This tutorial will show you how to take over the controls of the OWI Robotic Arm with the help of an Arduino compatible, open-source PLC called the Controllino MAXI, together with Cayenne (my go-to iOT application for remote connection to my Arduino projects). The Controllino MAXI will provide the physical connections to the OWI robotic arm, and Cayenne will allow me to control the arm via my web browser or via the Cayenne app on my phone.
What’s Connected
Controllino MAXI - an Arduino compatible open-source PLC, which has an onboard W5100 ethernet capabilities.
Triggers & Alerts
No triggers or alerts were used.
Scheduling
Scheduling was not used, however it could make for some interesting applications.
From my experience the Controllino had enough information on their website for me to get by.
I did have to do a bit of trial and error to better understand how it all worked.
Could have had a bit more information, but I guess they are quite new.
Overall, I was quite impressed by the Controllino MAXI.
The Controllino MAXI is like having an Arduino MEGA with an Ethernet / Motor / Relay shield built into one device.
And I was extra happy when I found out how easy it was to connect to Cayenne. No issues at all.
Just selected Arduino MEGA as the board, Ethernet W5100, and the rest was a piece of cake.
This project was way to easy for the Controllino, I need to come up with a project that would really put it through its paces.
Have you got this to work with the MQTT library? I’m having one hell of a time getting any ethernet sketch to work even though their (controllino) docs say its just an arduino and Wiznet5100 sheild…Nothing works! Did you have to tweak anything library wise to get the ethernet to connect?
I like all of these different boards, the problem is lack of support for some of them