DCS Joint Speed Check with External Axis

    I have a 6 axis Arcmate 120iD robot with a R30iB Plus Controller that has 3 extra external axis separated into their respective groups, grp 2, 3 and 4.

    I can switch between groups, move the axis' in jog and move them with shift fwd/bwd in a TP program.

    Group 2 controls a turn table that have group 3 and 4 axis as a trunnion for their respective side.

    I want to include a joint speed check using group 3 axis 1 and group 4 axis 1 so that I can monitor the speed of those axis to safely stop them if there is an operator in the loading area.

    However when I configure those groups in the joint speed check function menu, the DCS menu says that the axis is invalid.

    I noticed that within DCS -> robot setup, group 2, 3 and 4 all show "Robot Excluded! Number of axis:0".

    A backup of a previous project shows the extra axis that were added but for some reason do not show for me so it appears that the extra external axis are not included in safety.

    Does anyone know if there is a way to get these extra axis included in DCS?

    Much thanks,

    Hi,

    I've done this on a similar setup. It was a multiarm controller. Are your external axis setup as 'general positioner'? My RG backup shows my setup as general positioner type. It was setup to what you are trying to do.

    It could also be a software option. Do you have the R859 Advanced DCS Package?

    Edited once, last by retobor (September 22, 2023 at 1:27 PM).

    My external axis are setup as "Basic Positioner". My roboguide backup of the existing project with joint speed check working is also using basic positioner which is interesting. Perhaps it would be worth a try using general positioner instead. I would really like to know the difference between them but there doesn't seem to be much good information that I could find on adding external axis.

    I do indeed have the advanced DCS package installed.

    I've also spoken with Fanuc a few times through their web support chat but haven't been able to find the right person. I have a ticket elevated to engineering but haven't heard anything so far.

    I appreciate the feedback!

    I have a screenshot from a Fanuc Friday webinar session a few years ago that explains the different options very well.

    "RTL-R689 - Basic Process Axes is recommended to control non-FANUC motor speed by Analog or Group output of Robot Controller"

    "RTL-J686 Coordinated Motion & RTL-H874 General Positioner options are recommended for motion coordination between a Turn Table/FANUC Positioner and FANUC robot in master-slave configuration"

    I'm willing to bet you need the general positioner option for more advanced control of your external axis.

    Please note this isn't the full list, there are several options available for controlling external axis depending on its application.

    Okay great. I will give this a try and see if it makes a difference.

    Do you know if there is an easy way to remove existing groups? I now need to remove the current positioner and replace it with a generic one but there doesn't appear to be an easy way to do that.

    Cheers,

    Edit: I tried adding a 5th group using General positioner and used the same motor setup as one of the existing motors and it still doesn't show up in the robot setup menu. However I also don't know if keeping the previous configuration while adding an additional essentially duplicate group would effect this result.

    Edited once, last by Shearzy (September 22, 2023 at 7:36 PM).

    I received a response from Fanuc engineering regarding this issue.

    When setting up the axis for the first time, it asks you if the kinematics for the axis is known or not. If you select unknown, the axis will not display in DCS. If you select known kinematics then you can apply joint speed check to that axis is DCS.

    If the axis already exists, like in my case, then you wont be asked if kinematics are known. You have to delete the axis and exit the maintenance menu entirely (I just navigated to the file menu and back again) before it will ask you about kinematics.

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