Posts by tbasque

Okay I am going to let the specifics that Panic Mode brought up be the phase 2 elements, but his points are really key to how the rubber meets the road once you figure out a solution you want to move forward with. I will just focus on the equipment and system points you have inquired about. Part of the scope of this will require a part matrix and full understanding of what you want to run through this system, this information will be important if you want to hold the beam with the robot as you will have to know what parts can't be accomodated.

I have no experience about Robo DK, RobotMaster, or Octopus. I think the Robo DK pricing is pretty good and you would probably spend the same money on a similar CNC CAM package (you could obviously spend more). They offer a free trial so I would use that to test some programming examples of parts you would want to do. I find most trials are too short and you will run out of time so use your CAD software to model up the options and then import them for testing unless you plan to setup part geometry in Robo DK.

Next, I would not think that the Z200 would be the best option as it is a very large unit and really is configured as a heavy load unit / palletizing robot. The upside is you will have 8.5 feet of max reach so that might help with needing a smaller slide if you can find a slide that will accept that weight. If you have two or more of those robots you could do a dual arm system which would give you 16 feet of range or if you are doing a lot of end prep, you can cut both ends at once. I think you will need to look into the controller and options on how to do what you want.

I think one other option as you have robots which could support this is if you have 150lb or less beams, you could pick up the beam with the robot and present it to the torch and move the beam using the robot while it holds it. This would be a very flexible system and would allow for single setup processing.

I am happy to help you if you want to pursue this. I can help with cell setup, and I have access to Kawasaki to support some of the integration. I would need robot Serial numbers, controller model and serial numbers, and other details.

Please DM me if you think this is something you might want more assistance with going forward and we can talk through the scope and details you need help with on this.

I would say economical is relative so you would have to put out a cost target for something like this. The cheapest way would be to buy an older robot, and you probably would not need a very large unit for beams. The ideal setup would be to use a slide to move the robot along them beam and program everything through the robot controller. You can also look into a robot with an external axis and use a motor to move the beam along on a rack and pinon table.

You would have to research robots that can take G Code to keep the software and setup more Stright forward and cost effective as machining software is more easily available than software to program complex robot moves, Fusion 360 is very cost effective to use if you move forward on this. I think coupling the robot and plasma cutter may be tricky to get the torch touch off to work with the controller.

You will have to contact Kuka for specifics, but they have a G-Code option for their controller so you could program it using a CAM package with the right post processor. That would be my suggestion. If you don't like that they have software to do robot machining programming look at Robotmaster or Octopuz. I also think MasterCAM may have a robot module too along with a few other CAM setups.

I have done this process, and I can say it is a little unnerving the first time as I don't have a lot of Panasonic robot customers. I prefer the new robots where you can address this easily in software. I will explain how I approach this so you can maybe set yourself up for success.

1. Get a paper clip or nice jumper setup for doing this. It is also better if you come from the back of the connector to do this. You will need two sizes as the connectors are not the same size.

2. For each connector I suggest marking the two pins with a paint maker so next time you will know where to go and be more efficient.

3. Before you start which it may already be too late, I like to set the robot on the zero marks on the arm. The reason for this is you may have to zero out the encoders twice (but only in software if I recall).

4. Starting with steps 1 through 3 complete, replace the batteries at the back of the robot.

5. Now you won't be able to do anything as you will have to open the access panels and jump out the connectors per the instructions provided earlier. The one I work on we jump the motor with the controller on but not the robot powered on and the screen shows as the encoders reset electrically.

6. Once the encoders are reset you have to set the origin on the encoders in software using the steps shown in the instructions.

My explanation is you should get to the robot and pendant, step through the instructions and look at the motor connections and the screen instructions. It should make more sense with the robot and pendant in hand. If you walk through a couple of times and it does not make sense, then you should stop and find someone to do it or train you how to do it. I am pretty sure you will forget it when you have to do it again so document and take pictures, so you have notes for the next time.

I also think you have to access a Maintenace level on the controller to be able to get to the reset encoders screen.

Quick question on your setup. Is the variability more noticeable the further away from the center of the conveyor? If yes you may need to look for a different camera or lens for the camera. The image may be distorting and throwing off the position details.

Also I presume the axis you have reliable locating is the center line of the conveyor. More specifics will help dial in solutions for you.

