Posts by robotreto

Quote from Alex.S

Hello robotreto,

I'm still new here, so I'm not really sure how to PM you.

I'm trying to achieve a dialog between Kawasaki robot and external device using TCP/IP. Currently I check several possibilities. Software Ethernet/IP functionality seems to be locked in actual robot so far. However, I had some success with TCP/IP communication. Therefore, I'm really interested in your offer. Can you please share your code?

Thank you

Alex

Sorry Alex, saw your post only today, and I guess it is too late now....

Sorry I did not understand what exactly is your problem.

In case your program stops instead of returning an error code :

You need a error-react routine like this one which catches such an error and reports it to a global variables rt_tcp_error

Code

.PROGRAM rt_reacte.pc() #19;
  PRINT "rt_reacte was called"
  rt_tcp_error = TRUE
  RETURNE
.END

Then in your receive routine you can check if the error happened :

Code

  rt_tcp_error = FALSE
  ONE rt_reacte.pc
  TCP_RECV .ret, .sock_id, .$tcp_data[1], .num, .to, 255
  IF rt_tcp_error THEN
    .ret = -1    
    RETURN  
  END

if the error variable is true, you can return, cleanup, and re-open the communication.

If it is false, no error happened, no need to re-open the communication.

But once again : this hack seems only be needed in K-Roset, not on a real controller.

As it is almost impossible to find the original firewire cameras for AdeptSight 2.0, I have developed an acquisition plugin which interfaces also the newest Basler GigE cameras to AdeptSight 2.0.

It is a simple DLL and works also under Windows 11/64 bit (as you might already know : AdeptSight 2.0 and also AdeptDeskTop can be configured with CORFLAGS.EXE to run on any 64 bit Windows).

I have also written a *.hsproj converter which makes it very easy to swap cameras in your projects.

This plugin allows older systems to be equipped with the newest Basler cameras without the need to rewrite any V+ Code or change sequences.

Contact me for a demo version if interested.

I stand corrected....

Indeed I found an AS equivalent to V+ REACTE :

The ONE function (yes, it is called ONE for ON ERROR) can catch such errors.

And surprisingly it works in the exact same way as V+ REACTE, with a RETURNE at the end.

After implementing it, my TCP/IP program is robust to sudden forced communication interruptions.

If anyone is interested in the exact code, drop me a PM.

Greetings to all,

I am coming from the V+ and VAL3 corner, so please forgive me my illiteracy with Kawasaki.

I have programmed a TCP/IP program which speaks with a .NET application on a PC.

It works pretty well, but during stability testing (I tested random forced disconnections) I came across an issue where K-Roset does not behave as specified in the TCP/IP Manual.

  25 TCP_RECV .ret, .sock_id, .$tcp_data[1], .num, .to, 255
  26 IF .ret < 0 THEN
  27     ; do some error handling and cleanup here
  28 END

The issue is : when the program is in TCP_RECV and there is a communication error like -34021, contrary to the documentation, the program is stopped instead of returning the error code in the .ret variable. As the program is stopped I have no way of cleaning up and retrying.

Here is the terminal-output when that happens : (the Pendant displays the same message with an orange RESET button etc)

(E4021) TCPIP)Communication Error. CODE=0 Dst.IP=0.60161672.268472975.-34021
No = 1001
Program = rt_tcp_receive Step = 25
PC program aborted.No = 1001

The documentation says to the TCP_RECV function:

If communication error occurs, the error code is stored in the returned value storage variable and program execution does not stop.

and later in Chapter 6.1 the same statement :

6.1 COMMUNICATION ERRORS IN SOCKET COMMUNICATION

The following errors may be detected during execution of socket communication instructions,

but will not stop the execution of the program

Error -34021 is clearly in the list of error-codes which should not stop program execution.

So what is my mistake ? Why does the program stop instead of returning the error code ?

Is there a secret SWITCH where this behavior can be altered ? Or is this just a K-ROSET issue and will not happen on a real robot ?

I have also not found an equivalent to V+ REACTE where you can handle such program-stopped conditions with your own error handling routine.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Reto.

