Posts by gdemark

I am starting a new job soon. They use both Fanuc and EPSON robots. Epson is new for me. Does anyone have any opinions regarding Epson robotics (Quality, performance, cost, etc..) I noticed Epson does not currently have a forum section setup on this web page. Thanks

Thanks for you feedback. I am getting really comfortable with Fanuc based programming. However, I do not have the offline roboguide software. I must say that I was really impressed with the presentation for Denso robots. The affordable offline programming software (WINCAPS III) looked like a great advantage over Fanuc/Motoman. I think I would be comfortable with the Denso program language. The Denso language has more of a visual basic feel which I have some experience with. For now I am planning to stick with Fanuc, but it is good to have options. Thanks

How far off are the points? Are they way off or just a mm or two?

My plant primarily uses Fanuc robots. For the most part I am pleased with their performance. I am quickly gaining comfort using them each day. However, my management wants be to explore a Fanuc alternative just to have an option in the event we have future issues with Fanuc (also to keep Fanuc honest in terms of cost and support). This week I have sales reps from the following firms to discuss their robot systems ( Denso, Motoman, Nachi ). I am just looking for general feedback in regard to the plus/minus for these robots or others you may suggest.
1) Reliability and uptime
2) Service / Support
3) Ease to program
4) Capability and features
5) Cost

Thanks

I have used the 'Abort' instruction to stop and exit a TP routine. What does the 'Pause' instruction do in comparison? I assume the routine will pause, but for how long? do I need to use another instruction to resume the routine?

Thanks

Thanks everyone. In fact I did NOT need to re-master. I simply reset the alarm, calibrtaed, and set the mastering variable to true. That did the trick and saved me a great deal of time. Thanks

Hello All,
Recently an operator crashed one of our LR Mate 200 iB robots real hard. The resulting error was "Pulse Mismatch SRVO 038 Error". I was able to reset the error and jog the robot. However, now the robot needs to be re-mastered and calibrated. Is this a typical result from a robot crash? Or do I have a different issue like a low battery or something? Thanks

I sure appreciate all the comments on this post. Thanks

Crash28....Does your procedure apply in the event that I have a BZAL alarm (Battery removed with power off)?

Thanks

So is there any approximate relationship? The reason I want to know is in regard to quick mastering. How close to zero must I be for quick mastering. Fanuc documentation says you must be within 1/2 a motor revolution. Well I can not see the motor turning inside the robot, so I would like to have an idea what that 1/2 motor turn means in terms of a joint angle that I can see.

Thanks again

Simple question that I am trying to get an answer for: What is the relationship between motor revolutions and joint angle? For example, if the joint 1 motor moves one full revolution (360 deg) what would I see in terms of the angular movement of joint 1? I assume it is not 1 to 1.

Thanks

So are you saying that if I had an image backup containing the SYSMAS FILE I could just load that file to get back to my previous mastered state? Would I need to jog the robot to the 'quick master' position and perform the quick master process in this case? Or would I just load the SYSMAS File and be done?

Thanks for the quick reply

Hello All,
Assume I have recorded (written down) the encoder pulse data for a newly mastered robot. The pulse data was obtained from the sys variable DMR GRP (or Fanuc Data Sheet). The robot battery was changed while powered down causing a BZAL alarm and a need to re-master.
In this case, can I simply directly enter in the documented pulse data to avoid the need for fixture/zero mastering?

Thanks

When performing a quick master, how close do you need to be to the quick mastered reference position in terms of motor revolutions/joint angle?

I have read that for a quick master to work you must be within one half motor turn of the marker pulse. So my question is what is a half motor pulse in terms of joint angle degrees?

I will assume that the witness marks provide enough accuracy to achieve this placement.

LR Mate 200 ic

Thanks

Following the BZAL alarm you must work through the process of mastering the robot. When you are moving the robot into the 'zero' joint positions what jog mode is available? I thought you can only jog in joint mode. Is this true, or can you also jog in world (x,y,z)?

Thanks everyone

I just returned from Fanuc training (up in MI, USA) last week. I asked this question about image backup. My instructor stated that the image backup includes all the files contained in the File backup process and additional system software files. Therefore, I would expect that the TP programs would be available after restoring from an image backup. Perhaps he was mistaken.

I appreciate your reply. I will experiment with this new information and see how it works. Thanks again.

I would like to better understand how to control robot speed with my LR Mate 200 IC robots. I know that I can insert an override instruction within each TP routine. However, what if I want to set a global variable that will provide an upper limit for all TP/macro routines? Similarly, is there a separate variable that will control speed when jogging in manual mode? I have found the following variables in the system…variables location on the TP. The Fanuc documentation that I have provides a vague description for each. I am not clear on the differences between each of these. Some variables appear to be write protected, does this mean I need to perform a controlled start to edit them?
I appreciate any insights you have
Thanks

$SCR.$RUNOVLIM: PROGRAM RUN SPEED LIMIT
$SCR.$SFRUNOVLIM: PROGRAM RUN OVERRIDE LIMIT
$SCR.$JOGLIM: JOG LIMIT
$SCR.$JOGOVLIM JOG SPEED LIMIT
$SCR.$SFJOGOVLIM: SAFETY JOG SPEED LIMIT
$SCR.$SFSPD_OVRD[2]: SAFETY OVERRIDE
$SCR.$COLDOVRD: COLD START OVERRIDE
$MCR.$GENOVERRIDE: GENERAL OVERRIDE
$MCR_GRP.$PROGOVERRIDE: PROGRAM OVERRIDE

My program is running. I am watching the UOP outputs. In particular I am watching UO[3] Prg running. The output stays on constantly while the robot is running and goes off when it is not. I have this output wired into the PLC through DeviceNet. However, when I watch the signal on the PLC side I see it flashing on and off. Any ideas on why it is flashing on and off on the PLC side. I wanted to use this signal to inform the PLC when the robot stops running the program so I can have the PLC take appropriate actions.
Thanks

My Robot is an LR Mate 200iC
R-30iA Mate
Handling Tool V7.7

I have experimented with the following scenario:
My program is running. Then I switch the pendant from ON to OFF. Next I switch the pendant back to ON and press the Auto Start button on the panel mate. In some cases I have noticed that the program resumes from that line it left off on. In other cases, the program resumes from the beginning (calls the main start program). What governs how the program resumes in this case?
Thanks very much.

I having been setting up several programs that utilize the palletizing instructions over the last few weeks. This week I encountered a situation that I did not understand. The approach position that I recorded did not maintain its recorded value. I noticed the robot moving to an apparent approach position that did not match the position I recorded. After several attempts to re-record the approach position I still noticed the same strange behavior. The approach position I recorded was only a few (10 mm) above the bottom position (1,1,1). However, the robot was moving to an approach position at least 40 mm above what I recorded. Any thoughts on what was happening? I will note that in this case the parts tray was unfortunately located very close to the robot base (LR Mate 300ic, Handling Tool). This may have created some challenging kinematics for the near side pallet positions. Perhaps the robot attempted to select a new approach position that could be more easily reached. Not sure about that. Thanks everyone one.