PLC Campus

Interactive industrial automation training

Learn to program and troubleshoot PLCs on a machine that answers back.

Learn it. Program it. Troubleshoot it.

Write industry-standard ladder logic (XIC, XIO, OTE, timers, counters and latches) in your browser, put a virtual PLC in RUN, and watch a simulated conveyor do exactly what your program tells it to. Every lesson is graded by testing what your logic actually does on the machine.

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Programming
15 / 75
Troubleshooting
10
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What PLC Campus is, in under two minutesNarrated · captions

What it is

A PLC, a machine and a tester, all in the browser.

01

Real ladder logic

XIC, XIO, OTE, seal-ins, timers, counters, one-shots and latches, with the scan cycle, prescan and retentive behaviour of a real controller. Nothing is animated by hand: what lights up is what the engine solved.

02

A machine to control

A conveyor with pushbuttons, photoeyes, a motor starter, an overload, pilot lights and a downstream conveyor. It only moves when your outputs tell it to, and it fails the way real machines fail.

03

Graded by behaviour

There is no single right answer. The tester presses the buttons, waits for boxes and checks your tags against each requirement, then tells you what went wrong in terms of your own rungs.

The end goal

From your first rung to commissioning a line.

PLC Campus is built to take someone from never having seen ladder logic to being trusted with a real machine: able to write clean, safe logic to a specification, and able to walk up to a broken machine and find out why.

  1. 1ProgramSeventy-five lessons in seven courses: fundamentals, machine logic, data and math, program structure, sequencing, HMI and communications, and full projects ending in a simulated factory acceptance test.
  2. 2TroubleshootA separate track where the program works and the machine does not. Real faults (failed contacts, broken wires, stuck sensors, forces left on, bad edits) found the way technicians find them.
  3. 3Prove itEvery lesson ends with automated tests. Your progress is a record of what you have shown you can do, not of videos watched.

How every lesson works

Five stages: see it, try it, own it.

  1. 1

    Learn

    A short narrated video and plain-English notes, with rungs drawn by the real engine.

  2. 2

    Interactive Demonstration

    A finished program running a machine. Press the buttons and watch power flow, scan by scan.

  3. 3

    Guided Practice

    A nearly finished program. Fill in what is missing, with hints if you need them.

  4. 4

    Independent Challenge

    A work order and a blank rung. Any program that meets the requirements passes.

  5. 5

    Automated Testing

    Your logic is run against every requirement on a fresh PLC, and every failure is explained.

Programming track

75 lessons, seven courses.

15 lessons are ready now, and new ones are added course by course. Each one builds on the last, so start at Lesson 1 unless you already know the basics.

Course 1

PLC Programming Fundamentals

10 lessons · about 7.1 hours

Ten hands-on lessons that take you from your first rung to timers, counters and latched faults. Each lesson teaches one idea, lets you watch it work, then has you program a real machine and tests what your logic actually does.

  1. 01Your First PLC OutputBOOL tags, the scan cycle, XIC and OTE.
  2. 02Understanding XIOExamining when a bit is false, and reading normally-closed devices.
  3. 03AND/OR LogicSeries instructions and parallel branches.
  4. 04Motor Start/Stop/Seal-InHolding circuits: keeping a motor running after a momentary START.
  5. 05Interlocks and PermissivesWhich conditions stop a running machine, and which only prevent a start.
  6. 06TON TimersTiming how long a condition has been true: PRE, ACC, EN, TT and DN.
  7. 07Timer-Based SequencingSteps that happen in order: a start-up warning, then run.
  8. 08CTU Counters and RESCounting events: false-to-true transitions, PRE, ACC, DN, and resetting.
  9. 09ONS One-ShotsActing once, on the moment something changes: edges and single-scan pulses.
  10. 10OTL/OTU LatchesRetentive fault memory: latch it, show it, and reset it deliberately.

Course 2

Timers, Counters & Machine Logic

5 of 10 lessons ready · about 7.5 hours

The rest of the timer and counter family, and the patterns real machines are built from: run-on delays, service hours, zone tracking, alarm handling, input filtering and watchdogs.

  1. 11TOF Off-Delay TimersKeep the next conveyor running long enough to clear the transfer.
  2. 12RTO Retentive TimersRun-hours that survive stops, and a service reminder.
  3. 13CTD and Zone TrackingCount boxes in and out of a zone with one up/down counter.
  4. 14Flashing Alarms and AcknowledgeA timer flasher, horn silence and acknowledge: alarms an operator can read.
  5. 15Capstone: Conveyor Control PackageStart-up warning, run-on, batching and alarms: one machine, one work order.
  6. 16Debouncing Noisy InputsComing soonFilter a chattering sensor with timers.
  7. 17Watchdogs and TimeoutsComing soonFault when something expected does not happen.
  8. 18Cascaded Timers and CountersComing soonLong times and big totals from small pieces.
  9. 19First-Out Fault AnnunciationComing soonWhich fault happened first, when several trip together.
  10. 20Capstone: Accumulation ConveyorComing soonZone control with run-on, watchdogs and alarms.

Still to come

  • Course 3 · Lessons 21–32

    Data, Compare & Math

    Numbers in the PLC: integer tags, moves, compares, math and analog signals, ending with a tank fill and batch system.

