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PLC logic becomes much easier to understand when you can actually watch a conveyor start moving, see a sensor detect a box and observe a pneumatic pusher send that box in the wrong direction because your program was slightly off.
It happens. That is part of learning.
The Udemy course Factory Automation Using PLC Logics uses an interactive 3D environment to teach industrial automation through practical factory-style applications. Instead of staring at isolated ladder-logic instructions, students build and simulate systems involving conveyors, sensors, sorters, actuators and material-handling equipment.
I believe this is a very good course for engineering students and technicians who want a more visual, hands-on introduction to factory automation.
[Factory Automation using PLC Logics]
What Does the Course Cover?
The course contains approximately nine hours of video divided across 10 sections and more than 60 lectures. Its main training platform is FACTORY I/O, a 3D industrial simulation program that allows users to build and operate virtual factory systems.
Students learn how to create and simulate applications involving:
- Light- and heavy-load conveyors
- Diffuse, inductive and capacitive sensors
- Retro-reflective sensors and light arrays
- Pneumatic pushers and pivot-arm sorters
- Pop-up wheel sorting systems
- Buffer and conveyor convergence stations
- Elevators and stacker cranes
- Pick-and-place mechanisms
- Emergency stops and interlocks
- Conveyor speed and direction control
It is a fairly practical collection of topics. You are not merely told what a sensor does; you place it into a system, connect it to the control logic and see how the machinery responds.
Learning Through FACTORY I/O
FACTORY I/O is the central feature of the course.
The software provides conveyors, boxes, sensors, control panels, actuators and other industrial elements that can be dragged into a 3D scene. Students can then create control logic and test whether the proposed automation sequence actually works.
Early exercises cover basic conveyor start, stop, direction and speed control. From there, the projects gradually become more involved.
You will work with sensor-controlled movement, emergency-stop logic, timers, memory bits, conveyor interlocking and automatic sorting based on characteristics such as box height or weight.
It is far more engaging than memorising instructions from a slide deck. When a box piles into another box because your conveyor timing is wrong, the mistake becomes rather obvious.
Delta PLC Exercises
The course also includes a section connecting FACTORY I/O with a Delta PLC.
These exercises cover input and output mapping, latching and unlatching, conveyor direction control, sensor sequences, indicators, pushers, turntables, transfer mechanisms and sorting logic.
That section should be particularly useful for learners who already understand basic PLC programming but struggle to imagine how those instructions translate into a complete machine sequence.
Who Is This Course For?
The course is aimed at:
- Electrical and electronics engineers
- Mechatronics engineers
- Industrial maintenance technicians
- Instrumentation technicians
- Engineering students
- Beginner automation learners
The official listing only identifies basic mechanical knowledge as a requirement, although some familiarity with PLC inputs, outputs and elementary logic will make the later exercises easier.
Are There Any Downsides?
This is mainly a simulation and application course. It is not a complete electrical-wiring course, and it does not replace real experience commissioning machinery or troubleshooting physical sensors.
FACTORY I/O is also commercial software. The course explains how to access its trial version, but students who want to keep using the full platform after the trial may need to purchase a licence.
The Delta PLC content may be another limitation for learners who only want Siemens, Allen-Bradley or Schneider training. The general automation concepts still transfer, but the programming environment will not look exactly the same.
Final Verdict
Factory Automation Using PLC Logics is a very good course for learners who understand best by building and watching systems operate.
Its greatest strength is the practical 3D approach. Conveyors move, sensors detect products, sorting mechanisms react and programming mistakes produce visible consequences.
It will not make someone a fully qualified automation engineer by itself. No online course can. Still, it offers a useful and genuinely interesting way to practise industrial logic before working with an expensive real machine.
Check the current course price and availability here:
