The big Factory I/O Wishlist

Suggestions
41

This project seems rooted in conveyor applications. We work with material handling such as airlocks, air conveying, filling trucks. diverter valves. butterfly valves, solenoid valves etc. Are you looking to add other factory applications? Compressors and pnumatic valves would be a benefit. example your pusher obviously uses air but if your compressor isn’t running, the pusher could technically not work, or only half work. or drift away if the pusher was aimed downward.

3 Likes
42

This is a wishlist:

Variable Speed Drive simulation (SINAMICS?)
NC Safety button
More coloured buttons
Cursor buttons
Rotatory positioning table

some pneumatical/hydraulic devices

2 Likes
43

A smother “flight” when changing between saved camera positions.

44

Some kind of basic AMR/AGV

1 Like
45

Be able to have multiple simultaneous instances of drivers. (In larger setups each section or machine can have its own interface.)

Ideally also if different types of drivers could be used for each instance.
Also ideal if each driver could be assigned to a specific network adapter to support multi-network or segmented setups.

1 Like
46

I really like the product so far, but I do think for a training tool outside of the basics of automation or anything outside of a packaging and fulfillment center automation application it is very limited. I see that there are dev maps to fix some of this, but I think certain areas really need to be addressed to make the product have more functional application to mimic a larger variety of real-world practices.

First you have to have scalability of components this offers a lot more functionality where the end user can manipulate the existing box and parts for other applications they may be doing.

Secondly, fluids in tank and potential future process I/O updates have to have editable properties. Because this can help new automation engineers have a very good understanding of principles such as cavitation in pumps and how temperature and pressure can be managed and controlled in a fluids process.

With these fluids you need key instrumentation that is used regularly on real world applications like level switches, level transmitters, pressure and temperature transmitters.

I know lots of people have suggested to add a fluids and process equipment section to factory I/O. I think that solids are another aspect of this process side that needs to be accounted for. That includes varying particle sizes for different types of solids. An increase in equipment to move and handle the solids and instrumentation to aid in the process.

1 Like
47

Also liquid color for batching. What do you think of that Also agitator and temperature to affect the blends. I read someone suggest pipes to interconnect tank processing. This would be soo cool :sunglasses:

1 Like
49

My colleagues and I like factory io and the new features of the release 2.5.6 with the light indicator colors and the start and stop button by the IEC standard.

My wishlist:

For the use of the closed-circuit current principle by the IEC 13849 it is important to configure the sensors to normally open or normally close. NO and NC depends on the application.
It would be great if we get this feature for the inductive and capacitive sensors.

3 Likes
50

Hello, mining equipment, reclaimers, mining forklifts, off-road trucks would be interesting.

1 Like
51

Pretty excited with the latest update. It makes our button colors much easier to understand.

One thing I would love to see added: is on the Chain / Roller Transfer. I wish there was an additional configuration for the lifting mechanism to require a PLC output for raise/lower and 2 PLC inputs for chain raised/lowered.

Also would love to see if the RFID tags on the boxes and Pallets could show their details on the outside some how. Either with hovering over it, or as a text on the face of the tag. We have some new hires doing pallet tracking on a conveyor, and would like to make sure they are not off sync one direction or another.

3 Likes
52

Hi Jan,

I am not sure if somebody else already had mentioned these points but these are my wishes below:

  • Interface to the parts library to upload your own models via a defined format
  • possibly also kinematics models
  • Possibility of linking the kinematics model processes with control signals
1 Like
53

I would love to have the machining cell with no machining. Just 6axis robot pick and place at 3 locations. They can be the same locations as current. No ramps or walls either.

