Simulation of Industrial Processes using I/O Factory and UniPi

industrial network, simulation, I/O factory, UniPi, PLC, Modbus

Industrial networks form a special class of computer networks that employ specific devices, communication protocols and communication patterns. In order to study industrial networks, it is important to have an access to industrial devices and their communication. This is, however, not easy to implement in university environment. Real devices are expensive, require regular maintenance and are available to few operators. As alternative to the real industrial environment, it is possible to combine real devices with emulated environment.     This study shows how it is possible to create an industrial network with Modbus protocols and real devices like PLCs and RTUs together with emulator of physical processes using I/O Factory software. In this study we show how to build a virtual factory that includes a simple assembly line and the sorting conveyor controlled by PLCs.