Robotics
FANUC Robot Programming with the Teach Pendant and ROBOGUIDE
Program a FANUC robot with the teach pendant, practising in ROBOGUIDE, from your first jog to a pick-and-place routine.
FANUC Robot Programming with the Teach Pendant and ROBOGUIDE is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics. It has 18 modules and takes about 24.2 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
- 24.2 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 manufacturing and robotics
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: robot programmer, automation engineer, cell integrator and maintenance technician. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- FANUC ROBOGUIDE for the simulation modules: a licence from work or college, or a 30-day trial that FANUC grants on request through its my.FANUC portal. RoboDK is a free-trial alternative for practising offline programming. Hardware: none required. ROBOGUIDE stands in for the robot.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Start, jog and recover a FANUC robot safely
- Define user and tool frames
- Write teach-pendant programs with joint, linear and circular motion
- Use registers, labels, IF, SELECT, WAIT and loops
- Build a pick-and-place and back up the robot
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics.
Level: Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. No robot experience assumed.
What you need
Software: FANUC ROBOGUIDE for the simulation modules: a licence from work or college, or a 30-day trial that FANUC grants on request through its my.FANUC portal. RoboDK is a free-trial alternative for practising offline programming.
Hardware: None required. ROBOGUIDE stands in for the robot.. 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
18 modules in order, at your own pace. 24.2 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1The FANUC Robot System and the Teach Pendant, with lab practice: 55m
- 2Starting, Jogging and Clearing Faults, with lab practice: 21m
- 3Frames: User Frames and Tool Frames58m
- 4The First TP Program: Joint and Linear Motion, with lab practice: 55m
- 5Circular Motion, Approach and Depart, with lab practice: 1h 0m
- 6Editing Programs29m
- 7Registers and Position Registers, with lab practice: 37m
- 8Branching, Labels, Calls, I/O and Wait, with lab practice: 1h 27m
Show the other 10 modules
- 9IF, SELECT and Loops23m
- 10Offsets and Program Adjust45m
- 11Grippers and Pick-and-Place41m
- 12ROBOGUIDE: Install, Navigate, Build a Cell1h 11m
- 13ROBOGUIDE: Targets, Programs and DCS1h 43m
- 14Palletising with Pallet Pro and Pallet Tool1h 28m
- 15Alarms, Error Recovery and Advanced Instructions, with lab practice: 1h 1m
- 16Production Setup, Backup and Protection27m
- 17PLC Integration and Machine Vision Introduction57m
- 18Final 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 (2 tools)
Required
- 01Free trial: 30 days
ROBOGUIDE
FANUC
- Runs on
- Windows PC (check the requirements shown in the my.FANUC portal)
- Account
- A my.FANUC portal account (FANUC Europe)
FANUC Europe offers a 30-day ROBOGUIDE trial through its my.FANUC portal. FANUC decides who gets portal access, so a private learner may be asked for company details or referred to a local FANUC office. After the trial a paid licence from FANUC is needed.
Steps
- 1.Open the ROBOGUIDE page on fanuc.eu and select Test Now.
- 2.Register for a my.FANUC account, or sign in if you have one.
- 3.Request the ROBOGUIDE trial in the portal and wait for FANUC to confirm it.
- 4.Download the installer from the portal and install it on a Windows PC.
- 5.Start ROBOGUIDE and enter the trial licence details FANUC sends you.
- Use a work or school email address if you have one; portal requests are checked by FANUC.
- Outside Europe, ask your local FANUC office or an authorised FANUC training centre about access.
Official download pagefanuc.euAlternatives
- RoboDK: 30-day trial, then a limited free mode. Includes FANUC robots and FANUC post processors, so you can practise FANUC-style offline programming.
- FANUC training centre or employer licence: Many FANUC training centres and FANUC robot owners have ROBOGUIDE licences you can use on site.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 02Free trial: 30 days
RoboDK
RoboDK
- Runs on
- Windows 64-bit, macOS and Ubuntu Linux; also RoboDK for Web in a browser
- Account
- Your name and email address on the download form
The free trial gives simulation and offline programming features for 30 days with the full robot library. After 30 days RoboDK keeps basic functionality, with program generation limited to 50 instructions. Education licences for students and teachers are paid and need a university email address.
Steps
- 1.Open robodk.com/download.
- 2.Enter your name and email address and choose Windows, Mac or Ubuntu.
- 3.Run the installer and accept the RoboDK EULA.
- 4.Start RoboDK and open the robot library to load the robot used in your course.
