where did you connect them? KRC or smartPad?
"Safe device communication error KUKA Servo Pack 40A (KSP) 1" error message
- Wall-E
- Thread is Unresolved
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Well, on one of the USB ports of the KRC's PC.
I found the USB port on the pendant ! Yay !
And it works !
So ? Is that a feature ? USB ports on the PC can only be used for file transfer because of the pendant ?
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smartPad got its name due to onboard processing (implying intelligence). it actually runs own copy of Windows. in comparison, previous teach pendants did not have that. they were "dumb" devices.
smartPad uses touch as input (acting as mouse and also there is an onscreen keyboard).
any input at smartPad is forwarded to KPC (Kuka PC inside KRC) but reverse is not true.
so connecting input devices (keyboard and mouse) to KPC will have no effect on what you see on smartPad.
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smartPad got its name due to onboard processing (implying intelligence). it actually runs own copy of Windows. in comparison, previous teach pendants did not have that. they were "dumb" devices.
OK. Got it.
KUKA managed to make it even more expensive to replace .
That's smart on their part, indeed !
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There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. You need to consider bigger picture.
Smart things are becoming part of everything we use. It is only natural to follow the trend since benefits outweigh the negatives.
There is practically one smartpad for everything. Yes there is also smartPad2 but it is interchangeable. So, no more separate design for standard, VW, roboteam etc.
If your production line is down because of single broken teach pendant, and getting replacement takes days or weeks,you would appreciate the transition because SmartPad allows graceful disconnection. Same is if you want to benefit of easy upgrades for things like feature support, bugfixes, security patches etc. Same is if you want to use the robot as a part of roboteam, one does not need to go through expensive hardware alterations just to make it roboteam ready.
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I hear you Panic, but I fail to understand why the SmartPad needs to run it's own OS to perform everything it does.
Roughly, it seems like it has the same function as, say, a glorified graphics tablet with an integrated 3D mouse.
Smart things are becoming part of everything we use. It is only natural to follow the trend since benefits outweigh the negatives.
Wow... that one could lead us in a very long discussion, which could be pleasant in front of a fresh beer, but tedious in front of a screen
The goal of my company is to revive traditionnal wood joints to get away from industrialized (one could say "smart") wood products like glulam, plywood, cross laminated timber, etc...
While they have undeniable advantages, they come with : shady wood origin, lots of transport, massive amounts of glue, grey energy, cancer-inducing volatile organic compounds,...
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i just explained why - someone has to make a decision and they did. they had to make a choice that is most flexible since marketing team can step in any time and demand changes or new product type.
making this device programmable it is easier to adapt and correct its functionality. this way same piece of hardware is used in different applications (standard robots, collaborative robots, mobile robots) and they all work with different OS (KSS, VSS, Sunrise OS).
btw, that 3D tablet also has own firmware and runs some OS
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Oddly enough, KUKA was the last of the Big Five to switch from a "dumb" pendant to a "smart" one. Even 20+ years ago, the Kawasaki C-model controllers used a smart pendant, running (IIRC) a very stripped down version of Windows Mobile, and it's connection to the cabinet motherboard was RS232, believe it or not. It was possible to actually slow the robot down by starting a backup to the memory card slot on the pendant, b/c the channel would get logjammed.
One big reason to make the pendant "smart" is that it takes a lot of the user interface load off the main board. And using an existing system architecture (x86 with Linux or Windows) makes it possible to use off-the-shelf hardware, OSs, and dev toolchains to a large degree. If KUKA wants someone to update their user interface look&feel, they don't have to find someone who's an expert in KUKA and in UI/UX programming -- they can just hire a high-tier Visual C++ dev and hand them a detailed API spec.
Likewise, if the pendant is no longer a core element of the system, but just a remote device communicating over a industry-standard bus using an industry-standard protocol, you can remove a lot of custom coding from your software stack. And if you do a hardware or software update on either end, testing and certifying that that standard comm channel still works afterword is a lot easier, and (again) can be done mostly by "commodity" software devs, rather than KUKA-specific specialists.
And if your hardware gets obsoleted (suppliers stop making the board, or the screen, or some other critical-path widget), it's far easier to move your software stack to a near-equivalent replacement hardware element, b/c your stack is 90% commodity open-standard hardware and software. Switching from one vendor's x86 board to another vendor's x86 board is a lot easier, b/c the standard is so well defined and broadly supported.
Another reason, not related to the user interface, is the safety interface. On most robots, including the KRC2, it wasn't possible to run "headless," with no pendant, because the pendant's E-Stop (and sometimes other things) were an integral part of the entire safety chain. I've seen people "cheat" on KRC2s, by hotwiring the E-Stop pins on the controller socket and plugging in a VGA monitor, but as the safety chains got more complex, this got harder. Now, the KRC4 SmartPad is a network safety device (as well as running a Remote Desktop connection to the cabinet), and has been set up in such a way that it can be dynamically added/removed from the safety chain without creating a safety fault. The KRC2 pendent had to have separate wiring for the E-Stop, deadman, Motor On/Off, an entire VGA signal set, and an interbus channel for the keyboard&space-mouse. Plus power. The SmartPad only needs a network cable and power.
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Thanks fot that in-depth explanation SkyeFire !
Having struggled with a very dima KRC2 pendant, I am worried that something similar happens to the smartpad and makes this "worth-it's-weight-in-gold" piece of hardware useless.
A friend of mine told me that his 5 years old SmartPad's touchscreen went numb, and the display went bad.
Now he uses an external monitor to control the KSS.
This promps a question, since my system did not come with a graphics card, what would be a suitable one ?
It might be difficult to find graphics cards from 10 years ago...
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yes, that happens when man drops the pendant or does not handle it with care.
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This promps a question, since my system did not come with a graphics card, what would be a suitable one ?
It might be difficult to find graphics cards from 10 years ago...
This is a KRC4, correct? AFAIK, all the KRC4s came with a built-in DVI port on the motherboard. There is no video card.
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early KRC4 have motherboards without video output. the next generations had VGA, DVI or display port. so when troubleshooting certain scenarios on older KRC4, one may need a video card. i think i used old ATI once or twice. really should be any card that fits. but it may be better to pick one with major chipset so that one does not need to install drivers.
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