I am trying to implement a mini project at work. At the moment we have a PLC and diagnostic laptop connected by an RS232 lead. Ideally we would like to connect to this over WiFi. My current plan is to use a Serial->WiFi module of some kind, potentially an ESP8266, and plug it in to the PLC. This would allow the serial data to travel over WiFi to allow the diagnostic laptop to connect and read the data without having to plug in physically.
At the moment I only really need read capability, but write capability too would be ideal (with cyber security if possible, however not necessary).
Does anybody have an experience in a similar project and could point me in the right direction? Or just let me know how feasible the project is? Thank you.
SteveMann:
This reminds me of Marvin: "This will all end in tears. I just know it."
I have yet to see anyone using an ESP as a WiFi dongle that is happy with the result.
Tell us what components you are using and we may be able to offer a better solution.
I haven't had a play with any components yet - just ordered the ESP as it seemed to be the 'go-to' component. Going to try and put a prototype together over the weekend. Another one I had my eye on was the Waveshare WIFI232 but that's been discontinued.
Hello,
Out of the box idea: if your PLC is state of the art, for sure you can buy an ethernet interface card and connect to your company LAN?
But be careful, for example older Siemens S5 use TTY, it is serial but current. So you might need some driver electronics on the Arduino side if you really want to go this way. What kind of PLC are you using?
Best regards,
Johi