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PLC programming

Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced

Take your Studio 5000 skills further: project structure, Add-On Instructions, sequences, motion and messaging between controllers.

Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation. It has 14 modules and takes about 34.6 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$28.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.

  • Free
  • Intermediate
  • 34.6 hours
  • Self-paced
  • Certificate optional
  • Lab practice in your browser
See what you learn

No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$28.99, 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
Studio 5000 Logix Designer and Logix Emulate or Echo (paid Rockwell products: check Rockwell's current licence and trial terms). Hardware: none required.
Updated
Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course cover
Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course cover

After this course you can

By the end you will be able to:

  • Organise a Logix project with tasks, programs and routines
  • Design tag structures and aliases
  • Program in ladder, function block, structured text and SFC
  • Write reusable Add-On Instructions
  • Exchange data between controllers with CIP messaging

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: Intermediate. Intermediate. The free Studio 5000 course is the prerequisite.

What you need

Software: Studio 5000 Logix Designer and Logix Emulate or Echo (paid Rockwell products: check Rockwell's current licence and trial terms).

Hardware: None required.. What to download, and how.

How this course works

  1. Watch the lessons

    Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.

  2. Read the notes

    Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.

  3. Practise in the 3D labOptional

    Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.

  4. Check yourself

    Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.

  5. Final assessment

    Pass the final once you have been through the modules.

  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptional

    Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.

What you learn

14 modules in order, at your own pace. 34.6 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.

  1. 1Logix Architecture, PLC versus PAC and Quick Starts2h 15m
  2. 2Memory, Tags and Aliases1h 27m
  3. 3Tasks, Programs, Routines and Edit Zones1h 35m
  4. 4Universal I/O, Conveyor Code and Production Counts, with lab practice: 2h 6m
  5. 5GSV, SSV and Changing Processors and I/O1h 4m
  6. 6Communication Modules, Remote I/O and ControlLogix1h 59m
  7. 7Data Types and Analog, with lab practice: 3h 10m
  8. 8Languages: Ladder, FBD and Structured Text, with lab practice: 3h 45m
Show the other 6 modules
  1. 9Sequential Function Charts, with lab practice: 2h 46m
  2. 10Motion, with lab practice: 2h 33m
  3. 11Add-On Instructions2h 53m
  4. 12CIP Messaging1h 51m
  5. 13Testing and Troubleshooting: Emulation, Fault Handling, Trends and Cross Reference1h 1m
  6. 14Final 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.

No Studio 5000 licence? The practice tasks give a free route in Connected Components Workbench for the ladder, FBD and ST exercises.

Show what to download (3 tools)

Required

  1. 01

    Studio 5000 Logix Designer

    Rockwell Automation

    Paid only
    Runs on
    Windows (check the Studio 5000 entry on the Product Compatibility and Download Center for exact versions)
    Account
    A Rockwell Automation account plus a purchased licence (serial number or subscription)

    Rockwell sells Studio 5000 Logix Designer as a perpetual licence or a paid subscription. Rockwell's product page offers no public free trial or free edition.

    Rockwell Automation product pagerockwellautomation.com

    Legitimate free routes

Optional

Useful, not needed to finish the course.

  1. 02

    Studio 5000 Logix Emulate and FactoryTalk Logix Echo

    Rockwell Automation

    Paid, 30-day Logix Echo trial on request
    Runs on
    Windows
    Account
    A Rockwell Automation account; the Logix Echo trial is requested through a form on Rockwell's page

    Both emulators are paid Rockwell products. Rockwell offers a 30-day FactoryTalk Logix Echo trial licence on request; Logix Emulate has no trial on its product page. Both also need a licensed Studio 5000 Logix Designer to create the programs you emulate.

    Rockwell Automation product pagerockwellautomation.com

    Legitimate free routes

  2. 03

    Connected Components Workbench Standard Edition

    Rockwell Automation

    Free
    Runs on
    Windows 10 or 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit, or Windows Server 2019/2022
    Account
    A free Rockwell Automation account (sign in to the Product Compatibility and Download Center)

    The Standard Edition is free and needs no activation. It includes a demo version of the Micro800 Simulator; the full simulator comes with the paid Developer Edition.

