PLC programming 路 Free
Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic
The Modicon M221 from the first download to a hundred solved ladder problems, with the official Schneider how-tos for the tooling.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Schneider PLCs and Machine Expert Basic
Instrumentation Tools
Switch-Based Programs
Instrumentation Tools
Counters, Comparisons and Operation Blocks
Schneider Electric
Digital Logic Circuits and Alarms
Instrumentation Tools
Timers: TON, TOF and TP
Instrumentation Tools
Timer Applications II
Instrumentation Tools
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Install Machine Expert Basic and create an M221 project, build every logic gate in ladder, use memory bits, set and reset coils and latching, convert Boolean expressions and logic circuits into rungs, program TON, TOF and TP timers, count, compare and move values with counter and operation blocks, solve more than fifty worked applications, and use the official tooling: addressing, shift registers, online change, symbols, Modbus TCP and HMI sharing.
- Install Machine Expert Basic and pick the M221 from the controller catalogue
- Build AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR and XNOR in ladder and prove them with truth tables
- Latch with a seal-in or set/reset and know which one restarts after a power cut
- Turn a Boolean expression or a logic-circuit drawing into rungs
- Use TON, TOF and TP for delays, pulses and sequences
- Count with the counter block and compare and move values with operation blocks
- Solve fifty-plus worked applications: traffic lights, mixers, washers, ovens, garages, parking
- Use indirect addressing, shift registers, online change and symbol comments
- Configure Modbus TCP and share variables with a Vijeo Designer HMI
For you
Taking Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic 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
Solvent transfer skid: metered batch transfer on a Modicon M221 with Magelis HMI and Modbus TCP
Design, program, test and document the control panel for a paint depot's solvent transfer skid: two pumps duty/standby, a metered batch from a bulk tank to one of two day tanks, level and flow from 4-20 mA transmitters on a TM3AI4, overfill and dry-run protection, a Magelis HMISTU855 screen and a Modbus TCP register map for the depot's stock system. You deliver the Machine Expert Basic project, your own I/O list and FAT record, and the hand-over note. The sample document pack shows what each one looks like when a system integrator delivers it.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- URSUser Requirements: Solvent Transfer Skid SK-1
- FDSFunctional Design Specification: SK-1 Batch Transfer Control
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-201
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-201 and Field Devices
- Alarm listAlarm List: SK-1
- FATFactory Acceptance Test Record: Panel CP-201
- O&M manualOperation and Maintenance Manual: Skid SK-1 (Operation section)
- Handover certificateSite Acceptance and Handover Certificate: SK-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
18 modules 路 109 lessons 路 18h 50m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Schneider PLCs and Machine Expert Basic6 lessons38m
- 02Logic Gates in Ladder7 lessons1h 2m
- 03Switch-Based Programs6 lessons1h 13m
- 04Set, Reset, Memory Bits and Latching6 lessons58m
- 05Counters, Comparisons and Operation Blocks3 lessons15m
- 06Boolean Expressions to Ladder7 lessons1h 6m
- 07Digital Logic Circuits and Alarms5 lessons43m
- 08Push-Button Programs and Forcing6 lessons1h 24m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Absolute beginner. Every instruction is introduced through a worked example.
- Software
- EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic (free from Schneider Electric) with its simulator What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. The 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
EcoStruxure Machine Expert - Basic
Schneider Electric
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11
- Account
- A free Schneider Electric (mySchneider) account
Schneider lists Machine Expert Basic as a free licence for programming Modicon M221 controllers.
Steps
- 1.Open the Machine Expert Basic download page on se.com.
- 2.Log in or create a free Schneider Electric account.
- 3.Download the installer.
- 4.Run the installer as administrator and follow the prompts.
- 5.Start Machine Expert Basic and create an M221 project.
- Schneider recommends Chrome or Firefox for large downloads from se.com.
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 Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic at a glance
Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic 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 18 modules and 18h 50m of video lessons by Instrumentation Tools, Schneider Electric, Tech Talk Lalitesh 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
- 18 self-paced modules, 18h 50m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Absolute beginner. Every instruction is introduced through a worked example.
- Brand
- Schneider Electric
- Software
- EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic (free from Schneider Electric) with its simulator
- Hardware
- None. The simulator runs every exercise.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Instrumentation Tools, Schneider Electric, Tech Talk Lalitesh, Eight Min Automation (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 EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) with Modicon M340 and M580The 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.
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
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.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Do I need to buy the software?
No. EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic is a free download from Schneider Electric and includes a simulator that runs every exercise.
Which Schneider PLCs does this cover?
The Modicon M221 through Machine Expert Basic, including Modbus TCP on the M221. The M241, M251 and M262 use the full Machine Expert, and the M340 and M580 use Control Expert: both are different tools and not covered here.
Do I need a PLC?
No. The simulator stands in for it. The wiring and catalogue lessons prepare you for a real M221 when you meet one.
Why are there so many worked examples?
Because that is how ladder is learned. The source series solves one application per lesson, and the practice task asks you to solve it first and compare.
What computer do I need for the Schneider Modicon PLC course?
A 64-bit Windows 10 machine with 8 GB of RAM. Machine Expert Basic is Windows-only.
Is the Schneider Modicon PLC 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 Modicon PLC 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 Schneider Modicon PLC with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Basic
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 100-lesson Schneider PLC course series
- Schneider Electricthe official EcoStruxure Machine Expert how-to videos
- Tech Talk Lalitesha lesson in "Schneider PLCs and Machine Expert Basic"
- Eight Min Automationa lesson in "Counters, Comparisons and Operation Blocks"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.