- 5.Right-click the program and choose a post processor for your robot brand to generate code.
- Keep programs under 50 instructions if you continue after the trial.
- RoboDK includes post processors for FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa Motoman and Universal Robots.
Official download pagerobodk.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.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise safe start, jogging, teaching points, pick and place, palletising and machine tending on a working robot arm in the lab, alongside the pendant work.
- Safe startRobotics lab, about 15 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Safe start
- JogRobotics lab, about 20 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Jog
- Pick and placeRobotics lab, about 25 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Pick and place
- Machine tendingRobotics lab, about 35 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Machine tending
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 14 hours
Twin-lathe tending cell on an M-20iD/25: layout, DCS zone, handshake and cell FAT
Plan, program, safeguard and document a FANUC machine-tending cell in simulation. One M-20iD/25 loads and unloads two CNC lathes from a raw-part pallet to an outfeed conveyor, started by a PLC over the UOP signals. You deliver the TP programs, one DCS zone proved in ROBOGUIDE, a handshake table with the PLC steps, a cell FAT record and an operator recovery note. The sample pack shows what a robot integrator hands over.
- 10documents in the pack
- 9steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 6things to hand in
- 14 hof work, at your pace
- Cell layoutCell 3 Layout and Safeguarding: Twin-Lathe Tending Cell
- Risk registerRisk Assessment Register: Cell 3 (ISO 12100, task-based)
- SRSSafety Requirements Specification: Cell 3 Safety Functions
- I/O handshakePLC-Robot I/O Handshake Table: CP-301 to R-30iB Plus
- Control narrativeCycle Description and Modes: Cell 3 Twin-Lathe Tending
- SDSSoftware Design Specification: Robot Program Set and Cell PLC
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
- Robot programmer
- Automation engineer
- Cell integrator
- Maintenance technician
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: Dan Staifer, Automation Academy, Elite Automation, Robotics & Automation - Electro-Mechanical, Future Robotics. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Dan Staifer · Automation Academy · Elite Automation · Robotics & Automation - Electro-Mechanical · Future Robotics. 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 a robot?
No. ROBOGUIDE, where you can get it, runs every exercise with a virtual pendant, and the pendant modules can be followed on screen. If your workplace has a FANUC cell, they apply directly.
Is ROBOGUIDE free?
No. FANUC grants a 30-day trial on request through its my.FANUC portal, and approval is FANUC's decision. Ask your employer or college for a licence, or practise offline programming in RoboDK's free trial; every module can also be followed on screen.
Which FANUC controllers does this cover?
The R-30iA and R-30iB family with the iPendant, which is nearly every FANUC robot installed in the last fifteen years. The TP language is the same across them.
Is this a FANUC certification?
No. FANUC certifies through its own training centres. This course prepares you for that training and for working in a cell today.
Is the FANUC Robot Programming 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 FANUC qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a FANUC credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the FANUC Robot Programming 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 FANUC Robot Programming course cover, module by module?
The FANUC Robot Programming course has 18 modules. It opens with "The FANUC Robot System and the Teach Pendant", goes through "Starting, Jogging and Clearing Faults", "Registers and Position Registers", "ROBOGUIDE: Install, Navigate, Build a Cell" and "PLC Integration and Machine Vision Introduction" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the FANUC Robot Programming course?
After the FANUC Robot Programming course: Start, jog and fault-reset a FANUC robot in T1, T2 and AUTO; Teach tool and user frames and know what a wrong TCP does; Write TP programs with J, L and C motion, FINE and CNT, approach and depart. 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 FANUC Robot Programming course, and does it cost anything?
For the FANUC Robot Programming course, software: FANUC ROBOGUIDE for the simulation modules: a licence from work or college, or a 30-day trial that FANUC grants on request through its my.FANUC portal. RoboDK is a free-trial alternative for practising offline programming. Hardware: none required. ROBOGUIDE stands in for the robot. The course itself is free.
Is the FANUC Robot Programming course suitable for me, and what level is it?
FANUC Robot Programming is rated beginner. Beginner to intermediate. No robot experience assumed. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics, and takes about 24.2 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the FANUC Robot Programming course?
Skills from the FANUC Robot Programming course (for example: start, jog and fault-reset a FANUC robot in T1, T2 and AUTO) are used in roles such as robot programmer, automation engineer, cell integrator and maintenance technician, and in robotics 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
FANUC Robot Programming with the Teach Pendant and ROBOGUIDE, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.