# Sending and Receiving Formatted Data with a PLC

This topic will show how to send and receive formatted data between a Designer project and a connected PLC. The information in this example can be used with any of the supported protocols (EtherNet/IP, PROFINET or SLMP) and a Cognex Communications Card or a Vision Controller.

The project is built around two Tasks ("Input" and "Output") and their Tasks; one Task ("OutputFormat") is used to send the data to the PLC, and the other Task ("InputFormat") is used to receive the data from the PLC. The Page constructs an HMI that allows the user to edit the data used by the OutputFormat Task, and view the data returned by the InputFormat Task. Tags are used to pass data between the HMI and the Tasks.

The following hardware is required:

- A Cognex Communications Card or a Vision Controller
- A PLC running a Factory Floor Protocol:
  - Rockwell PLC using the EtherNet/IP protocol
  - Siemens PLC using the PROFINET protocol
  - Mitsubishi Automation Controller using the SLMP protocol