Is it on the roadmap to add Beckhoff’s ADS communication to the product? I see other major vendors are supported natively, given the PC based nature of Beckhoff controllers this makes even more sense since you could actually run Factory IO natively on the IPC also running your TwinCAT controller.
This would be the closest to real machine integration and is far less time wasted then trying to configure Modbus TCP or OPC UA which is an added layer on top of your base PLC code, this is advantageous for classroom setups.
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I second this question. ← ADS support would be AMAZING!!!
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Any comment from the dev Team on this item?
This would be a huge improvement as the freely available TwinCAT software can be used by anyone without cost, implementing ADS would properly expose the variables so that IO can easily be linked in without the added complexity of OPC UA which increases every single year due to it’s security requirements changing, something that is not relevant to what this product brings to market.
Hello,
We plan to add TwinCAT ADS support in our next major upgrade. Keep an eye out for it 
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That would make me a VERY happy camper!!!
Any idea as to roughly when that could be expected? ← My test rig is chomping at the bit for it! 
Hello frantzmiles:
Could you explain in detail what can be done with that ADS system and why it is so important to you?
For example, you might say: “We can do this in a certain way because I can read the PLC variables using the… platform, etc.”
Regards
Hi amjavi6,
The ADS protocol would allow Factory I/O to communicate directly with Beckhoff’s TwinCAT PLC control suite. This protocol is the native in built communication protocol used by all Beckhoff PLCs.
This would be an incredible feature as it would allow people to quickly spin up TwinCAT (Beckhoff’s PLC environment) directly on their laptops or workstations and run the PLC code on the same device integrating this directly with Factory I/O. The behavior would match the expected behavior as with a Beckhoff PLC but can do done without needing to purchase PLC hardware or software from Beckhoff.
This becomes highly scalable especially for teaching environments where we can be forced to purchase tens of thousands of dollars in brand specific PLC hardware and software just to be able to simulate. Where with Beckhoff, there is no simulation required since their Real-time Kernel (PLC execution engine) runs on standard PCs (they’re execution platform is an industrial PC by design). It is possible to communicate with a Beckhoff PLC today from Factory I/O however it requires setup and configuration of additional services, such as OPC UA, or Modbus TCP. This takes away from the tightly integrated experience that would be possibly with ADS.
With ADS, the PLC tags can be explored and linked to live from the running application. Let’s say we add a new PLC tag with an online change. This will be visible through the ADS interface right away which means that Factory I/O could poll for the tag list and link to it moments later. Modbus would require us to build out additional PLC code to map the variables from PLC code to the Modbus interface. OPC UA by comparison has grown in complexity over the years since it’s often used for secure communications and requires a deeper level of understanding to setup it up and get it configured correctly, on top of needing to install and configure additional services.
Have native ADS available cleans up the entire experience, and keeps our efforts focused on the valuable PLC code development/learning experience, instead of have to work around to configure additional services distracting from the real purpose.
Hi c.timmermans:
I know absolutely nothing about ADS, TwinCAT, OPC UA, PLCSIM, OpenPLC, RSLinx, or even standard OPC—I know nothing at all about any of that. However, even though I’m unfamiliar with those protocols, it looks to me like what you’re doing is exactly what I do with Schneider: I connect everything to the PC—nothing else needed—and it just works. Period. Is that right? Correct me if I’m wrong.
The things I do use to connect the PLC to the PC are EtherNet/IP, the serial port (RTU), and sockets; only those three things.
Regards.
We are working hard to reach that milestone, but for now, we don’t have an estimated date. We’ll make all that information public when we’re ready