation.
Level: Beginner. Beginner. No PLC experience assumed; the course opens with what a PLC is and how the MicroLogix is wired.
What you need
Software: RSLogix Micro Starter Lite (the free edition of RSLogix 500, for the MicroLogix 1000 and 1100), with the free RSLinx Classic Lite and RSLogix Emulate 500.
Hardware: None. Emulate 500 runs the exercises and every program can be written and verified offline; the videos use a real MicroLogix trainer so you see the real thing.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
19 modules in order, at your own pace. 23.8 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1MicroLogix, SLC 500 and RSLogix 50024m
- 2Wiring the MicroLogix Trainer11m
- 3Connecting: Ethernet, Serial DF1, RSLinx and Going Online42m
- 4The Scan Cycle, and What a Blank Program Does16m
- 5File-based Addressing: I, O, B3, N7, T4, C5 and Friends23m
- 6XIC, XIO, OTE and the Seal-in, with lab practice: 53m
- 7Latch, Unlatch, One-shots and Power-up Behaviour49m
- 8Logic Gates, Latching Patterns and Interlocks, with lab practice: 35m
Show the other 11 modules
- 9Timers: TON, TOF and RTO, with lab practice: 50m
- 10Counters: CTU and CTD, with lab practice: 24m
- 11Comparators: EQU, NEQ, LES, GRT, LEQ, GEQ, LIM and MEQ, with lab practice: 21m
- 12Math: ADD, SUB, MUL, DIV, CPT, SQR, NEG, TOD and FRD, with lab practice: 22m
- 13Move, Masks and Bitwise Logic, with lab practice: 28m
- 14Program Control: JMP, LBL, JSR, SBR, RET, TND and MCR14m
- 15File Instructions: COP, FLL, BSL, BSR and Sequencers, with lab practice: 16m
- 16Analog Inputs and Scaling: SCL and SCP, with lab practice: 25m
- 17High-speed Counters, Forces and Faults49m
- 18Projects: Tank Level, Traffic Lights and an Elevator, with lab practice: 35m
- 19Final Assessment
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.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Required
- 01Free edition with limits
RSLogix Micro Starter Lite
Rockwell Automation
- Runs on
- Windows
- Account
- A free Rockwell Automation account (sign in to the Product Compatibility and Download Center)
Micro Starter Lite is the free entry edition of RSLogix 500 and only programs MicroLogix 1000 and 1100 controllers. For other MicroLogix or SLC 500 controllers you need a paid RSLogix 500 or RSLogix Micro edition.
Steps
- 1.Search the Product Compatibility and Download Center for RSLogix Micro Starter Lite.
- 2.Choose RSLogix Micro Starter Lite w/o RSLinx EN (8.30.00) and click Available Downloads, then sign in.
- 3.Download and install it as administrator.
- 4.Also download RSLinx Classic Lite (free) from PCDC and install it to connect to a controller.
- 5.Start RSLogix Micro Starter Lite and create a project for a MicroLogix 1000 or 1100.
- The EN download does not include RSLinx; RSLinx Classic Lite is listed as a free download on PCDC.
- PCDC also lists RSLogix Emulate 500 for download; check its release note before relying on it with the Lite edition.
Official download pagecompatibility.rockwellautomation.comAlternatives
- RSLinx Classic Lite: Free communications driver needed to go online with MicroLogix controllers.
- Connected Components Workbench Standard Edition: Free, for Micro800 controllers, with a demo simulator.
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Write the same XIC, XIO, timer and counter rungs you learn in RSLogix 500 on working machines in the PLC lab and pass each lab test.
