PLC programming 路 Free
Omron PLC with CX-Programmer
Omron from first principles: automation, the PLC, CX-Programmer, every instruction family, and the worked programs that make it stick.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Automation, Control Systems and the PLC
Instrumentation Tools
Data Types, Addressing and Operating Modes
Instrumentation Tools
Bit Logic and Logic Gates
Instrumentation Tools
Interlocks: IL and ILC
Instrumentation Tools
Counters: CNT, CNTR and Reset
Instrumentation Tools
Move, Block Set, Data Exchange and Transfer
Instrumentation Tools
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain what a control system and a PLC do, install CX-Programmer and create a project, use Omron addressing and data types, write ladder with contacts, coils, KEEP, SET/RSET, DIFU/DIFD, interlocks, timers and counters, do arithmetic and comparisons, move and manipulate data, use shift registers, jumps and subroutines, scale an analog input, and solve the classic worked problems.
- Explain automation, control systems and the PLC from scratch
- Use Omron addressing: CIO, W, H, D, T, C and bit-of-word notation
- Latch with a seal-in, SET/RSET or KEEP, and know which input dominates
- Use IL/ILC interlocks and know what timers do inside them
- Use TIM, TIMX, TIMH, TMMH and TTIM, and CNT and CNTR
- Do arithmetic, comparison, block compare and area range compare
- Move, block-set, transfer, shift and rotate data
- Solve the conveyor, car park and tank programs from a specification
For you
Taking Omron PLC with CX-Programmer 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 16 hours
Tunnel oven line OV-1: zone temperatures, band speed and a witnessed FAT on a CP1E
Design, program, test and document the control panel for a three-zone electric tunnel oven and its wire-mesh band: a start-up sequence that purges, runs the band and brings the zones up in a stagger, on-off zone control from 4-20 mA temperature transmitters through a CP1W-AD041, band speed to an MX2 drive through a CP1W-DA021, bake recipes moved with XFER, and an NB7W operator screen. You deliver the CX-Programmer project, your own I/O list and FAT record, and the operator note. The sample pack shows what a system integrator hands over for the same oven.
Sample document pack, 9 documents, filled in for the scenario
- FDSFunctional Design Specification: Tunnel Oven OV-1 Control System
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-201
- Panel GAControl Panel CP-201: General Arrangement
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-201 and Field Devices
- Tag listPLC Symbol List and Naming Convention
- Alarm listAlarm List: Oven OV-1
- FATFactory Acceptance Test Record: Panel CP-201
- O&M manualOperation and Maintenance Manual: Oven OV-1 (Operation section)
- Handover certificateSite Acceptance and Handover Certificate: Oven OV-1
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
16 modules 路 67 lessons 路 10h 8m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Automation, Control Systems and the PLC4 lessons50m
- 02Omron PLCs and CX-Programmer4 lessons31m
- 03Data Types, Addressing and Operating Modes3 lessons18m
- 04First Project and the Simulator2 lessons11m
- 05Bit Logic and Logic Gates5 lessons49m
- 06Latching, Set/Reset, KEEP and Edges6 lessons41m
- 07Interlocks: IL and ILC2 lessons13m
- 08Timers: TIM, TIMX, TIMH, TMHH and TTIM6 lessons43m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Absolute beginner. The first module explains what industrial automation is.
- Software
- CX-Programmer (part of CX-One; trial from Omron) with CX-Simulator What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. CX-Simulator runs every exercise.
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 trial: 30 days
CX-One (CX-Programmer, CX-Simulator)
Omron
- Runs on
- Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11 (Windows 11 is 64-bit only)
- Account
- Registration with Omron through the trial download form (name, email, company, country)
- Size
- about 2.7 GB download (CX-One v4.61 trial ZIP)
Omron sends a download link and a licence key for a 30-day trial after you register. CX-One includes CX-Programmer and CX-Simulator; after the trial you need to buy a licence.
Steps
- 1.Open the Omron CX-One trial download form.
- 2.Fill in your details and accept the Omron privacy policy.
- 3.Open the email from Omron and download the trial installer.
- 4.Unzip the download and run the setup as administrator.
- 5.Enter the 30-day trial licence key from the email when the installer asks.
- Keep the email: it holds the trial licence key.
- Use CX-Simulator inside CX-One to run programs on a virtual PLC.
Official download pageindustrial.omron.eu
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Omron PLC with CX-Programmer at a glance
Omron PLC with CX-Programmer 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 16 modules and 10h 8m of video lessons by Instrumentation Tools, 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
- 16 self-paced modules, 10h 8m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Absolute beginner. The first module explains what industrial automation is.
- Brand
- OMRON
- Software
- CX-Programmer (part of CX-One; trial from Omron) with CX-Simulator
- Hardware
- None. CX-Simulator runs every exercise.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Instrumentation Tools (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
PLC programming 路 FreeOmron Sysmac Studio: NX and NJ Machine ControllersOmron's modern platform end to end: NX1P and NJ controllers, Sysmac Studio, variables and tasks, EtherCAT and I/O, analog and IO-Link, networking, HMI, advanced programming, 1S servos and camming, NX Safety and CIP Safety, SQL and recipes, backups and maintenance, with Omron's own five training sessions built in.
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 Omron PLC course 路 Free PLC programming courses
Learning paths with this course
- Machine-builder PLCs 路 4 coursesMitsubishi, Omron, Schneider and Delta: the compact controllers inside packaging, textile, plastics and food machines.
- Japanese PLC platforms 路 4 coursesOmron Sysmac and CX-Programmer, Mitsubishi GX Works3 and GX Works2: the controllers inside many packaging, textile and automotive machines, especially in Asia.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Omron PLC with CX-Programmer, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Do I need CX-Programmer?
For the exercises, yes. It ships in CX-One, for which Omron offers a trial. CX-Simulator, included, runs every exercise without a PLC.
Do I need an Omron PLC?
No. CX-Simulator stands in for it throughout.
Which Omron PLCs does this cover?
The instruction set is common to the CP1, CJ1 and CJ2 families, which is most of the Omron installed base. Sysmac Studio and the NJ/NX series are a different tool and not covered here.
Some lessons in the source series are members-only. Are they in the course?
No. Four members-only lessons were deliberately left out so you never hit a paywall. Their topics are covered by the public lessons that remain.
What computer do I need for the Omron PLC with CX-Programmer course?
A 64-bit Windows 10 machine with 8 GB of RAM. CX-One is Windows-only.
Is the Omron PLC with CX-Programmer 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 Omron qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Omron credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Omron PLC with CX-Programmer 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 you walk away with
Your certificate for Omron PLC with CX-Programmer
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.
- Instrumentation Toolsthe entire Omron PLC course series
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.