54

My proposal on this topic shouldn’t be too complex to add;

Small aligner (3 squares in the template)
Add black to the configuration colors

Also this proposal:

A plot of land, ideally with configurable slopes
A plant, for example, an olive tree
Irrigation pipes, with their 90° and 45° elbows, tees, etc.
Irrigation drippers, of 2, 4, and 8 liters/hour, that simulate this flow rate, but you see, ideally they should be scalable, meaning you don’t have to install 2,000 drippers to simulate irrigation, but rather the sum of the drippers installed should be multiplied by X to simulate whether the well has enough water for that irrigation.
Pressure sprinklers
A well, which would be the same as a reservoir, but from ground level down, would ideally allow the well to recover water up to a certain configurable manometric height, for example, recovering at a rate of 2 liters/second.
Configurable pressure gauges.
Stopcocks to be placed on the pipes, with the idea of ​​creating irrigation sections.
Different types of well pumps, which extract more or less water depending on their depth.
A configurable reservoir to distribute water if the well doesn’t have enough.
Solenoid valves, NO and NC, to distribute the corresponding amount from the reservoir to each irrigator.
Level sensor equipment.

All of this would require the simulation to calculate as realistically as possible. That is, if, for example, a 6 atm pipe is installed for a height of 100 meters, the pipe will burst since the pressure would be 10 atm… Likewise, the pressure depends on the terrain’s gradient, whether there is enough water for all the drippers or if there is a shortage, etc., etc.

Yes, I know, it would mean creating a FACTORY IO exclusively for irrigation and not for industry. I know, but I also know that more than one aspires to that simulator, myself included.

Here’s the FACTORY IO team. I hope to one day have the software I just mentioned on my PC.

Best regards.

55

Hello:

It would be interesting to also add pieces like the existing square ones, only in round and triangular versions. They almost have the round one with the rotating wheel since they make it one piece. I don’t think those objects would be very complicated to allow for in-game use, especially if they program artificial vision, which also detects circles and triangles. Obviously, they would be blue, gray, and green.

Regards

56

Hello;

Here are some interesting new ideas to implement in your simulator. This will allow you to delve deeper into various scenes that until now have been limited to a small number of maneuvers and coordinate calculations on machines, using sensors, memorization, or artificial vision.

I hope you find these proposals interesting.

Best regards.

57

@rtumey suggested:
Chiller Plant library using Factory IO and Studio 5000

58

Hi, I’d like an option for the digital display to show floating-point numbers greater than 10.0 and less than -10.0. I’m currently in a training course using factory.io in conjunction with TIA Portal, and I would have liked to have had this feature today.

Some of the previous posts also have interesting suggestions:

-Piping
-PID controllers
-Bottle filling machine
-Bottles, bottle crates
-Machine that fills bottles into crates, similar to Pick and Place
-Temperature sensors (NTC, PTC)
-Bigger and smaller Electrich Switchboard

More suggestions from my site

-Digital display with letters instead of numbers
-Digital display color selection for the display, similar to switches, pushbuttons, lights
-Digital display which can show up to 4 values at once
-Option to customize the stack light more than 3 lights and additional colors
-Warning light with more color options
-Pass-through in the Roller Conveyor, like with the Belt Conveyor, or one that can be rotated by 90° via a signal
-Inclined Roller Conveyor
-Light Array with greater distance up to 3m
-Option to determine the color of the liquid in the tank (red, yellow, green, blue, orange, purple ,black ,white maybe clear)

On top off that factory.io is pretty cool to tinker with

59

Sehr geehrtes Factory I/O-Team,

wir nutzen Factory I/O im schulischen Umfeld. Aktuell werden sowohl vorgegebene Maschinen als auch benutzerdefinierte Maschinen im gleichen Verzeichnis gespeichert.

Es wäre eine sinnvolle Weiterentwicklung, wenn eigene Maschinen an einem separaten Pfad (z. B. Netzlaufwerk oder lokaler Speicherort) abgelegt werden könnten – idealerweise frei konfigurierbar. Dies würde es erlauben, die vorgegebenen Maschinen durch Dateiberechtigungen zu schützen, ohne die Arbeit mit eigenen Maschinen einzuschränken.

Vielen Dank für Ihre Arbeit – Factory I/O ist ein großartiges Werkzeug für die Ausbildung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Martin Kaiser

Dear Factory I/O Team,

We are actively using Factory I/O in a vocational education environment. One challenge we face is that both predefined machines and user-created machines are currently stored in the same directory.