    Official download pagecompatibility.rockwellautomation.com

    Alternatives

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

Practise the sequencing, counting and language choices from the course by building the same logic in ladder, structured text and SFC in the PLC lab.

Build a ladder rungWatch

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Course project, about 16 hours

Two ControlLogix controllers for a steel plant's water treatment and cooling towers: AOI library, produced/consumed tags and an SDS

Design and build the software for two 1756-L83E controllers, one for a steel plant's water-treatment plant and one for its cooling towers. They share data by produced and consumed tags. You write a small library of motor, valve and analog Add-On Instructions, periodic tasks, a filter backwash SFC and one PIDE loop. You deliver the projects, your own SDS extract, a FAT record and a tuning record. The sample pack shows how an integrator documents a two-controller system.

This project at a glance
  1. 9documents in the pack
  2. 8steps to follow
  3. 5things to hand in
  4. 16 hof work, at your pace
  • FDSFunctional Design Specification: Water Treatment and Cooling Tower Controls Rewrite
  • SDSSoftware Design Specification: WT_PLC and CT_PLC
  • I/O listI/O List: Chassis WT-A1, Remote WT_Filters and Chassis CT-A1
  • BOMBill of Materials: Controller Chassis WT-A1, CT-A1 and Remote WT_Filters
  • Tag listTag List and Naming Convention, both controllers (extract)
  • IP planIP Address Plan and Device List: Utilities Network

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.

Sample EDWartens Certificate of Completion for Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced

Sample. The issued certificate carries your name, your final score, a certificate ID and a QR code that opens its verification page.

Optional

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$28.99 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.

An engineer in a hard hat checking neat, labelled wiring on I/O racks inside an open control cabinet.
Free · 4 weeks · free certificate

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 internship

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: plcprofessor, Jeffrey Reynolds, SolisPLC, ARC AUTOMATION CONSULTING Ltd., Shane Welcher SR, PLCGurus.NET. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.

plcprofessor · Jeffrey Reynolds · SolisPLC · ARC AUTOMATION CONSULTING Ltd. · Shane Welcher SR · PLCGurus.NET. 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.

See the 3D lab
  • 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

Is the basic Studio 5000 course required?

Yes. This course assumes you can already create a project, add I/O and write ladder.

How long is it?

About 28 hours of video: plcprofessor's lectures are long and thorough.

Do I need hardware?

No. Logix Emulate or Echo runs every exercise.

Is the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced 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 vendor qualification?

An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.

Who made the video lessons in the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced 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.

What software do I need?

Studio 5000 Logix Designer, with Logix Emulate or Logix Echo standing in for the controller. They are paid Rockwell products, so check Rockwell's current licence and trial terms, or use an employer or college licence. No hardware is required.

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 Studio 5000 Advanced course cover, module by module?

The Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course has 14 modules. It opens with "Logix Architecture, PLC versus PAC and Quick Starts", goes through "Memory, Tags and Aliases", "Communication Modules, Remote I/O and ControlLogix", "Sequential Function Charts" and "Testing and Troubleshooting: Emulation, Fault Handling, Trends and Cross Reference" 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 Studio 5000 Advanced course?

After the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course: Organise Logix projects with tasks, programs, routines and tags; Build universal I/O, conveyor code and production counts; Use GSV/SSV, communication modules and remote I/O. 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 Studio 5000 Advanced course, and does it cost anything?

For the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course, software: Studio 5000 Logix Designer and Logix Emulate or Echo (paid Rockwell products: check Rockwell's current licence and trial terms). Hardware: none required. The course itself is free.

Is the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course suitable for me, and what level is it?

Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced is rated intermediate. Intermediate. The free Studio 5000 course is the prerequisite. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation, and takes about 34.6 hours at your own pace.

Which jobs use the skills from the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course?

Skills from the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 Advanced course (for example: organise Logix projects with tasks, programs, routines and tags) 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 Studio 5000 Advanced, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.