Set up the Standard Interface Communication

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This guide shows how to load the Standard Interface program files to a TM robot that has TMflow 2 as the controller software, and set up the Standard Interface communication between Mech-Mind Vision System and the robot.

Preparations

Before you proceed, make sure that the following requirements are met:

The controller software (TMflow) version is 2.18.
The robot IP address, e.g., 192.168.2.10, is obtained.

Control the real robot

Plug the other side of the IPC’s Ethernet cable into the LAN port of the robot controller.

In the IPC, set the IP address of the IPC.

To allow communication between the IPC and the robot controller, the IP addresses of the IPC and robot controller must reside in the same subnet. This means that the network portions and subnet masks of the IP addresses should be the same. For example, 192.168.100.169/255.255.255.0 and 192.168.100.170/255.255.255.0 are in the same subnet.

On the IPC, download and install TMflow 2.
Open TMflow, perform the operations shown in the following figure, and then wait for the robot information to appear in the connection interface. In this example, Simulator (TM5X-700) is used.
Click the icon. In the login interface, input the username and password (the default username is Administrator and the default password is empty) and click OK.
If the control of the robot is obtained, the control status is Release Control.

Set up “Robot Communication Configuration”

Open 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.
- If you have entered the main interface, click File New Solution on the menu bar.
Click Robot Communication Configuration on the toolbar of Mech-Vision.
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 section, 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. Under Robot integration, click Open program folder.
  
  The files needed for subsequent loading will be copied from this folder. Do not close this folder.
5. (Optional) Select Auto enable interface service when opening the solution.
6. Click Apply.

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

Load the Program Files

Plug the flash drive into the USB port of the IPC.
Rename the USB flash drive to TMROBOT, or else the USB flash drive cannot be recognized by the robot controller.
In the opened program folder (the TM_Plugin_and_Play folder), open the TMFlow2 folder, copy the TM_Export folder to the flash drive, and then unplug the flash drive.

You can also find the program folder in the Communication Component/Robot_Interface/TM_Plugin_and_Play/TMFlow2 path in the installation directory of Mech-Vision and Mech-Viz.
Plug the USB flash drive into the USB port of the controller.
Press and hold the M/A button on the Robot Stick to switch the robot to the Manual mode (the green Manual light is on). Please skip this step if the robot is already in the Manual mode.
In TMflow, perform the operations shown in the following figure to go to the Import/Export interface.
Click Import, select the program folder (TM000249_AC173610), and then click Select.
Select Project Whole Project and select all files on the Select files tab. All selected files will be displayed on the Selected files tab.
Select Configuration Component and select all files on the Select files tab. All selected files will be displayed on the Selected files tab.
Select Project Global Variable and select all files on the Select files tab. All selected files will be displayed on the Selected files tab.
Click Import in the lower right corner of the window, and click OK in the pop-up window after the import is completed.
Perform the operations described in the following figure to go to the Component List interface.
Enable the Status option for all components, as shown in the following figure. Then, click Save.
After you complete the preceding operations, unplug the flash drive.

Test Robot Connection

In TMflow, perform the operations shown in the following figure to create a file.
Drag MM init from the left-side Components section to the canvas.
Select mm_v201_init1 and click the edit icon in the top-left corner.
Select send and click the edit icon.
Click Select.
Click the add icon in the top-right corner.
Select vision3D_mm_mm_v201_init1.ntd_mm and click the edit icon. In the pop-up dialog box, set IP and Port. In the pop-up dialog boxes, click OK.
You must set IP to the IP address of the IPC.

You must set Port to the port number that is specified in Mech-Vision.
Select the run key on the Robot Stick to start running the application. After the running stops, press the stop key on the Robot Stick.
If the robot is connected successfully, the Console tab of the Log panel of Mech-Vision will display a record.