Drives 路 Free
Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network Control
Power wiring, keypad and terminal control, analog and preset speed references, relay outputs, PLC and Modbus control, fieldbus, safety functions and troubleshooting, on a generic drive and the Schneider ATV320.
Inside the course
From the lessons
What a VFD Is and Which One to Buy
The Engineering Mindset
Keypad and Basic Parameters
ATO Automation
Speed Reference: Potentiometer, 4-20 mA, Presets and Ramps
ATO Automation
PLC Control of a VFD
ATO Automation
Fieldbus on the ATV320: PROFINET, PROFIBUS, EtherNet/IP, POWERLINK
Schneider Electric
Safety Functions, Fault Reset, Password and Reset
Schneider Electric
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain what a VFD does and choose one; wire it on single- or three-phase supply; set basic parameters; run in 2-wire, 3-wire and push-button control with reverse; give the speed reference from a potentiometer, 4-20 mA or presets with ramps; use relay and analog outputs; control the drive from a PLC by terminals, analog and Modbus RTU; connect an ATV320 over PROFINET, PROFIBUS, EtherNet/IP and POWERLINK; build constant-pressure pumping; set safety, fault reset and passwords; troubleshoot.
- Explain V/F against vector control and VFD against soft starter and servo
- Wire a drive on single-phase or three-phase supply, with shielding and earthing
- Set motor nameplate and basic parameters from the keypad
- Run in 2-wire, 3-wire and single-button control with forward and reverse
- Give the speed reference by potentiometer, 4-20 mA, presets and ramps
- Wire relay and analog outputs to a PLC and control the drive from a PLC
- Control the drive over Modbus RTU and connect an ATV320 to PROFINET, PROFIBUS and EtherNet/IP
- Configure constant-pressure pumping, safety functions and fault reset, and troubleshoot
For you
Taking Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network 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 18 hours
Eight drives in a hospital plant room: retrofit, commission and prove the saving
Retrofit variable frequency drives on the eight pumps and fans of a 400-bed hospital's chilled-water plant: survey the motors, select and schedule the drives, write the parameter list, wire the hand/off/auto control and the BMS interface, commission each drive with a bump test and measured currents, and prove the energy saving with affinity-law arithmetic. You deliver the motor list, the parameter list, the commissioning record and the energy report. The sample pack shows what an electrical contractor hands the hospital's engineer at the end.
Sample document pack, 8 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Motor listMotor List: HVAC Plant Room, VFD Retrofit
- Load listElectrical Load List: MCC-HV1
- MCC scheduleMCC Schedule: MCC-HV1
- Single lineSingle Line Diagram: MCC-HV1 and Feeder from MLTP-1
- I/O listI/O List: Drive Control Terminals and Field Instruments
- Drive parameter listDrive Parameter List and Commissioning Record: ACS580, VFD-CHWP-01 (typical) and Deltas
- Commissioning procedureCommissioning Procedure and Record: Eight Drives, MCC-HV1
- ReportEnergy Saving Report: Affinity-Law Projection, Harmonics and Power Quality
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
13 modules 路 59 lessons 路 5h 10m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01What a VFD Is and Which One to Buy5 lessons35m
- 02Power Wiring: Supplies, Motors and Phases4 lessons33m
- 03Keypad and Basic Parameters6 lessons28m
- 04Terminal Control: 2-Wire, 3-Wire, Push Buttons, Reverse7 lessons23m
- 05Speed Reference: Potentiometer, 4-20 mA, Presets and Ramps7 lessons27m
- 06Relay and Analog Outputs and Status4 lessons14m
- 07PLC Control of a VFD4 lessons19m
- 08Modbus RTU and RS-485 Control4 lessons33m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner to intermediate. Electrical basics assumed; no drive experience needed.
- Software
- None required. SoMove (free from Schneider) optional for the ATV320 modules. What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None required. Any small VFD and a three-phase motor let you do every exercise for real.
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.
Nothing is required
SoMove is only for the ATV320 modules.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
SoMove
Schneider Electric
- Runs on
- Windows PC
- Account
- A free Schneider Electric (mySchneider) account may be asked for at download
Schneider lists SoMove as free licence setup software for configuring its drives and motor control devices. Device DTM libraries are downloaded separately.
Steps
- 1.Open the SoMove (FDT standalone) download page on se.com.
- 2.Log in with a Schneider Electric account if asked.
- 3.Download and run the SoMove installer.
- 4.Download the DTM library for your drive family from se.com and install it.
- 5.Start SoMove and connect to a drive or work offline.
- Install the DTM library for the drive you are studying, for example Altivar, or SoMove will not list it.
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.
Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network Control at a glance
Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network Control is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in electrical and automation maintenance. It has 13 modules and 5h 10m of video lessons by ATO Automation, Schneider Electric, The Engineering Mindset 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 and automation maintenance
- Format
- 13 self-paced modules, 5h 10m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. Electrical basics assumed; no drive experience needed.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required. SoMove (free from Schneider) optional for the ATV320 modules.
- Hardware
- None required. Any small VFD and a three-phase motor let you do every exercise for real.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- ATO Automation, Schneider Electric, The Engineering Mindset, 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
Drives 路 FreeSiemens SINAMICS Drives: G120 and S120 with STARTER and StartdriveSiemens drives the way commissioning engineers work them: the SINAMICS family and STARTER, projects and uploads, G120 commissioning, BICO technology and command sources, limits, bands and diagnostics, parameter backup and firmware, S120 components and configuration, S120 in TIA Portal with Startdrive and motion blocks, drive safety STO and SS1, and S210 motion commissioning.
Drives 路 FreeAllen-Bradley PowerFlex DrivesRockwell drives from keypad to Logix: the PowerFlex family and VFD fundamentals, the 525 keypad and parameters, 2-wire, 3-wire, reverse, potentiometer and analog wiring, Connected Components Workbench, EtherNet/IP with Logix and ADC, encoder, PID, StepLogic and STO, the PowerFlex 4 and 4M, the 750 series and 755TS, and Armor PowerFlex, MCCs and line reactors.
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.More free courses: Free VFD and servo courses
Learning paths with this course
- Process control 路 4 coursesInstrumentation, PID loops and drives on top of a PLC: the combination process plants, water boards and pharma lines hire for.
- Control theory to the loop 路 4 coursesMATLAB and Simulink for the theory, PID control for the practice, instrumentation for the signals and VFDs for the actuators.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network Control, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Do I need a drive?
No, but it helps: any small VFD and a three-phase motor let you do every exercise for real. Without one, SoMove's offline mode lets you configure an ATV320 on the PC.
Is this only about the Schneider ATV320?
The generic modules use a low-cost drive typical of what you meet in the field, and the ATV320 modules show the same functions on a mainstream industrial drive. The concepts transfer to Siemens, ABB, Danfoss, Delta and Allen-Bradley drives.
Is this safe to do at home?
Only with a proper supply, earthing and enclosure, and only if you are competent with mains. The course explains the wiring; it does not make anyone qualified to work on mains.
What certificate do I get, and is it a Schneider 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.
Is the Variable Frequency Drives 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.
Who made the video lessons in the Variable Frequency Drives 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 Variable Frequency Drives course take?
Plan on about 12 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the thirteen modules at your own speed.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Variable Frequency Drives: Wiring, Programming, PLC and Network 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.
- ATO Automationthe VFD wiring, parameter and control videos
- Schneider Electricthe official Altivar Machine ATV320 how-to videos
- The Engineering Mindseta lesson in "What a VFD Is and Which One to Buy"
- RealParsa lesson in "Modbus RTU and RS-485 Control"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.