# Sending Acquisition Status to a PLC

This topic will show how to send a camera's acquisition status to a 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.

This example illustrates a typical application that is utilizing a Cognex Communications Card or a Vision Controller connected to a PLC, and a single camera. In this scenario, we will be simulating the Camera Device with an Image File Device, and focusing on the communication between the Cognex Communications Card/Vision Controller and the PLC.

The project is built around three Tasks and their Tasks; one Task (OnStartup) is executed when the project starts, the second Task (OnShutdown) is executed when the project closes, and the last Task (OnTrigger) is used when the PLC sends an acquisition trigger to the Cognex Communications Card/Vision Controller (named "card").

Note: For more information on simulating a device, see the Simulating Devices topic.

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