Set up Standard Interface Communication with ROKAE

You are currently viewing the documentation for version 1.8.1. To access documentation for other versions, click the "Switch Version" button located in the upper-right corner of the page.

■ To use the latest version, visit the Mech-Mind Download Center to download it.

■ If you're unsure about the version of the product you are using, please contact Mech-Mind Technical Support for assistance.

This topic introduces the process of setting up the Standard Interface communication with a ROKAE robot.

Check Hardware and Software Versions

  • The robot in use is a ROKAE industrial robot.

  • The series of the controller is XBC3, and the version is 3.6.

  • The versions of Mech-Vision and Mech-Viz are 1.7.2 or above.

Start the Robot and Teach Pendant

Turn the controller’s power switch on, as shown below. If the controller is started successfully, a welcome interface will appear on the teach pendant.

rokae industrial 1

Check the Controller Version

On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Help to check the version.

rokae industrial 2
rokae industrial 3

Switch the User Type to Admin

An operator user does not have the right to manage files or operate. Therefore, please switch to the admin user.

  1. On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Settings.

  2. Press General Settings  User Group, and select admin.

    rokae industrial 5

  3. Enter the password 123456 in the pop-up window.

Set up the Network Connection

Connect the Hardware

Use the Ethernet cable to connect the network ports of the IPC and the robot controller.

rokae industrial 4

Configure External Communication

  1. On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Settings.

  2. Press Communication  External Communication, configure Socket communication as shown in the figure below, and then click Connect.

    rokae industrial 4 1

  3. Restart the controller.

Set the IP Address of the IPC

The default IP address of the ROKAE robot to communicate with the vision system is 192.168.2.160, which cannot be modified currently. However, you can modify the IP address of the IPC (192.168.2.222 is used in this example) to ensure that their IP addresses are in the same subnet. Please refer to Set IP Address of the IPC for detailed instructions.

After modifying the IP address on the IPC, open the Command Prompt window of the IPC, enter “ping 192.168.2.160”, and test whether the connection between the IPC and the robot is successful.

Load the Program Files to the Robot

It is recommended to back up robot system files before loading Master-Control program files to avoid system corruption that may be caused by the loading operation. In case any issue occurs, you can use the backup file to restore the robot system. Please refer to Backup and Restore Robot Files for detailed instructions.

  1. Plug the USB flash drive into the USB port of the IPC. Navigate to Mech-Center/Robot_Interface/ROKAE from the installation directory of Mech-Vision & Mech-Viz. Copy the MM_Project folder to the flash drive and then remove the USB flash drive safely.

  2. Plug the USB flash drive with the program files into the USB port on the teach pendant.

  3. On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Project.

  4. Press Project Manager.

    rokae industrial 9 1

  5. Press More and select Show U disk.

    rokae industrial 10

  6. Select the MM_Project folder in the flash drive, press More, and select Copy U disk folder to root directory.

    rokae industrial 11

    Once pasted successfully, the MM_Project folder can be found in the file browser at the bottom left.

Configure Robot I/O

  1. On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Settings.

  2. Press Communication  IO Configuration  Add in turn.

    rokae industrial 24

  3. Configure the options as shown in the figure below, and press OK.

    rokae industrial 25

Set up “Robot Communication Configuration”

  1. Run Mech-Vision, and you may enter different interfaces. Create a new solution according to the instructions below.

    • If you have entered the Welcome interface, click New blank solution.

    create solution 1

    • If you have entered the main interface, click File  New Solution on the menu bar.

    create solution 2

  2. Click Robot Communication Configuration on the toolbar of Mech-Vision.

  3. In the Robot Communication Configuration window, complete the following configurations.

    1. Click the Select robot drop-down menu, and select Listed robot. Click Select robot model, and select the robot model that you use. Then, click Next.

    2. In the Communication mode area, select Standard Interface for Interface service type, TCP Server for Protocol, and ASCII for the protocol format.

    3. It is recommended to set the port number to 50000 or above. Ensure that the port number is not occupied by another program.

    4. (Optional) Select Auto enable interface service when opening the solution.

    5. Click Apply.

      tcp ascii

  4. On the main interface of Mech-Vision, make sure that the Robot Communication Configuration switch on the toolbar is flipped and has turned blue.

    interface service

Test Standard Interface Communication

  1. In the Project Manager window on the teach pendant, select the MM_Project folder and press Load.

    rokae industrial 12

  2. Select the “// MM_Calibration()” line, and press More  Comment/Uncomment.

    rokae industrial 13

  3. Then press More  Print Dialog.

  4. Switch the manual mode to automatic mode. The figure below shows the teach pendant in the automatic mode.

    rokae industrial 16

    Select Ok in the pop-up window as shown below.

  5. Press the button on the controller as shown in the figure below. If the once-flashing indicator light turns to be always on, the servo is successfully turned on in the automatic mode.

    rokae industrial 18

  6. Press the R button in the lower right corner to power on the robot.

    rokae industrial 19

  7. Press Debug and select PP to Main.

    rokae industrial 20

  8. Click the icon as shown below to adjust the program’s running speed.

    rokae industrial 21

  9. Press the button as shown below to run the program.

    rokae industrial 22

  10. Double-check if the connection has established. When the following message appears on the teach pendant, the robot has been successfully connected to the vision system.

    rokae industrial 23

Common Operations

Backup and Restore Robot Files

Backup

  1. Plug the USB flash drive with the program files into the USB port on the teach pendant.

  2. On the teach pendant, press the icon in the upper left corner, and then press Settings.

  3. Press General Settings  Backup/Restore, and select Backup.

    rokae industrial 6

  4. Select Backup in the pop-up window.

    rokae industrial 7

Recover

  1. Press General Settings  Backup/Restore, and select Restore.

    rokae industrial 8

  2. In the pop-up window, press Browse to select the directory where the backup files are stored. Then select the data to be restored according to the actual requirement, and press Restore.

    rokae industrial 9

We Value Your Privacy

We use cookies to provide you with the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use the site, you acknowledge that you agree to the use of cookies. If you decline, a single cookie will be used to ensure you're not tracked or remembered when you visit this website.

  • Preference
  • I accept
  • I don't accept