ControlForge Reference Guides
Complete technical documentation for every ControlForge subsystem. Each guide includes architecture diagrams, function signatures, parameter tables, IEC 61131-3 Structured Text examples, and transport-specific notes.
Hardware Interfaces
Connect microcontrollers and USB devices directly to your PLC logic. ControlForge handles firmware upload, protocol framing, and connection management — your ST code just calls functions.
| Guide | Target | Functions | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parallax P2 | Propeller 2 (Rev G) | 82 | 44 binary protocol commands + 38 convenience functions. Smart pins, UART, I2C, SPI, ADC/DAC, PWM, servo, quadrature encoder, frequency counter, OLED display, animated eyes. 3 Mbaud USB, CRC-16 protected, schema-driven. |
| Arduino | Uno R4 WiFi | 20 | GPIO, 14-bit analog, PWM, DAC, I2C, servo, WiFi, BLE, LED matrix, HC-SR04 ultrasonic. |
| Teensy | Teensy 4.0 | 47 | CAN bus, hardware PID, complementary PWM, NeoPixel, encoder, RTC, TRNG, SPI, UART. |
| Flipper Zero | Flipper Zero | 31 | NFC, RFID (125 kHz), Sub-GHz radio, infrared, iButton, GPIO. |
| RP2040-Zero | Waveshare RP2040-Zero | 26 | GPIO, ADC, PWM, NeoPixel, I2C, SPI, UART, servo, OLED, distance, temp sensor. Rust firmware (UF2). |
| ESP32 HMI Dongle | ESP32-S3-LCD-1.47 | Companion | WiFi status display + USB mass storage. mDNS auto-discovery, live scan times/faults/memory, OTA updates. |
| Phidgets | Phidgets USB | 16 | Voltage, current, temperature, humidity, load cells, relays, motors. |
CNC, Laser & 3D Printing
Stream G-code to machines with real-time parsing, parameter modification, and multi-transport support. Use ST logic to add safety limits, feed overrides, and sensor integration that slicers and CAM tools can't do alone.
| Guide | Target | Functions | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-code | CNC / Laser / 3D Printer | 41 | File I/O, line parser/modifier, machine connection, status, position, pause/resume/stop. Three transports: xTool HTTP, GRBL serial, Marlin serial. CLI streaming mode (free, no license). |
Industrial Protocols
First-class client and server implementations for every major automation protocol. Multi-device polling, type-safe memory areas, and diagnostic counters built in.
| Guide | Protocol | Functions | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modbus TCP | Modbus TCP/IP | 30 | Client + server, FC01-FC16, multi-device polling. |
| Modbus RTU | Modbus RTU (serial) | 30 | Client + server, RS-485, bus scanning, RTU-over-TCP bridge. |
| EtherNet/IP | CIP / EtherNet/IP | 43 | Scanner + adapter, tag browsing, Allen-Bradley integration. |
| Siemens S7 | S7comm | 38 | Client + server, DB/I/Q/M areas, S7-300/400/1200/1500. |
| OPC UA | OPC UA | 36 | Client + server, node browsing, security policies. |
| MQTT | MQTT 3.1.1 | 36 | Client + built-in broker, pub/sub, message queue, QoS levels. |
| Omron FINS | FINS/UDP | 23 | Client + server, DM/CIO memory areas, CJ/NJ/NX series. |
| DNP3 | DNP3 | 25 | Master + outstation, BI/BO/AI/AO/counter, SCADA/utility. |
| IEC 104 | IEC 60870-5-104 | 27 | Client + server, SP/DP/float/scaled/counter, power grid. |
| BACnet | BACnet/IP | 36+ | Client + server, priority array, COV, WhoIs, HVAC/BMS. |
| SNMP | SNMPv1/v2c/v3 | 36+ | Client + agent + trap receiver, OID helpers, datacenter monitoring. |
| DF1 | DF1 (AB serial) | 16 | Client, SLC 500 / MicroLogix, N7/F8/B3 file addressing. |
| Sparkplug B | Sparkplug B / MQTT | 16 | Edge node, NBIRTH/NDATA lifecycle, Ignition integration. |
| SEL Relay | SEL Fast Message | 54 | Client + server + meter. Mirrored bits, SER, oscillography, COMTRADE, settings. |
| InfluxDB | InfluxDB v1/v2 | 16 | Write + batch, line protocol, Grafana dashboards. |
ST Language & Libraries
Built-in functions callable from Structured Text — data processing, integration, and fault tolerance.
