Electrical 路 Free
Industrial Motor Control
The electrical foundation of every machine: contactors, relays, overloads and protection, switches, ladder logic and documentation, manual and magnetic starters, two-wire, three-wire and hand-off-auto circuits, pumping applications, jogging, reversing and interlocks, plugging and braking, reduced-voltage and soft starters, timers, and testing and troubleshooting on a real trainer board.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Electrically Controlled Systems and the Trainer
anthony poole
Contactors, Relays, Overloads and Protection
Jim Pytel
Switches, Ladder Logic and Documentation
Jim Pytel
Manual Motor Starters
Jim Pytel
Magnetic Starters: Two-Wire, Three-Wire and Hand-Off-Auto
Jim Pytel
Pumping Circuits and Control Panels
Jim Pytel
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Read and draw motor control ladder diagrams, select contactors, overloads, fuses and breakers, wire manual and magnetic starters with two-wire, three-wire and HOA control, build reversing, jogging and braking circuits with interlocks, apply reduced-voltage and soft starting, use on-delay, off-delay, one-shot and recycle timers, and test and troubleshoot motor circuits safely.
- Select contactors, relays, overloads, fuses, breakers and transformers
- Read and document motor control ladder diagrams
- Wire manual and magnetic starters with two-wire, three-wire and HOA control
- Build reversing, jogging and braking circuits with interlocks
- Apply reduced-voltage and soft starting and motor-control timers
- Test motors and troubleshoot control circuits
For you
Taking Industrial Motor Control 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 14 hours
Five-machine starter panel for a woodworking shop: DOL, star-delta, two-speed and reversing in relay logic
Design, document and test-record a relay-logic starter panel for a furniture workshop's five machines: a DOL panel saw, a star-delta planer, a two-speed spindle moulder, a star-delta dust extractor with a run-on timer, and a reversing sander feed with jog. You deliver the motor list, the control circuits rung by rung, the BOM with real contactor and overload numbers, the panel layout and a completed test record. The sample pack shows what an electrical contractor hands the owner with the panel.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Motor listMotor List: Workshop WS1 Starter Panel SP-01
- MCC scheduleStarter Schedule: Panel SP-01, Group by Group
- Wiring drawingsPower and Control Circuit Drawings: Sheet Index and Rungs
- Panel GAStarter Panel SP-01: General Arrangement
- BOMBill of Materials: Starter Panel SP-01
- Cable scheduleCable Schedule: Workshop WS1
- Test reportTest Sheet: Motors, Panel SP-01 and Functional Tests
- O&M manualOperating and Maintenance Note: Starter Panel SP-01
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
12 modules 路 60 lessons 路 18h 57m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Electrically Controlled Systems and the Trainer2 lessons36m
- 02Contactors, Relays, Overloads and Protection8 lessons2h 56m
- 03Switches, Ladder Logic and Documentation6 lessons2h 37m
- 04Manual Motor Starters4 lessons38m
- 05Magnetic Starters: Two-Wire, Three-Wire and Hand-Off-Auto7 lessons1h 46m
- 06Pumping Circuits and Control Panels6 lessons1h 3m
- 07Jogging, Reversing and Interlocks6 lessons1h 54m
- 08Braking: Plugging, Friction and DC Injection4 lessons1h 12m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner. Basic electricity is enough; this course comes before PLCs.
- Software
- None required.
- Hardware
- None required. A motor control trainer board with a contactor, overload and push buttons makes every wiring lesson real.
Software you need
Nothing to install
Industrial Motor Control at a glance
Industrial Motor Control is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in electrical design and panel building. It has 12 modules and 18h 57m of video lessons by Jim Pytel, anthony poole, betechnical.ca and others, 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 electrical design and panel building
- Format
- 12 self-paced modules, 18h 57m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner. Basic electricity is enough; this course comes before PLCs.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required.
- Hardware
- None required. A motor control trainer board with a contactor, overload and push buttons makes every wiring lesson real.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Jim Pytel, anthony poole, betechnical.ca, RealPars (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
Electrical 路 FreeETAP Power System Analysis: Load Flow, Short Circuit, Protection, Arc Flash and StabilityThe power-system studies every substation, plant and data-centre project needs, done in ETAP: single-line modelling, load flow and the per-unit system, cable and transformer sizing, short circuit by IEC 60909 and ANSI, relay setting and coordination with Star view, differential, distance, busbar and motor protection, arc flash, capacitor placement and power factor, motor starting and re-acceleration, transient stability, harmonics and filters, and earthing grid design.
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.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.More free courses: Free electrical design and control panel courses
Learning paths with this course
- Electrical and mechanical fundamentals 路 4 coursesBefore the PLC: the electrical basics a technician works by, motor control with contactors and starters, pneumatics and hydraulics, and the control panel that holds it all. The base every automation engineer stands on.
- Power systems and electrical design 路 3 coursesFrom the load schedule to the signed study: electrical design engineering for loads, cables and breakers, ETAP for load flow, short circuit, coordination and arc flash, and motor control for what the drawings feed.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Industrial Motor Control, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Should I take this before the PLC courses?
Yes. Every PLC output ends in a contactor, and every ladder program is this course in software.
Do I need a trainer board?
No, but the lectures wire one and following along on a bench is the fastest way to learn.
Which mains voltages does it use?
The lectures are North American; the notes translate them to 400/415 V three-phase (IEC) practice and the control voltages used outside North America.
Is the Industrial Motor Control 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 Industrial Motor Control 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 Industrial Motor Control course take?
Plan on about 25 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the twelve modules at your own speed.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Industrial Motor Control
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.
- Jim Pytelthe motor control lectures and wiring labs
- anthony poolethe motor controls 101 playlist
- betechnical.caa lesson in "Switches, Ladder Logic and Documentation"
- RealPars2 lessons in "Reduced-Voltage Starting and Soft Starters"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.