PLC programming 路 Free
Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours
The 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.
Inside the course
From the lessons
What Automation Is, and What a PLC Actually Does
Instrumentation Tools
Inside the PLC, Hardware and the Scan Cycle
Instrumentation Tools
Wiring Basics, Sinking, Sourcing and 24 V DC
Instrumentation Tools
Meet Siemens and TIA Portal
Instrumentation Tools
Your First Project and Hardware Configuration
Instrumentation Tools
Addressing, Inputs, Outputs and Memory
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 PLC does and how it scans, wire a sinking or sourcing sensor correctly, create and configure an S7-1200 project in TIA Portal, address inputs and outputs through a tag table, download to S7-PLCSIM, and write and prove a start/stop seal-in rung with contacts and coils.
- Explain what a PLC does, where it sits in the automation pyramid and why it replaced the relay panel
- Describe the scan cycle and the process image, and say what happens to a signal shorter than one scan
- Wire a sinking or sourcing sensor to an S7-1200 input without guessing, and say what fail-safe means
- Create a TIA Portal project, pick the right CPU order number and set its IP address
- Read and write I, Q and M addresses and build a tag table with symbolic names
- Download to S7-PLCSIM and prove a start/stop seal-in rung by forcing inputs and watching the coil
For you
Taking Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours 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
- Siemens is one of the automation brands most widely installed across the Americas, so this is a skill plants and integrators near you ask for.
- 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 8 hours
Carton conveyor with stop gate and reject pusher: contacts, coils and a signed FAT on an S7-1200
Design, program, test and document a small carton conveyor for a printing works: a sealed-in conveyor run, a pneumatic stop gate that holds cartons until the strapping machine is clear, and a reject pusher that removes any carton without a label, all in contacts and coils with the cylinder's own sensors proving each move. You deliver the program, your own I/O list and FAT record, and a hand-over note. The sample pack shows what a system integrator delivers for a job this size.
Sample document pack, 7 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Control narrativeSequence of Operations: Carton Conveyor CV-1 with Stop Gate and Reject Pusher
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-1
- BOMBill of Materials: Panel CP-1 and Field Devices
- Wiring drawingsSchematic and Termination Drawings: Panel CP-1, Sheet Index
- FATFactory Acceptance Test Record: Panel CP-1
- O&M manualOperation and Maintenance Manual: Conveyor CV-1 (Operation section)
- Handover certificateSite Acceptance and Handover Certificate: Conveyor CV-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
9 modules 路 19 lessons 路 3h 16m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01What Automation Is, and What a PLC Actually Does2 lessons31m
- 02Inside the PLC, Hardware and the Scan Cycle2 lessons17m
- 03Wiring Basics, Sinking, Sourcing and 24 V DC1 lesson9m
- 04Meet Siemens and TIA Portal4 lessons28m
- 05Your First Project and Hardware Configuration2 lessons33m
- 06Addressing, Inputs, Outputs and Memory3 lessons42m
- 07Simulation, Running a PLC You Do Not Own1 lesson11m
- 08Contacts and Coils, The Two Symbols That Matter3 lessons25m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Absolute beginner. No prior PLC, electrical or programming knowledge assumed.
- Software
- TIA Portal V17+ (21-day trial) with S7-PLCSIM. Modules 1 to 3 need no software. What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None, everything runs in simulation
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.
Modules 1 to 3 need no software, so you can start while the download runs.
Required
- 01Free trial: 21 days
SIMATIC STEP 7 Professional and WinCC (TIA Portal) V21 Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 8.1 GB for the main ISO, plus an optional 3.1 GB DVD 2 with hardware support packages
Siemens lets registered users download the V21 trial of STEP 7 (Basic and Professional), STEP 7 Safety and WinCC and test it for 21 days. The same package is used for the full product; after 21 days you need a purchased licence to keep working.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in with your Siemens Industry Online Support account.
- 2.Download TIA_Portal_STEP7_Safety_WinCC_V21.iso (8.1 GB).
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the same page: PLCSIM is a separate download.
- 4.Right-click each ISO, choose Mount, and run Start.exe as administrator. Install STEP 7 and WinCC first, then PLCSIM.
