Master-Control Communication Setup

This guide shows you how to set up Master-Control communication with a UR robot.

The UR robots can be controlled at the script level. At the script level, the URScript is the programming language that controls the robot. Therefore, the IPC controls a UR robot by sending scripts to it.

Once a script is received, the robot executes it. If the robot receives another script with motion commands while it is executing the previous script, the robot will stop immediately and execute the new script. If a script function defined by “sec” (instead of “def”) is sent via port 30002, and the function does not contain motion commands, the robot will not stop immediately.
For e-Series robots such as UR5e, Mech-Viz can only guide the robot to move when they are set to remote control, or else Mech-Viz can only synchronize the robot instead of moving it.

Set up the Network Connection

Start the robot and plug the Ethernet cable into the port of the robot controller, as shown below.

1 is the network port inside the controller, and 2 is the default network port.

To make the network connection faster and more stable, it is recommended to use port 1.

Check IP and Controller Compatibility

Press the icon in the upper-right corner of the teach pendant.
Select About.
Press Version.

Set the IP Address

Press the icon in the upper-right corner of the teach pendant.
Select Settings.
Select System Network.

Enter the correct IP address, which should be in the same subnet as the IPC. After configuration, press Apply.

Start Remote Control

Press the icon in the upper-right corner of the teach pendant.
Select Settings.
Select System Remote Control Enable.
Press the Local icon on the screen, and select Remote Control.
If the Remote Control is enabled successfully, the Local icon will turn to the Remote icon as shown below.

Test Master-Control Communication

Create a Mech-Viz Project

Open Mech-Viz, press Ctrl+N on the keyboard to create a new project. Select the robot model corresponding to your real robot brand and model on the interface as shown below.
Press Ctrl+S and create or select a folder to save the project.
Right-click the project name in the left panel in Mech-Viz and select Autoload Project.

Connect to the Robot

Click Master-Control Robot on the toolbar of Mech-Viz.
Input the IP address of the real robot in Robot IP address (the IP address in the picture is only an example). Click Connect the robot.

If Mech-Viz successfully connects the real robot, the current status will change to Connected. Meanwhile, the icon in the toolbar will turn from blue to green.

If the connection fails, please double-check the robot IP address.

Move the Robot

In the toolbar of Mech-Viz, change the Vel. (velocity) and Acc. (acceleration) parameters to 5%.
Click Sync Robot in the toolbar, and you can synchronize the poses of the simulated robot in the 3D simulation space with the poses of the real robot. Then click Sync Robot again to unselect it.
In the Robot tab, slightly adjust the value of J1, for example, from 0˚ to 3˚. This operation will move the simulated robot.
Click Move real robot and check if the real robot has moved. If the real robot has reached the joint positions set for the simulated robot, the master-control communication is working.

When moving the robot, please ensure the safety of personnel. In the case of an emergency, press the emergency stop button on the teach pendant!