Hi guys.

I'm studying Control and Automation Engineering and for my graduation project I'd like to implement industrial and automated processes running as simulations and access these variables via OPC so that students can study Modelling, Control Theory, Supervisory Systems, Industrial Networks,  HIstorical Data Acquisition and Analysis (PIMS) without depending on physhical structures for that!

So to achieve that I'd need a software that would run these types of simulations in real time. And as far as I've seen, OpenModelica does that for free.

The second requirement would be OPC connection, and it seems like OpenModelica is also capable of achieving this.

I'm a real begineer in all this and I know that the best option would be reading the whole documentation. But since there is this forum, I'd like to ask for starting tips on all that.


I've already downloaded OpenModelica and simulated a system with a feedback loop, both normal and interactive simulations, and my next goal is to see some of the variables from this simulation changing via OPC. I'd like to connect it to an OPC server and via an OPC client, namely, a supervisory system, I'd like to see a bargraph of a textbox attached to, let's say, the output of this feedback system.

The problem is I don't even know where to start. Are there any recomendations on the OPC software I should donwload? Or any one, like Matrikon, should work?

I would only need that "simulation server port" number and put it in the OPC software and the communication would be established?

I've read a lot of people talking about command lines and using the .exe file generated when you simulate the process. In what part of OMEdit i can use these command lines?


Probably, most of these could be answered reading the documentation, but I'm so lost that I don't even know where or how to look for it.

If anyone could help me on some of the points above, it would be great!!

Thanks in advance.