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Wartens · engineering services

Find the bug at a desk, not on site.

Wartens builds digital twins of machines and lines, tests PLC programs against them before the hardware exists, and trains the people who will run them. On an open platform, so everything we hand over is yours.

Email info@wartens.comSee a twin running
Wartens LADV300 CPU 310 with 3 modulesPS24 V DCDC OKPS2424 V DC 4 ALV300-PS24-4AWARTENSLADV300ADVANCED CONTROLLERCPU 310DC/DC/DC · 8 slotsLV300-C310-16DDTWARTENS LADV300CPU 310 DC/DC/DCLV300-C310-16DDTS/N WL26-310-54890 FW V1.0.0 HW 124 V DC · Virtual controllerMAC 02:57:4C:00:01:36RUNSCAN 5 msRUNSTOPERRORMAINTSDDI.0.1.2.3.4.5.6.7DO.0.1.2.3.4.5.6.7DI 1624 V DC0123456789101112131415LADV-DI16LV300-DI16DDO 1624 V DC 0.5 A0123456789101112131415LADV-DO16LV300-DO16TAI 8U / I01234567LADV-AI8LV300-AI8U+
A LADV300 rack sized to a line's I/O list, the starting point for a twin.

What we do

Four ways we help

Each is a fixed scope with a defined handover. If what you need is not here, ask: these are the common shapes, not the only ones.

Before FAT

Virtual commissioning

For machine builders, oems and system integrators

We build a digital twin of your machine from the I/O list and the functional spec, run your PLC logic against it, and work through the sequence, the interlocks and the fault cases at a desk. The bugs are found before the panel is wired and before the customer is watching.

You get

  • A twin of the machine you can keep running
  • A test record of every case, passed and failed
  • The issues found, with the rung that caused each
Email us about virtual commissioning →

Machines and lines

Digital twins

For plants, oems and training departments

A behavioural model of a machine or a line, wired to a LADV virtual PLC: conveyors, tanks, stations, sequences, with the rules the process must keep checked as it runs. Use it to train operators, to rehearse a change, or to show a customer how the machine will behave.

You get

  • The twin, open source code you own
  • Objectives that check the rules of your process
  • Runs in a browser, nothing to install on site
Email us about digital twins →

People

PLC training

For companies, colleges, apprenticeship and training providers

Courses from first rung to structured machine programs, delivered with the lab and its twins so every student has a controller on their desk. Our training arm, EDWartens, runs project-based programmes; for institutes we provide the exercise packs, the assessments and the help to teach with them.

You get

  • Courses for teams, on site or remote
  • Exercise packs that mark themselves
  • Practical assessments for hiring and certification
Email us about plc training →

Legacy code

PLC migration

For plants running end-of-life controllers

Moving logic from an old platform to a new one is mostly reading, and reading is where errors creep in. We convert the program, run old and new against the same twin, and show where they behave the same and where they do not, before anything is downloaded on site.

You get

  • Converted code in the target platform's format
  • A behaviour comparison on a shared twin
  • A list of what needs a person's decision
Email us about plc migration →

How it works

From enquiry to handover

  1. 01

    Tell us the job

    An enquiry with what you are building or changing. A paragraph is enough to start.

  2. 02

    A scoping call

    Free, with an automation engineer, not a salesperson. We say plainly if the job is not a fit.

  3. 03

    A fixed price

    A written scope, what you get and when, for a fixed fee. No day-rate surprises.

  4. 04

    Delivered in the open

    Progress shown in the lab as it is built, handed over in open formats you keep.

Why Wartens

Engineers who build the tools they use

  • We wrote the platform the twins run on, so a twin of your machine is not a black box: it is code you can read.
  • Vendor-neutral. We do not sell controllers, so we have no reason to recommend one over another.
  • Open formats at handover. Nothing you receive needs a licence from us to open next year.
  • Honest about limits. A virtual controller is not your PLC, and we will tell you where that matters.

Questions

Asked before the first call

Do we need to buy any software to work with Wartens?
No. LADX, the LADV virtual PLCs and the twins are free and open source under the Apache License 2.0. You pay for the work we do with them, building a twin, testing a program, delivering a course, and you keep everything that is handed over.
Does virtual commissioning replace commissioning on site?
No. It moves the logic problems, the sequence bugs, missing interlocks and wrong fault handling, to before the hardware exists, so site time is spent on wiring, devices and tuning. The virtual controllers are behavioural and do not reproduce a particular vendor's timing exactly.
Which PLC platforms do you work with?
Programs are tested as IEC 61131-3 ladder and written out for Siemens (SCL), Rockwell (neutral text and L5X), CODESYS and other platforms through PLCopen XML and Structured Text. Tell us the target and we will say what converts cleanly and what needs hand work.
Can this be funded?
Possibly. UK manufacturing SMEs can sometimes part-fund digital projects through regional programmes such as Made Smarter. Eligibility depends on where you are and what you make; ask us and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth applying.

Have a machine in mind?

Tell us about it by email. Every enquiry is answered by an engineer.

Email info@wartens.com