    The 12 lessons
    1. 21. DINT Tags and MOV
    2. 22. Compare Instructions
    3. 23. Range Checks with LIM
    4. 24. Math Instructions
    5. 25. Analog Inputs and Scaling
    6. 26. Analog Alarms and Deadband
    7. 27. Analog Outputs
    8. 28. Arrays and Indirect Addressing
    9. 29. Bit Shift Tracking
    10. 30. FIFO Product Tracking
    11. 31. Totalizers and Rates
    12. 32. Capstone: Tank Fill and Batch

  • Course 4 · Lessons 33–42

    Program Organization & Structured Data

    How professional projects are laid out: tasks, routines, user-defined types and add-on instructions, plus how to change a running system safely.

    The 10 lessons
    1. 33. Tasks, Programs and Routines
    2. 34. Subroutines with JSR
    3. 35. User-Defined Types
    4. 36. A Motor Data Structure
    5. 37. Add-On Instructions
    6. 38. A Device AOI with Faults
    7. 39. Tag Scope and Aliases
    8. 40. Documenting a Program
    9. 41. Online Edits and Forces
    10. 42. Capstone: Four-Conveyor Line

  • Course 5 · Lessons 43–52

    Sequencing & State Machines

    Machines that do things in order: step sequences, state machines, modes, holds and fault recovery, on a pick-and-place cell.

    The 10 lessons
    1. 43. Step Sequences with a Step Number
    2. 44. The State Machine Pattern
    3. 45. Transition Timeouts
    4. 46. Hold and Resume
    5. 47. Fault Recovery and Safe States
    6. 48. Auto, Manual and Maintenance Modes
    7. 49. Pneumatic Cylinders and End Sensors
    8. 50. Interlocked Motion
    9. 51. Recipe-Driven Sequences
    10. 52. Capstone: Pick-and-Place Cell

  • Course 6 · Lessons 53–62

    HMI, Alarms & Communications

    The PLC and the people and machines around it: HMI handshakes, alarm design, drives over a network and diagnostics.

    The 10 lessons
    1. 53. HMI Pushbuttons and Handshakes
    2. 54. Alarm Design
    3. 55. Drive Control Words
    4. 56. Data Between Controllers
    5. 57. Remote I/O and Connection Faults
    6. 58. Controller Diagnostics
    7. 59. Time, Date and Shift Counts
    8. 60. Data for Reports
    9. 61. Access and Security
    10. 62. Capstone: Line HMI Interface

  • Course 7 · Lessons 63–75

    Real Projects & Commissioning

    From a written spec to a commissioned machine: I/O lists, test plans, five full projects, a simulated FAT and handover.

    The 13 lessons
    1. 63. Reading a Functional Specification
    2. 64. I/O Lists and Tag Plans
    3. 65. Writing a Test Plan
    4. 66. Project: Palletizer Infeed
    5. 67. Project: Mixing Tank
    6. 68. Project: Bottle Filler
    7. 69. Project: Sorting Diverter
    8. 70. Project: Lead/Lag Pump Station
    9. 71. Project: Batch Process
    10. 72. A Simulated Factory Acceptance Test
    11. 73. Commissioning and I/O Checkout
    12. 74. Handover Documentation
    13. 75. Final Capstone: Full Line Integration

Troubleshooting track

The program works. The machine doesn't. Find out why.

Most PLC work on a plant floor is keeping machines running. These lessons put a real fault on the conveyor and hand you a breakdown ticket. Watch the inputs, read the rungs online, follow the output into the field, and say what has failed. The repair is made, then tested. Wrong guesses are counted.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting PLC Systems

10 lessons · about 6.3 hours

A machine is down and you have to find out why. Each lesson puts a real fault on the conveyor: you read the I/O, follow the logic online, find the failed part and prove the repair works.

  1. T1The Troubleshooting MethodRead the inputs first: START does nothing.
  2. T2When STOP Is Always PressedFail-safe wiring, and what a broken normally-closed circuit looks like.
  3. T3A Photoeye That LiesA sensor stuck on or off, and what it does to the logic.
  4. T4Output On, Motor OffThe PLC did its job: follow the output into the field.
  5. T5Overload Keeps TrippingA protective device is telling you about the machine.
  6. T6Finding the Missing PermissiveFollow a blocked rung back through the logic to the input that is missing.
  7. T7Intermittent Faults and MiscountsA signal that drops for a moment, and why the logic reacts to it.
  8. T8Forces Left InstalledWhy the logic says one thing and the machine does another.
  9. T9A Bad Program ChangeWhen a machine fails right after an edit, suspect the edit.
  10. T10Capstone: Breakdown CallMore than one fault, and no hints.

For companies

Train your technicians on faults you never want on the real line.

Team plans with manager dashboards are on the way: assign courses, see who has passed which lessons, and give new starters a safe place to practise before they touch a running machine.

  • ✓Every result is a tested behaviour, not a quiz score
  • ✓Nothing to install: it runs in a browser
  • ✓Independent of any vendor's software licences
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Practice labs

Open-ended machine labs

Stand-alone exercises with the full instruction set. Good for practice after the course lessons.

New to a term? The PLC glossary explains every one in plain English.

Lesson 1 is free and takes about half an hour.

Make a pushbutton run a conveyor, and see exactly why it works.

Start Lesson 1 →