As nobody in this forum seems to understand the concept of a standard debugger, I got myself a K-Roset license to find out about their debugging functionality.

Here is what I found out :

- Kawasaki Debugging has a so many restrictions that it is not really useful

- Debugging works only in simulation, not with a connected real robot.

- So it is not possible to single-step your programs from the PC

- You need the Pendant and a Terminal, where you have to type STEP for each line.....

- On-The-Fly changes of code is not possible, you have to stop debugger, make code-changes, save them, and freshly restart the simulator and debugger at line 1 of your code.

All this is quite a disappointment, and is not state of the art.

The Kawasaki Pendant is also not state of the art: menus are still stuck in the 90'es of the last century.

Kawasaki should look at Staubli CS9, they have a multi-connection web-server (NGINX) based Pendant. You can also take Chrome, Firefox or Edge on your PC to connect simultaneously to the Pendant, and you can even debug and make robot-code-changes inside your favorite web-browser. No need for an IDE. Of course that works also from your smartphone or tablet when it is connected over WiFi to the machine.

Quote from kwakisaki

KRoset has an ONLINE license available whereas KIDE has that included.

These are the closest you will ever get to 'your prefect IDE' and should never be compared with other OEM offerings as you are comparing apples to oranges.

That is all I wanted to know. Thanks. There is no need to lecture me or diss me just because I use a robotic forum to ask some questions which are not properly explained in the manuals.

Thanks for your quick reply. Of course I have consulted all available resources before posting my thread, and I have no issues understanding AS language, but in the AS Language Reference Manual I could not find anything about a debugger, single-stepping without having to type STEP in the monitor for each line of code, and I also found nothing about breakpoints.

From the K-Roset documentation I can see there is a kind of debugging functionality in the IDE, but if I understand it correctly it is only for simulation, not for a real robot. As I don't have a license I can not test it.

I have carefully read your reply, but I could not find any answer for my 5 detailed questions.

Instead you refer me to a 7 year old post where a collection of editors and terminal programs are discussed. None of those terminal programs and editors seem to have such a debugging functionality. I don't need another editor or terminal program, I need an online debugger for a real robot, like Adept/Omron/Staubli have it standard in their IDE since decades.

By debugger I mean a PC-based tool where you can single-step programs, toggle breakpoints, view/modify any variables which are referenced in the code, and possibly also make on-the-fly code-changes.

As you are the expert here, you can surely tell me : Is there such a debugger for an E-Type Kawasaki controller yes or no ? Will a licensed K-Roset deliver that functionality, also for a real robot ?

Hello fellows, I have 30+ years of experience in Adept/Omron/Staubli programming (V+ and VAL3 languages), with hundreds of robots programmed, many of them quite complex with multiple cameras and conveyor tracking.

From those systems I am used to have an online-debugger (on the PC) where I can single-step any program and also use breakpoints to pause execution on a specified line. I am also used to be able to inspect the online-contents of local and global variables with the debugger, and also change them online if needed. On V+ system you can even add/delete/modify lines of code online without needing to re-transfer (and therefore re-start the program) from your IDE.

Now I came across a Kawasaki Project. I was puzzled to see that AS language is very similar to V+, indeed 90% of the keywords and behavior is identical. So I thought this is gonna be easy-peasy. But I was wrong, even though the language is very familiar, the Kawasaki way seems to be not user-friendly if you are used to V+ or VAL3.

Those things bother me most :

1) how to single-step an AS program from the PC (basic debugger functionality) ?

2) there seems to be a possibility to single-step from the pendant, but the STEP button does not do what I imagine it should do, I have to type STEP into the terminal for every step. Isn't there a more user-friendly way ?

3) how to use breakpoints online ?

4) how to inspect/manipulate variables/points/strings online ?

5) When transferring programs from KIDE to the controller, many times I get a generic message telling me that there is a mistake in the programs, but how can I find which line of code is offending ? How to check for errors before transferring ?

what am I missing ? Is there really no debugger or was I just too dumb to find it ? Or will a fully licensed K-Roset provide that missing functionality ? Which license would I need ?

By the way : I am not a Kawasaki-hater, I ride a big Kawasaki VN1700 bike with great pleasure.