- 5.Follow the setup, accept the licence terms and restart the PC when asked.
- 6.Open TIA Portal V21 and create a new project to confirm it runs.
- Install from a local drive with plenty of free space; Siemens lists 20 GB free as the minimum and the ISOs alone are over 10 GB.
- You only need DVD 2 if you want extra hardware support packages.
- If you cannot install locally, Siemens also offers a 21-day TIA Portal Cloud trial in the browser (one-hour sessions, not in every country).
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.comAlternatives
- TIA Portal Cloud trial: 21 days free in a cloud virtual machine, no install. Sessions are limited to one hour and it is not available in every country.
- 02Free trial: 21 days
S7-PLCSIM V21 (TIA Portal) Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 2.5 GB (ISO)
S7-PLCSIM V21 is offered as a 21-day trial on the same Siemens page as the STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial. It needs STEP 7 V21 installed on the same PC.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in.
- 2.Install STEP 7 V21 from the main TIA Portal ISO first.
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the section Download S7-PLCSIM Standard V21.
- 4.Mount the ISO, run Start.exe as administrator and follow the setup.
- 5.In TIA Portal, select your CPU and click Start simulation to open PLCSIM.
- Siemens notes that the PLCSIM Standard V21 installation also includes S7-PLCSIM Advanced V8.0.
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.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.
Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours at a glance
Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours 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 9 modules and 3h 16m of video lessons by Instrumentation Tools, ControlByte Automation, 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
- 9 self-paced modules, 3h 16m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Absolute beginner. No prior PLC, electrical or programming knowledge assumed.
- Brand
- Siemens
- Software
- TIA Portal V17+ (21-day trial) with S7-PLCSIM. Modules 1 to 3 need no software.
- Hardware
- None, everything runs in simulation
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Instrumentation Tools, ControlByte 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 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
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.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens S7-1200 with TIA Portal: The Tutorial SeriesEvery S7-1200 instruction, one short video at a time: bits, edges, timers, counters, comparators, maths, MOVE, conversion, analog scaling, jumps and shift registers.
HMI 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal HMI: KTP and Comfort Panels with WinCCEvery screen a plant operator touches, built in TIA Portal: tags, buttons, symbols, numeric input, bar graphs, navigation and templates, trends, alarms, recipes, faceplates, pop-ups, users and languages.More free courses: Free Siemens PLC courses 路 Free PLC programming courses
Learner reviews
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Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
How is this different from the full Siemens TIA Portal course?
It is the first eight modules of that course, the same lessons in the same order, with its own short final assessment and its own certificate. The full course goes on to timers, counters, analog scaling, function blocks and a WinCC HMI screen over 22 modules. This one stops at the point where you have written and proven your first ladder rung, which takes about three hours of video. If you finish it and want more, you continue into the full course from module 9 and nothing is repeated.
Why would I take the short one rather than the full course?
Because most people who start a 22-module course never reach the end, and the certificate is earned at the end. This course gets a working program and a certificate into your hands in an evening or two. It is also the honest test of whether PLC work suits you before you give it six weeks.
Do I need to buy TIA Portal?
No. Siemens publishes a free 21-day trial of TIA Portal with S7-PLCSIM included, and it needs only a free Siemens account to download. Modules 1 to 3 need no software at all, so do those first and install before module 4.
Do I need a real PLC?
No. Every exercise runs in S7-PLCSIM, the simulator included in the trial. Nothing in this course assumes you have hardware.
What kind of computer do I need?
A 64-bit Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise machine (the current TIA Portal V21 no longer supports Windows 10 Pro; older versions such as V17 still install on Windows 10) with 8 GB of RAM, around 50 GB free on the drive, and administrator rights to install. TIA Portal does not run on macOS or Linux natively; a Windows virtual machine works if it is given enough memory.
Is the Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours course really free?
Yes. Every module, every practice task and the final assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessment can be marked. The only paid item is the certificate, and only if you decide you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a Siemens qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion for the starter course, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a unique number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a Siemens credential and we will never describe it as one.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Siemens TIA Portal in Three Hours
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 Siemens TIA Portal lesson series that carries the course
- ControlByte Automationthe project creation and hardware configuration lessons
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.