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COMM.02 / INDUSTRIAL.PROTOCOLS

Industrial Communication Protocols

How devices talk on the plant floor. From Modbus to OPC UA.

▸ Recommended path

New here? Finish the Networking Fundamentals lessons first (0/10 done), then start with Modbus RTU — it's the simplest and most widely used.

ACTIVE

Modbus RTU

SERIAL · RS-485

Serial communication's universal protocol.

► START LESSON

PRACTICE MODULE

Modbus Dojo

6 BELTS · DRILLS

Practice until it's automatic. Six drills: data map, addressing, decoding, building, exceptions, trace debugging.

► ENTER DOJO

ACTIVE

Modbus TCP

TCP/IP

Modbus over Ethernet.

► START LESSON

PRACTICE MODULE

Modbus TCP Dojo

5 BELTS · TCP DRILLS

MBAP header decoding, transaction ID matching, request building, exceptions, and full TCP trace debugging.

► ENTER DOJO

ACTIVE

Profinet

INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET

Siemens-led industrial Ethernet.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

EtherNet/IP

INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET

Rockwell's industrial Ethernet.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

EtherCAT

MOTION

Fast deterministic motion control.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

OPC UA

IT/OT

Modern, secure, vendor-neutral.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

Profibus DP/PA

FIELDBUS · RS-485 / MBP

Europe's factory-floor workhorse since 1989.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

AS-Interface

SENSOR-LEVEL · YELLOW CABLE

One master, 31 slaves, on a flat yellow cable.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

HART

4–20 mA + DIGITAL

Smart sensors over 4-20 mA loops.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

CAN / CANopen

EMBEDDED

Embedded and mobile equipment.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

IO-Link

SENSOR-LEVEL

Sensor-level digital communication.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

MQTT + Sparkplug B

IIoT · CLOUD

The protocol carrying OT data to the cloud.

► START LESSON

ACTIVE

Sercos III

MOTION · ETHERNET RING

High-precision motion bus over real-time Ethernet.

► START LESSON

PRACTICE MODULE

Cabling & Connectors

62 TASKS · DRAG-TO-WIRE

Wire the connectors behind every protocol — RS-232/485, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, DeviceNet, M12 sensors, DIN solenoids — against source-verified pinouts.

► OPEN TRAINER

PRACTICE MODULE

Motor & Drive Wiring

22 TASKS · TAP-TO-WIRE

Land motors, transformers, CTs and servo drives on their terminals — star/delta, dual-voltage 9/12-lead, DC, Steinmetz — against IEC/NEMA-verified markings.

► OPEN TRAINER

PRACTICE MODULE

VFD Parameters

10 DRIVES · 9 MISSIONS

Commission a variable-frequency drive: keypad parameters, SINK/SOURCE control wiring, run a motor, work fault codes, and PLC integration — across 10 vendor keypads.

► OPEN TRAINER

PRACTICE MODULE

Servo Drives

5 BRANDS · TUNE & COMMISSION

Commission and tune a servo drive across Delta, Yaskawa, Mitsubishi, Panasonic & Omron — wire the bench, close the loop, tune out overshoot on a live scope, set electronic gearing, and work fault codes.

► OPEN TRAINER

▸ CAPSTONE PROJECT

Commissioning Day — wire a real plant

Seven devices in front of you: HMI, PLC, robot, servo drive, smart sensor, VFD, cloud gateway. Each one only speaks one protocol. Wire each device to the PLC with the right cable, and the factory comes alive: robot arm swings, motor spins, sensor LEDs blink, HMI lights up, cloud streams.

6 protocols · 1 PLC · ~12 min► START PROJECT