PLC programming 路 Free
Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580
The large Schneider PLCs: Control Expert from install to hot standby, M340 and M580 hardware, ladder, FBD, ST and DFBs, analog and HART, Modbus TCP and EtherNet/IP with DTMs, OPC UA and OFS, SCADA integration, IEC 61850 and DNP3, safety outputs, diagnostics and migration.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Control Expert: Install, Licence, Simulator
INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION MAVEN --- LOUIS WYN
M340 and M580 Hardware, IP Addresses and I/O Cards
Automation4all
Programming Basics: Variables, Arrays, Values and Simulation
Automation4all
Structured Text, FBD, DFBs and DDTs
Schneider Electric
Analog Scaling and HART
Automation4all
Modbus TCP, DTM Browser and I/O Scanning
Automation4all
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Install Control Expert and use its simulator, configure M340 and M580 hardware and IP addresses, program in ladder, FBD and structured text with DFBs and DDTs, scale analog and configure HART, set up Modbus TCP and EtherNet/IP with DTMs and explicit messaging, expose data over OPC UA and OFS, integrate HMI and SCADA, configure IEC 61850, DNP3 and AS-i, understand hot standby and diagnostics, and migrate legacy projects.
- Install Control Expert, use libsets, the simulator and downloads
- Configure M340 and M580 CPUs, I/O cards, IP addresses and fail-safe outputs
- Program with variables, arrays, ST, FBD, DFBs and DDTs
- Scale analog signals and configure HART devices
- Set up Modbus TCP, I/O scanning, EtherNet/IP and explicit messaging with DTMs
- Expose data over OPC UA and OFS to UaExpert, Kepware and Ignition
- Integrate Vijeo Designer, InTouch, Citect, WinCC, FactoryTalk, Geo SCADA and more
- Configure IEC 61850, DNP3, counters and AS-i; understand hot standby, diagnostics and migration
For you
Taking Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580 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$28.99. 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 20 hours
Filter backwash on an M580: narrative, DFB library, SFC sequence and X80 I/O for a 60 MLD water works
Specify, design, program and test the backwash automation for the eight rapid gravity filters of a 60 MLD water-treatment plant: a control narrative, a hardware design with an M580 CPU and two X80 remote drops, a DFB library for valves, motors and analog inputs, one SFC section that backwashes whichever filter is due, interlocks that keep two filters from washing at once, and a FAT run on the Control Expert simulator. You deliver the project archive, your own I/O list and FAT record, and the DFB interface tables. The sample pack shows what an integrator delivers to a water utility's EPC.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Control narrativeControl Narrative: Rapid Gravity Filter Backwash, Filters F-301 to F-308
- HDSHardware Design Specification: M580 Controller and X80 I/O
- SDSSoftware Design Specification: Backwash Program, DFB Library and SCADA Map
- I/O listI/O List: Local Rack CP-301 and RIO Drop 1 (Filter F-301 typical)
- BOMBill of Materials: CP-301, RIO Drops 1 and 2
- Interlock listInterlock and Permissive List: Filter Backwash
- Alarm listAlarm List: Filter Backwash
- FATFactory Acceptance Test Record: CP-301 and RIO Drops
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 95 lessons 路 21h 8m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Control Expert: Install, Licence, Simulator7 lessons22m
- 02M340 and M580 Hardware, IP Addresses and I/O Cards9 lessons2h 39m
- 03Programming Basics: Variables, Arrays, Values and Simulation8 lessons1h 46m
- 04Structured Text, FBD, DFBs and DDTs6 lessons59m
- 05Analog Scaling and HART4 lessons1h 31m
- 06Modbus TCP, DTM Browser and I/O Scanning11 lessons3h 19m
- 07EtherNet/IP and Explicit Messaging5 lessons1h 23m
- 08OPC UA, OFS and Data Servers10 lessons1h 60m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Intermediate. PLC basics assumed.
- Software
- EcoStruxure Control Expert (30-day trial) with its built-in simulator What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. Simulator for programming; hardware modules followed by watching.
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
EcoStruxure Control Expert
Schneider Electric
- Runs on
- Windows PC (check the release notes on the download page)
- Account
- A free Schneider Electric (mySchneider) account
Control Expert includes a 30-day trial licence that starts automatically the first time you launch it. The trial has the full XL feature set with the M580 Safety add-on; after 30 days you need a paid licence.
Steps
- 1.Open the Control Expert installation file page on se.com.
- 2.Log in or create a free Schneider Electric account.
- 3.Download the ISO file.
- 4.Mount the ISO and run the setup as administrator.
- 5.Launch Control Expert; the 30-day trial activates automatically.
- The download is a large ISO file; Schneider recommends Chrome or Firefox.
- Check the SHA256 value shown on the page after downloading.
Official download pagese.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.
Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580 at a glance
Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580 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 12 modules and 21h 8m of video lessons by Automation4all, Schneider Electric, Schneider Electric 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 automation, electrical and instrumentation
- Format
- 12 self-paced modules, 21h 8m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Intermediate. Intermediate. PLC basics assumed.
- Brand
- Schneider Electric
- Software
- EcoStruxure Control Expert (30-day trial) with its built-in simulator
- Hardware
- None. Simulator for programming; hardware modules followed by watching.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Automation4all, Schneider Electric, Schneider Electric, Industrial Automation Maven (Louis Wyn), Jasmine Jones (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 FreeSchneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert BasicThe Modicon M221 from the first download to a hundred solved ladder problems, with the official Schneider how-tos for the tooling.
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 Schneider Electric PLC course 路 Free PLC programming courses
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Is Control Expert free?
Schneider offers a 30-day trial; its simulator runs the programming modules, so install it when you reach them. The hardware and hot-standby modules are followed by watching.
Control Expert or Machine Expert Basic?
Machine Expert Basic is for the small M221; Control Expert is for M340, M580 and Quantum. Take the free Machine Expert Basic course first if you are new to Schneider.
Why so much about communication?
Because M580 projects are integration projects: Modbus, EtherNet/IP, OPC UA and SCADA links are most of the engineering time on a real site.
Is the Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert 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 Schneider Electric qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Schneider Electric credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert 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 Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert course take?
Plan on about 29 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 Schneider EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580
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$28.99, 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.
- Automation4allthe Unity Pro training series
- Schneider Electricthe official Control Expert how-to tutorials
- Schneider Electricthe official Control Expert and Unity Pro support videos
- Industrial Automation Maven (Louis Wyn)the Control Expert to HMI and SCADA integration masterclass
- Jasmine Jonesthe Modicon M580 hardware and hot standby videos
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.