It would be a valuable improvement to allow custom machines to be saved in a separate, user-defined directory (e.g., on a different drive or network location). This would enable us to apply file-level protection (e.g., read-only access) to default machines while still allowing learners to freely create and manage their own machine models.

Such a feature would greatly enhance structure, security, and flexibility in multi-user or educational setups.

Thank you very much for your excellent work – Factory I/O is an outstanding tool for practical learning in automation technology.

Best regards,
Martin Kaiser

60

Factory IO - Future Components Wishlist

Components that would be helpful in future versions

Safety Components

1. Safety Key Switch

  • 3-Position: OFF / ON / RESET

  • 2-Position: OFF / ON

  • Configurable NC/NO contacts

  • Usage: Machine safety, maintenance mode, enable switch

2. Safety Interlock Switch

  • For protective doors and covers

  • Separate actuator component

  • Force-guided contacts

  • Coded/magnetic actuators

  • Multiple NC/NO contacts

3. Safety Light Curtain (predefined)

  • Dedicated Safety Light Curtain component

  • Type 2/4 configuration

  • Muting functionality

  • Test/Reset inputs

  • Integrated diagnostics

Analog Components (Extended Analog Components)

4. Analog Indicator/Gauge

  • Pointer instruments for pressure, temperature, etc.

  • Configurable scales and units

  • Min/Max markers

  • Color ranges (Green/Yellow/Red)

5. PID Controller Module

  • Pre-configured PID controller component

  • Auto-tuning functionality

  • Parameter display

  • Manual/Auto mode switch

HMI Components (Control and Display Elements)

6. Electric Switchboard (Extended)

  • Variable sizes: Small (4x2), Standard (6x4), Large (8x6), XL (12x8) grid

  • Color options: Gray (Standard), Yellow (Safety), Blue (Control), Green (Process)

7. Matrix Display

  • LED/LCD matrix displays

  • Text/graphics display

  • Scrolling text

  • Barcode/QR code display

Process Components

8. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)

  • Frequency converter component

  • Parameter configuration

  • Fault/status displays

  • Speed/torque feedback

9. Servo Drive & Motor

  • Servo drive system with encoder

  • Position/Speed/Torque modes

  • Homing/reference travel functionality

  • Following error monitoring

  • Programmable motion profiles

  • Gearing/camming functions

10. Pneumatic Components

  • Individual 3/2, 5/2, 5/3 way valves

  • Pneumatic cylinders (single/double acting)

  • Flow control valves with check function

  • Pressure control valves

  • Pneumatic grippers

  • Vacuum components (suction cups, vacuum pump)

11. Pump Components

  • Centrifugal pumps (various characteristics)

  • Dosing pumps (piston/diaphragm pumps)

  • Vacuum pumps

  • Pump curves & performance maps

  • NPSH monitoring

  • Cavitation detection

12. Flow Measurement

  • Magnetic-inductive flow meters

  • Ultrasonic flow meters

  • Turbine flow meters

  • Vortex flow meters

  • Mass flow controller

  • Differential pressure flow measurement

13. Pneumatic Valve Manifold

  • Valve islands with multiple valves

  • Pressure/flow monitoring

  • Diagnostic LEDs per valve

  • Manual override

14. Proportional Valve

  • Analog controlled valves

  • Flow/pressure proportional

  • Feedback sensors

  • Deadband compensation

Measuring Components

15. Flow Meter (various types)

  • Magnetic flow meter

  • Ultrasonic flow meter

  • Turbine flow meter

  • Mass flow controller

16. Pressure Transmitter

  • 4-20mA pressure transmitters

  • Various measuring ranges

  • HART communication

  • Local display

17. Temperature Transmitter

  • PT100/PT1000 sensors

  • Thermocouple types (K,J,T)

