[pritesh]

I am currently working on an industrial automation project and would like to learn the complete process of integrating a PLC with RoboDK and controlling a robot using PLC logic.

My objective is to build a complete simulation where the PLC communicates with RoboDK, exchanges input/output signals, and controls the robot's movements and program execution in real time.
I would appreciate your guidance on the following:

• How to connect a PLC with RoboDK.
  
• Supported communication protocols (such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, etc.).
  
• How to configure communication between the PLC and RoboDK.
  
• How to send and receive I/O signals.
  
• How to control robot movements and execute robot programs using PLC logic.
  
• Any documentation, tutorials, sample projects, or training resources that explain the complete workflow from start to finish.
  

I am eager to learn the entire setup and would greatly appreciate any recommendations or learning materials you can provide.

[Albert]

RoboDK is primarily an offline programming and robot simulation tool, so the usual workflow is to create and validate the robot motion in RoboDK, then use a communication layer to exchange I/O with the PLC. For PLC-style integration, OPC UA is the most straightforward option we support in RoboDK, and you can also use TCP/IP or other I/O based integration depending on your setup.

To get started, we recommend enabling the OPC-UA add-in in RoboDK, then using RoboDK as an OPC UA server or client to exchange signals with your PLC. You can find the main documentation here, including examples with TwinCAT 3 and UaExpert:
https://robodk.com/doc/en/OPC-UA.html

This Add-in is open source and you can customize it for your needs. You can find the project/source here:
https://github.com/RoboDK/Plug-In-Interf...gin-OPC-UA

You can also integrate other protocols using the API.

For robot control and program execution, RoboDK is typically used to generate the robot program and then run it on the robot controller, or to trigger actions through I/O and external logic. If you are looking for real-time robot motion control, that is usually handled through robot-driver or controller-specific integration rather than by simulating the PLC itself inside RoboDK.