PLC education and trainingfor colleges and lecturers
Give every student on your course a simulated PLC and a working 3D machine to control, in class and at home. Automatic tests mark their code, and you see how the whole class is getting on.
From £750 a year for a class of 30. Prices exclude VAT.
Your team, as a lecturer sees it. Names are examples.
One short PLC unit is not enough practice
On many engineering courses PLCs get one short unit, and a few trainer kits shared across the class. Students who struggle in the lesson have nowhere to practise afterwards. With PLC Gym each student has a simulated PLC and a working machine in their browser, for the whole year, so they can keep going until it clicks.
Made for the courses you teach
- Level 3, HNC
Measurement and Control
4–20 mA transmitters, scaling and signal health, alarm limits, level bands and Auto/Manual, on working pumps, tanks and vessels.
- Level 3, HNC, HND
Mechatronics
Sequences, interlocks, state machines and variable speed drives, then whole machines, from a first compressor up to running a factory.
- HNC, HND
HNC and HND Electrical and Electronic Engineering
The IEC 61131-3 languages a PLC unit asks for: ladder, function block, Structured Text and SFC, written as in TIA Portal and Studio 5000.
- Level 3, apprenticeships
Automation and control
Fault finding the way a maintenance engineer does it: 7 missions start from an operator’s report, with a scan-by-scan replay of what went wrong.
What you get with a college plan
A view of the whole class
Each student’s level, XP, missions passed, lessons read and last visit, on one page, with a CSV to download.
Marking done for you
Automatic tests check every one of the 74 missions, so students know at once whether their code works, and why not.
Practice between lessons
Students carry on at home, at their own pace, so one short PLC unit is not the only time they write code.
Nothing to install
It runs in a web browser on college computers or at home. No TIA Portal or Studio 5000 licences are needed to practise.
Seats that follow the class
Add students by email address. When one leaves, remove them and give the seat to the next.
Evidence for portfolios
A supervisor print-out for each student shows what they have passed, for a portfolio or a progress review.
One price for the year
College class
£750a year for a class of 30
- Pro for up to 30 students, for a year
- A class progress view for the lecturer
- Swap students in and out as the class changes
Whole college
£3,750a year for up to 10 classes
- Up to 10 classes of 30: 300 students
- Each lecturer sees their own classes
- A head of department can see every class
Paid by invoice, once a year. Prices exclude VAT. Training provider, or more than 10 classes? Talk to us and we’ll put a plan together.
Four steps to your first class
Tell us about your course
Which course, how many students and which PLCs you teach.
We send a quote
One price for the year, paid by invoice. Once it is paid, we set up your class.
Add your students
Type in their email addresses. Each gets Pro as soon as they sign in with that address.
Follow their progress
Open Your team from the account menu to see how each student is getting on.
Frequently asked questions
Do students need to install anything?
No. PLC Gym runs in a web browser, on college computers or at home. Students sign in with the email address you added, and their progress follows them from one computer to the next.
Does it replace our PLC trainer kits?
No. Kits teach wiring, inputs and outputs and real hardware, and nothing beats them for that. PLC Gym gives every student a simulated PLC and a working 3D machine whenever they want one, so the time on the kits goes further.
Which PLCs and languages does it cover?
Siemens, in SCL, LAD, FBD and GRAPH as in TIA Portal, and Rockwell, in Structured Text, Ladder, FBD and SFC as in Studio 5000. Students can take Siemens SCL, and Rockwell Structured Text and ladder, into the real software.
What does the course cover?
40 stages in 8 modules: Foundations, Signals and steady control, Sequences, Data and reusable code, Everyday controls, Machines, Machine safety, Operator screens. There are 74 practice missions on 26 working 3D machines.
Can we try it before we buy?
Yes. The basics, both guided labs and the first course module, Foundations, are free for anyone, with no card. Try them yourself, or set them for a class.
What happens when the year ends?
Each student keeps their progress in their own account for good. Pro from the college lasts for the year you paid for. After that they carry on with the free plan, unless you renew or they choose Pro themselves.
How do we pay?
By invoice, once a year. A class of up to 30 students has one price, and a whole college of up to 10 classes has another. Tell us what you need and we send a quote.
Bring PLC Gym to your class
Tell us your course, your class size and the PLCs you teach. Your message goes straight to Graeme, who set up PLC Gym.
Siemens, SIMATIC and TIA Portal are trademarks of Siemens AG. Allen-Bradley, Rockwell Automation, Studio 5000 and Logix are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc. Beckhoff and TwinCAT are trademarks of Beckhoff Automation GmbH. CODESYS is a trademark of CODESYS GmbH. PLC Gym is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies.