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Been gone since 2018 — came back with a PLC runtime that runs on the P2 — Parallax Forums

Been gone since 2018 — came back with a PLC runtime that runs on the P2

fixmaxfixmax Posts: 93
edited 2026-04-04 20:07 in PASM2/Spin2 (P2)

Hey folks,
fixmax here.
Some of you may remember me — probably not — but I've been lurking around here since 2010, back when I was asking Parallax for more P2 YouTube videos before the chip even existed. 😄
Last post was 2018. Life happens.

Well, I've been heads down for the last several months on a project and I really think it's going to be a good thing — something I've been wanting for a long time. The P2 is a big part of what this will end up being — it became a very important part of what I built.
I should mention — I've been building this with Claude Code since November. 200k+ lines of Go in a few months. The AI age is real, folks.

That being said, I built a soft PLC runtime called GoPLC. It's a full IEC 61131-3 ST code runtime written in Go. Think CoDeSys but without the licensing headaches, running as a single binary under 60MB on basically anything. I've been messing with CoDeSys/Pi integrations with the Propeller for a LONG time — this is that idea, taken all the way.
I chose Go for a reason — single binary deployment, compiles in seconds, true concurrency built in from the ground up, and garbage collection that actually behaves. For a runtime that needs to be deterministic and deployable anywhere, it was the obvious choice for me.

The P2 HAL
The P2 HAL (hardware abstraction layer) uses a Firmata-style CMD byte architecture. You write Structured Text in GoPLC's web IDE and it drives P2 hardware directly — servos, OLEDs, sensors, whatever you've got.
I'm going to demo GoPLC on a little animatronic dachshund I built — 4 servos, OLED eyes with naturalistic blink patterns, all driven by ST code talking to a P2. Deterministic IO front end on the P2, full industrial PLC runtime behind it. Perfect storm and fun to play with. 😄

The Runtime

14 industrial protocols, 25 client/server implementations (Modbus TCP/RTU, EtherNet/IP, OPC UA, BACnet, DNP3, and more)
Native AI integration via MCP
Boss/minion clustering
Web IDE with Monaco editor
Single binary under 60MB — runs on Raspberry Pi up to enterprise hardware. My preferred is on Linux - but I've also run it a lot in Docker it runs great - especially with it built with the integrated Node Red

I just launched a crowdfunding campaign — officially starts Monday 4/6/26 but the prelaunch page is live now if you want to take a look.

Indiegogo link
https://indiegogo.com/en/projects/fixstuff555/goplc-the-plc-runtime-built-for-the-ai-age

GitHub Showcase
https://github.com/fixstuff/GOPLC-Showcase/tree/main

Happy to dig into the P2 HAL architecture, CMD byte design, or how ST maps to P2 hardware. Good to be back.

PS: I would love to buy some P2 FLIP modules — P2 Edge is good but bulky for me. 😄
fixmax (James Belcher)

Comments

  • fixmaxfixmax Posts: 93
    edited 2026-04-04 20:16

    PS: I also plan to support the P1 and even Stamps (I have to dig through some stuff to see if I have my old collection around) - I would use a $4 USB-C RP2040 as a bridge for this probably on the stamp for programming.

  • RossHRossH Posts: 5,735
    edited 2026-04-05 04:16

    @fixmax

    That being said, I built a soft PLC runtime called GoPLC. It's a full IEC 61131-3 ST code runtime written in Go. Think CoDeSys but without the licensing headaches, running as a single binary under 60MB on basically anything.

    A 60MB binary running on the Propeller2? How? Also, what is a P2 FLIP module?

    And you also want to support the Propeller 1? How?

    I guess I must be missing something here.

  • evanhevanh Posts: 17,173

    @RossH said:
    A 60MB binary running on the Propeller2? How? Also, what is a P2 FLIP module?

    I was a little gob smacked too, then I noticed it actually runs on a Raspberry Pi. The Prop2 is performing as a remote I/O module commanded by the Pi.

  • evanhevanh Posts: 17,173

    One thing I will say is that unless the programming environment is Ladder, you've already failed the primary job of a PLC. And that is to make the top level machine control logic readable for electricians.

  • SaucySolitonSaucySoliton Posts: 568

    A P2 flip may need to be a bit wider. I thought the P2 market was lacking a cheap, breadboard compatible board. It would be cool to make P2 flip and put it in the LameStation. Anything is possible with hand assembled pins. But it also should be usable for low volume production. I decided to target the pico form factor instead. The castellated edges are cheaper and likely more reliable than SMT pin headers. Not in production but designed to be a cheap 4 layer board without via-in-pad.
    https://forums.parallax.com/discussion/176194/sunnyside-the-flip-compatible-p2-module#latest The name is because the P2 will staring right back at you, aka sunny-side-up.

    These PLCC like modules are available.
    https://www.rayslogic.com/Store/P2Store.html

    A cool board, not sure on availability.
    https://forums.parallax.com/discussion/comment/1570028/#Comment_1570028

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