No, typically you don't need it but there are some cases where it is used. Can you tell us specifically which PLC you are trying to connect to and what is the physical connection medium?
Typically, you can connect directly to the PLC once it is programmed. You can check out the recommended driver for each PLC here and note that for PLC's such as the 850, most users connect using the more generic Modbus driver.
For a quick getting connected to an AB PLC example, check out this video: https://youtu.be/1R3iwr7XJ28
If you want to see a short getting started video with a Modbus example, check out: https://youtu.be/493Z1_dZIQo
No, typically you don't need it but there are some cases where it is used. Can you tell us specifically which PLC you are trying to connect to and what is the physical connection medium?
Typically, you can connect directly to the PLC once it is programmed. You can check out the recommended driver for each PLC [here](https://www.trihedral.com/device-driver-list) and note that for PLC's such as the 850, most users connect using the more generic Modbus driver.
For a quick getting connected to an AB PLC example, check out this video: https://youtu.be/1R3iwr7XJ28
If you want to see a short getting started video with a Modbus example, check out: https://youtu.be/493Z1_dZIQo
Trihedral Engineering Ltd.
edited Apr 3 '18 at 7:02 pm