- Motor start/stop with overloadPLC lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Motor start/stop with overload
- Forward/reverse conveyorPLC lab, about 60 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Forward/reverse conveyor
- Batch counter on a packing linePLC lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Batch counter on a packing line
- Tank filling pumpPLC lab, about 50 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Tank filling pump
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 16 hours
Foundry sand-muller retrofit: relay panel to MicroLogix, from I/O list to signed FAT
Replace the relay logic of a foundry sand mixer with a MicroLogix program. The job covers a star-delta start of the 22 kW muller, a sand charge weighed from a load cell, water dosed by pulse count, mulling, discharge and batch counts. You deliver an RSLogix 500 program with a documented data-file layout, your own existing-versus-new I/O list, a FAT record and an operator note.
- 8documents in the pack
- 9steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 6things to hand in
- 16 hof work, at your pace
- Control narrativeControl Narrative: Sand Muller M-3 Retrofit
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-M3, Existing versus New
- Tag listData-File Map and Address Convention: MicroLogix 1400
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-M3 Rebuild and Field Devices
- Alarm listAlarm List: Muller M-3
- Change noticeDesign Change Notice 001: Water Dose by Pulse Meter Instead of Timer
Do it in the lab: 5 steps.
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
PLC Programming
Eight short weeks of PLC ladder logic on free simulators: notes, diagrams, a few videos and auto-tested tasks. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipPart of a learning path
Courses in a planned order, so each one builds on the last.
More free courses
Roles that use this skill
- PLC programmer
- Controls engineer
- Automation technician
- Commissioning engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Tim Wilborne (TW Controls), Instrumentation Tools, plcgoods, IPCS Global. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Tim Wilborne (TW Controls) · Instrumentation Tools · plcgoods · IPCS Global. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
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.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Do I need to buy RSLogix 500?
Not for the MicroLogix 1000 and 1100: Rockwell's RSLogix Micro Starter Lite is free and programs both, and RSLogix Emulate 500 lets you run programs with no hardware. Larger controllers need a paid edition.
Do I need a MicroLogix?
No. Emulate 500 runs the exercises, and every program can be written and verified offline. The wiring and hardware modules use a real trainer so you see what the terminals and LEDs look like.
The MicroLogix is obsolete. Why learn it?
Because it is everywhere. Hundreds of thousands were installed and they keep running; maintaining them, and eventually migrating them to Micro800 or CompactLogix, is paid work that needs someone who can read file-based addressing.
How does this relate to the Studio 5000 course?
RSLogix 500 is the older, file-based world of N7:0 and T4:0; Studio 5000 is tag-based. Many plants have both. Learn this one first if the sites you work at have MicroLogix or SLC racks.
What computer do I need for the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course?
A 64-bit Windows 10 machine with 8 GB of RAM. RSLogix 500 is Windows-only.
Is the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix 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 Rockwell qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Rockwell Automation credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix 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.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course cover, module by module?
The Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course has 19 modules. It opens with "MicroLogix, SLC 500 and RSLogix 500", goes through "Wiring the MicroLogix Trainer", "Latch, Unlatch, One-shots and Power-up Behaviour", "Move, Masks and Bitwise Logic" and "Projects: Tank Level, Traffic Lights and an Elevator" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course?
After the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course: Wire a MicroLogix and read its status LEDs; Connect over Ethernet or serial DF1, upload, download and go online; Read and write file-based addresses: I:0/3, B3:0/5, N7:10, T4:0.ACC. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course, and does it cost anything?
For the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course, software: RSLogix Micro Starter Lite (the free edition of RSLogix 500, for the MicroLogix 1000 and 1100), with the free RSLinx Classic Lite and RSLogix Emulate 500. Hardware: none. Emulate 500 runs the exercises and every program can be written and verified offline; the videos use a real MicroLogix trainer so you see the real thing. The course itself is free.
Is the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix is rated beginner. Beginner. No PLC experience assumed; the course opens with what a PLC is and how the MicroLogix is wired. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation, and takes about 23.8 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course?
Skills from the Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix course (for example: wire a MicroLogix and read its status LEDs) are used in roles such as PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer, and in automation engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Allen-Bradley RSLogix 500 and MicroLogix, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.