Free PLC practice labs
Reading teaches the idea; running it makes it stick. Each lab below opens in your browser with nothing to install, and none of them asks for an account before you try it.
Ownership disclosure: the labs run on PLC Simulation Software, operated by the same publisher as PLC Programming IO. They are learning simulators, not vendor software or a substitute for testing on real equipment.
Run your first PLC program
Build a one-rung switch-and-light program, test both input states and watch the output follow.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
Start/stop motor control
Press START, watch the contactor seal in, and prove STOP drops it out safely.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
Wire a sensor to a PLC input
Connect a three-wire 24 VDC sensor, present a target and prove the live PLC input changes.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
Proximity sensor lab
Present and remove a target, watch the sensor switch and verify the PLC input follows.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
VFD run, speed and stop
Enable a drive, set a speed reference and stop it safely while watching frequency and motor speed.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
TON, TOF, TP and RTO timers
See timing diagrams for each timer type, then run a live timer and watch the done bit switch.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
Structured Text
Watch IEC 61131-3 Structured Text drive real outputs, then run a first program yourself.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team
PLC + SCADA
Complete a guided first program without an account, then build the tags and alarms a SCADA layer reads.
Free · no signup to try · Opens plcsimulationsoftware.com — same team