Can I use Allen-Bradley Emulator RSLogix Emulate 5000 Controller instead of a real PLC?

Factory I/O is unable to communicate directly with RSLogix Emulate through the Allen-Bradley drivers, as these can only communicate with PLCs or with SoftLogix.

There is, however, the possibility of using other communication protocols. Factory I/O also has Modbus and OPC DA drivers, which you might be able to use. Unfortunately and unlike the Allen-Bradley drivers which communicate directly with PLCs, we don’t have ready made step-by-step guides on how to connect Factory I/O to RSLogix Emulate. You can get more information about the OPC Client Data Access driver here and about ModBus TCP/IP Client here and Server here.

Note that for using OPC with RSLinx you will need RSLinx Classic OEM. Learn more by following this link: https://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/155678