Not sure what I am missing but I found these two options to maybe guide your effort:

ESP32 Static/Fixed IP Address | Random Nerd Tutorials

How to set a Static or Fixed IP Address on your ESP32

Hey just a quick heads up for next time or others. If you need to find this real time next go around, plug in a laptop or PC and use the dos shell once the network is all set and do an c:\\ipconfig/all (not sure if I used the right switch forward or backward). it will show you all the IP addresses on the network.

One option would be to look at a Sick, Cognex, or Keyence smart camera. They can read and parse data out so you may be able to get your barcode data read and sent to the controller to pull the program. I cannot say if this will or will not be cheaper than getting a cheap PLC and simple camera or barcode reader to communicate. you can also get an ethernet to serial (typically USB) module if you need to, but you are adding a bit of hardware and failure points to the system which are failure points.

I would wonder with the ABB controller if there is a keyboard input into the controller PC and if you could write a program to look for a user input and with a basic serial barcode reader you could signal a trigger to read the barcode and fill out the field. It seems that the controller can take scripting so you can execute this structure. For barcodes a keyboard wedge to fill out a field or input is always a no brainer if you can dumb down the application to take advantage of this. This would be cheaper than a smart camera.

I suspect that as you are using TCP/IP and you having connection issues you have high voltage influencing the ethernet signal.

I would keep your welding leads and grounds away from the ethernet cable to prevent any noise / cross talk.

I would make sure you have a very high quality ethernet cable with shielding won't protect against gross HV interference, but with welding there is a lot of HF influence potential.

Make sure you protect all your points in the communication chain.

Finally look at the lay of the welding cables coming out of the power supply. it is better if you lay them randomly vs laying them in a neat coil. The coil can induce magnetic fields.

If you do the above or if you have already done them, please report back. it is possible that the ethernet in the welder is not protected well enough but that is an issue to talk about with the manufacturer.

Okay so couple of questions on this.

First, did you use OEM batteries and if not did you measure the voltage before you installed them? I have had customers buy batteries online, install them and then they have errors because the online batteries were not producing sufficient voltage.

Second, most controllers if you can log in at a high enough level will allow you clear and reset passwords. Downside for you is you will probably have to pay someone from Fanuc or from an integrator to log in clear out passwords and setup what you want, but for the cost it may be a cheap option for you depending on the levels which they can setup. I would say you want to have a level above any password you give to your specialist / setup guy, so you have an in. If you have a company you work with regularly, they may be willing to give you a log in level that enables you to do it but you may have to pay for onsite support for this. Just confirm before you agree to a visit and pay.

I have a customer who has one and I am not an Okura expert, but I have a good amount of hands-on time with their robot. The system I have seen is a fine palletizing unit. This robot is stacking bags of concrete. The conveyors, EOAT, guarding, pallet locating and sensing etc. were all part of the system. The system is PLC based as best as I can tell and there is PC software baked into it. You have to have a PC to tap into programming and setup. Once you have the SW downloaded you can program the layer forming offline. It's not elegant but it works.

As for the system, when it works it works like all robots. I like that they do it as one complete system. they use some unique sensor setups and this customer moves sensors around and they lose their programming etc. which makes setup and troubleshooting difficult. As I understand it the systems are made to order for each customer so it will be hard to find a common example. I find navigating the software to be non-obvious for deeper needs and the customer's operators often are helpful in navigation. I wish that unit had a teach / playback option and a pendant to do setup and tuning. It can be hard to set things up nicely when you are 10 feet away behind a gate.

I hope this helps and gives you some insight into these units.

Not sure if there is a reason you want this in the program, but a couple of ideas on this as you seem to want this to be executed on the program cycle it is in. One idea is to use the soft PLC function in the controller to make this run in the background and track things outside the program. As you are setting and monitoring I/O this is a good option to track and set status.

The other option is to make your IF routine a subprogram and use a PCALL to jump out to the sub program to check the logic of the routine. The PCALL would work because it would jump out at that point you call it in your main program, check the logic, and return to that same line with your value. If the status changes frequently then you can query it at different points using the PCALL at multiple lines.

I am not sure what you are doing with this and if this program is for only one part you use then the PLC option may not be ideal as it will run in the background even if you don't need this feature for other programs, but if you don't address or use the I4 or O4 for any other functions then you should be all good.

Do you want a list of function codes in a manual or are you trying to figure out what to use? This question is confusing as when you hit the FN key it pulls up the available ones. I also recall you can hit the help key to get an explanation of the code and an idea as to how it works. This is as far as I can go from memory but if you are more specific I can look at my training manual at the office.