| Guide | Category | Functions | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timers, Counters & FBs | Function Blocks | 14 | TON, TOF, TP, RTO, CTU, CTD, CTUD, SR, RS, R_TRIG, F_TRIG, PID, PIDE. |
| Math, String & Conversion | IEC Standard + Extensions | 150+ | Trig, rounding, statistics, EMA/SMA, string ops, type conversions, bitwise, unit conversions. |
| JSON | Data Interchange | 22 | Parse, build, query, modify JSON. Dot-path access, typed getters, JSONPath. |
| HTTP Client | Web Integration | 16 | GET/POST/PUT/DELETE from ST. Response maps, custom headers, webhooks. |
| File I/O | File System | 15 | Read/write/append files, line-by-line processing, CSV logging. Sandboxed. |
| Database | Persistence | 18 | SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL. Query, insert, transactions, schema management. |
| Data Structures | Collections | ~160 | ARRAY, MAP, LIST, QUEUE, STACK, DEQUE, SET, HEAP/PQUEUE. |
| Resilience & Caching | Fault Tolerance | 35 | Cache, circuit breaker, rate limiter, throttle, debounce, bulkhead, hysteresis. |
| Debug & Logging | Diagnostics | 36 | Multi-target logging: file, SQLite, PostgreSQL, InfluxDB, syslog, console. Per-module levels. |
| Motion Control | PLCopen MC | 23 | Create axes, trapezoidal profiles, absolute/relative/velocity moves, homing, jog, PLCopen state machine. |
| CSV & INI | File Formats | 20 | CSV parse/query/modify/export + INI file read/write/parse. Recipe management, config files. |
| Regular Expressions | Pattern Matching | 13 | Match, find, replace, split, capture groups, count, validate. RE2 engine, RE_* aliases. |
| Cryptography | Security | ~55 | SHA/MD5 hashing, HMAC, AES (CBC/GCM), RSA encrypt/sign, Base64, JWT auth, CRC checksums. |
| SMTP Email | 4 | Send plain text, HTML, authenticated, and TLS-encrypted email from ST. Alarm notifications. | |
| Analyzer & Store-Forward | Diagnostics | 22 | Protocol packet capture, decode, PCAP export + offline message queuing with SQLite persistence. |
| NMEA & GPS | Geospatial | 26 | Parse GPS sentences, extract position/speed/altitude, geofencing, distance/bearing calculations. |
| Entertainment | Show Control | 40 | Art-Net DMX (7), sACN/E1.31 (7), MIDI (14), OSC (12) — stage lighting, sound, installations. |
| Utilities | Specialized | 83 | KNX, M-Bus, ZPL labels, barcode, URL, TLV/BER, GSV/SSV, ctrlX EtherCAT, directory ops. |
| OSCAT Library | ST Library | 550 | Open-source IEC 61131-3 library. Complex math, PID, signal processing, sensors, date/time, scheduling. |
Platform
Core development tools, distributed execution, and visual programming.
| Guide | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| IDE & Runtime | Development Environment | Browser IDE, task scheduler, debugger with breakpoints + stepping, HMI builder, project files, protocol analyzer, store-and-forward. |
| AI Assistant | Built-in AI | Chat + autonomous control mode, 13 runtime tools, Claude/OpenAI/Ollama providers, code/HMI/flow generation, voice input. |
| REST API (OpenAPI 3.1) | API Reference | All 407 operations by group, OpenAPI 3.1 spec UI, WebSocket, authentication, common patterns. |
| Configuration | YAML Reference | Every config field documented: tasks, protocols, I/O mapping, DataLayer, AI, Node-RED, real-time, fleet, security, ctrlX. |
| Clustering | Distributed Execution | Boss/minion architecture, DataLayer pub/sub, fleet management, tested to 500 minions. |
| Node-RED | Flow Programming | 7 custom ControlForge nodes, Dashboard 2.0, AI-generated flows. |
ControlForge v1.0.533 | April 2026 © 2026 JMB Technical Services LLC. All rights reserved.