How to Learn Siemens TIA Portal Free: A Six-Week Plan
Why a plan, not a playlist
TIA Portal has more free lessons on the internet than any other PLC tool. That is the problem: without an order, week two is spent on PROFINET routing and week three on what a contact is. This plan is the order, and it is built around the one hard constraint, the 21-day trial.
Week 1: no software yet
Modules 1 to 3 of the Siemens TIA Portal course need nothing installed: what automation is, what a PLC does, how 24 V control wiring works, sinking and sourcing. Do them first. Read the notes, do the check questions. Do not install anything.
Week 2: install, and write your first rungs
Install the TIA Portal trial with PLCSIM at the start of week two; the clock starts at installation. Modules 4 to 8 take you through the project, the hardware configuration, tags and the first ladder. The S7-1200 tutorial series covers the same instructions one at a time if you want a second explanation of any of them.
Week 3: timers, counters, comparators, maths
The instructions every program uses. Do every practice task in PLCSIM; the module quizzes are five plain questions each and exist to confirm you watched, not to trip you.
Week 4: analog, structure and the HMI
NORM_X and SCALE_X, function blocks, and a WinCC screen linked to live tags. If the HMI catches your interest, the TIA Portal HMI course goes ten modules deeper after this plan.
Week 5: a machine that moves
Install the Factory I/O trial and program three scenes from the Factory I/O course: From A to B, the sorting station and the filling tank. This is the week you get an interview story.
Week 6: the final, and what comes next
Pass the twenty-question final (pass mark 50 percent, unlimited retries), add the course to your CV in the free account's CV builder, and pick the next course: organisation blocks and interrupts if you want to understand the CPU, program structure if you want to write like a professional, commissioning before your first site job.
The trial clock
Twenty-one days from installation covers weeks two to four with a few days to spare. If you need longer, the trial can be reinstalled after a clean removal, and every course page explains the timing in its FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an S7-1200? No. PLCSIM stands in for it throughout; a real CPU only matters for the download and backup lessons in the commissioning course.
Which version? The newest trial for learning; the plant's version for site work. Projects open in the same version or newer, never older.
How many hours a week? Six to eight. The foundation course is about thirteen hours of video plus practice.
