The Arduino PLC Starter Kit aims to teach programmable logic control to high school and university students

Arduino PLC Starter Kit combines the Arduino Opta micro PLC, the Arduino DIN Simul8 digital input simulator and power distribution board, and the Arduino DIN Celsius board with two independent
heater circuits and one temperature sensor acting as a temperature laboratory.

The kit is supported by the Arduino PLC IDE first introduced in 2022 and comes with various cables and a power supply that allows users to quickly get started. Arduino says the kit targets the education of students aged 17 years and more. It includes 20 hours of lessons going through the history of programmable logic controllers, Modbus RS-485 communications, and how PLCs integrate with industrial simulated systems.

The main hardware and software components of the kits are:

• Arduino Opta WiFi micro PLC based on an STMicro STM32H747XI dual-core Arm Cortex-M7/M4 MCU, offering Ethernet and RS485 communication interfaces, and exposing eight digital/analog inputs, plus four relay outputs.
• DIN Rail-mountable add-on boards
  • Arduino DIN Simul8
    • 8x SPST Toggle Switches
    • 8x signal lines
    • Barrel Plug for power supply
    • Input reverse polarity and +24V miswiring protections on all screw terminals
  • Arduino DIN Celsius
    • TMP236A2DBZR Temperature Sensor
    • 24V power lines for the 2 independent heater arrays
    • Input reverse polarity and +24V miswiring protections on all screw terminals
• Accessories
  • 20 cm double-ended cable – white
  • 20 cm double-ended cable – black
  • 20 cm double-ended cable – red
  • USB-C Cable
  • 24V/1A power supply
• The Arduino PLC IDE programming tool that supports five programming languages defined by the IEC 61131-3 standard (Ladder, Functional Block Diagram, Structured Text, Sequential Function Chart, or Instruction List)
• The usual Arduino IDE 2
• The “Explore PLC” course, available for free, but you must log in or register a free account to access it.

The kit’s hardware can also be connected to the Arduino Cloud if required with out-of-the-box support. The Arduino PLC Starter Kit can be purchased for $385 or €353 on the Arduino store. More details may be found on the documentation website and in the announcement.

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