  • 2/3/4-wire configuration

  • Cold junction compensation

Special Components

18. Barcode/QR Scanner

  • 1D/2D code reader

  • USB/Serial interface

  • Trigger modes

  • Code validation

19. Vibration Sensors

  • Accelerometer-based vibration measurement

  • Condition monitoring for rotating machines

  • FFT analysis and spectrum display

  • Alarm limits for different frequency bands

  • Trend recording for predictive maintenance

20. Weighing Scale (Extended - based on existing component)

  • Articulated robot

  • Teach pendant

  • Tool changer

  • Collision detection

Simulation Enhancements

21. Physics Improvements

  • Realistic mass/inertia

  • Friction/damping models

  • Collision response

  • Gravity effects

22. Environmental Conditions

  • Temperature variation

  • Humidity effects

  • Vibration simulation

  • Noise generation

23. Wear & Maintenance

  • Component degradation

  • Maintenance scheduling

  • MTBF/MTTR simulation

  • Spare parts management

Integration Features

24. SCADA Integration

  • OPC UA server/client

  • MQTT broker

  • Database connectivity

  • Cloud integration

Training & Education

25. Guided Tutorials

  • Interactive learning modules

  • Step-by-step instructions

  • Assessment tools

  • Certificate generation

26. Fault Injection

  • Advanced systematic fault simulation

  • Troubleshooting scenarios

  • Diagnostic training

27. Multi-User Collaboration

  • Shared factory environments

  • Role-based access

  • Version control

  • Remote collaboration

Mobile & AR/VR (Mobile and Augmented Reality)

28. Mobile App Integration

  • Remote monitoring

  • Parameter adjustment

  • Alarm notifications

  • Maintenance checklists

29. Augmented Reality (AR)

  • Component information overlay

  • Maintenance instructions

  • Wiring visualization

  • Training scenarios

30. Virtual Reality (VR)

  • Immersive factory walkthrough

  • Safety training

  • Maintenance simulation

  • Remote operation

Priority Ranking

HIGH PRIORITY:

  1. Safety Key Switch

  2. Safety Light Curtain (predefined)

  3. Electric Switchboard (variable size + colors)

  4. Servo Drive & Motor (with encoder feedback)

  5. Pneumatic Valve (individually usable)

  6. Flow Meter (various types of flow meters)

  7. Pump Components (centrifugal pumps, dosing pumps)

  8. Pneumatic Cylinder (with position feedback)

  9. Analog Indicator/Gauge

  10. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)

MEDIUM PRIORITY:

  1. PID Controller Module

  2. Pressure Transmitter (4-20mA)

  3. Proportional Valve (analog controlled)

  4. Pneumatic Valve Manifold (valve island)

  5. Barcode/QR Scanner

  6. Vibration Sensors (for condition monitoring)

LOW PRIORITY:

  1. Robot arm (6-DOF)

  2. AR/VR Integration

  3. Multi-user Collaboration

Justification for Electric Switchboard Extensions

VARIABLE SIZES:

  • Small (4x2): Compact applications, local controls

  • Standard (6x4): Current Factory IO size

  • Large (8x6): Machine controls with many I/Os

  • XL (12x8): Plant control, complex systems

COLOR CODING:

  • Gray: Standard industrial color (current)

  • Yellow: Safety systems and safety controls

  • Blue: Process control and automation

  • Green: Environmental/energy technology

PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES:

  • Realistic industrial representation

  • Color coding for different system types

  • Scalability according to plant size

  • Better overview for complex projects

Priority Justification

HIGH PRIORITY components fill important gaps in the current Factory IO version:

  • Safety Key Switch: Essential for realistic safety circuits

  • VFD: Very commonly used in industry

  • Analog Gauges: Important for process visualization

  • Touch HMI: Modern industrial interfaces

MEDIUM PRIORITY components significantly extend functionality:

  • Extended Safety Components for complete safety systems

  • Process Components for realistic plant control

LOW PRIORITY components are “nice to have” features:

  • Extended simulation features

  • Future technologies (AR/VR)

  • Collaboration tools

another list of potential components and features for upcoming factory.io version

61

Вітаю.

Маю специфіку роботи з виробниктвом труб і подібних деталей від діаметру 20 до 1300.
Почати з транспортних систем для труб {по осі труби та повздовжньо}, переміщення на підвісі та складські зони {кармани для пакетів труб}.
Все інше вже є. Але пару моделей транспортної механізації розширить застосування і на сферу трубного виробництва.