Robot Communication Configuration

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In this tutorial, you will learn how to load the Standard Interface program files to the KUKA robot, and set up the Standard Interface communication between the Mech-Mind Vision System and the robot.

  • In this section, you will load the robot Standard Interface program and the configuration files to the robot system to establish the Standard Interface communication between the vision system and the robot.

  • If you are using the robots of other brands, you can find instructions on setting up the Standard Interface communication with the desired robot from the section Standard Interface Communication.
Video Tutorial: Robot Communication Configuration

Preparation before Loading

Check Controller and Software Compatibility

  • The robot was identified as a KUKA 6-axis robot. This section takes KUKA_KR_10_R1100_2_HO as an example.

  • The controller version is KR C4.

  • Controller system software version: KSS 8.2, 8.3, 8.5 or 8.6.

    Click here for instructions

    1. Click robot icon, and select Help  Info.

      kss version 1

    2. Check the controller system software version in the Info interface.

      kss version 2

  • Add-on software package: Ethernet KRL (V 2.2.8, 3.0.3 or 3.1.2.29).

    The correspondence between KSS and Ethernet KRL versions is as follows:

    KSS version Ethernet KRL version

    8.2 or 8.3

    2.2.8

    8.5

    3.0.3

    8.6

    3.1.2.29
    Click here for instructions

    Click Options in the Info interface to view the Ethernet KRL version.

    krl version

All teach pendant actions in this chapter are performed on KSS 8.6. The specific steps and menu selections may differ slightly in different versions of teach pendants.

Set up the Network Connection

Connect the Hardware

  • KR C4 Compact: connect X66 port.

    port1

  • Other KR C4 controllers: connect KLI port.

    port2

Switch to the Expert Mode

  1. Click robot icon, and select Configuration  User group to enter the log-on interface.

    change mode

  2. Select Expert, enter the password (the default password is kuka), and then click Log on.

    login

Set IP Addresses

  1. Click robot icon, and select Start-up  Network configuration.

    ip setting1

  2. Input an IP address in the same subnet as that of the IPC. Then, click Save. Click Yes and OK, respectively, in the next two pop-up windows.

    ip setting2
    ip setting4

Restart the Robot Controller

  1. Click robot icon, and select Shutdown to enter the shutdown interface.

    reboot1

  2. Click Reboot control PC in the shutdown interface.

    reboot2

Create a Mech-Vision Project and Save It

  1. Open Mech-Vision. If the Welcome interface as shown below is displayed, it indicates that Mech-Vision is started successfully.

    image

  2. In the Welcome interface of Mech-Vision, click Create from solution library to open the Solution Library.

    project build welcome interface library
    The Solution Library is a resource library that provides typical solutions or projects (with sample data) from various application scenarios.

  3. In the Application Template tab of the Solution Library, select the Loading Neatly Arranged Target Objects solution, as shown below.

    project build select project

    If you cannot find the Loading Neatly Arranged Target Objects solution in the Solution Library, click the Download icon in the upper-right corner.

  4. Set the solution name and path, and then click Create.

    After the project is created, the created solution and project will be displayed in the project list in the upper-left corner of the Mech-Vision main interface.

    • A solution is a set of configurations and data related to robots and robot communication, vision processing, path planning, etc. that are required for the machine vision application.

    • A project is a workflow of vision processing in the solution. Normally, a solution only contains one Mech-Vision project, but it may contain more than one project in complex application scenarios.

    • The Loading Neatly Arranged Target Objects solution only contains one project “Vis_Target_Object_Recognition”.
    project build check project list

    In the Graphical Programming Workspace of the main interface, the workflow of the “Vis_Target_Object_Recognition” project will be displayed.

    project build check project step

  5. In the project list, right-click the solution, and select Autoload Solution.

    project build click auto load

    After this solution is set to autoload, the project name will be displayed in green, and the project ID will be displayed in the left of the project name.

    project build auto load finish
    The project ID will be used by the robot pick-and-place program to trigger the Mech-Vision project to run.

  6. On the menu bar, select File  Save Solution.

    project build save solution

Set up Robot Communication Configuration

In this example, the robot communication configuration has been set for the KUKA robot (KUKA_KR_10_R1100_2_HO) by default. The Robot Communication Configuration option on the toolbar is enabled.

robot interface config

Back up the Robot Program

Make sure you have switched to the expert mode. Otherwise, the flash drive will not show up on the teach pendant.

  1. Plug the flash drive that stores the backup file into the controller, and make sure that the flash drive shows up on the teach pendant.

    backup1

  2. Click robot icon, select File  Archive  USB (cabinet)  All, and click Yes in the pop-up window to start the backup.

    backup2
    backup3
    backup4

  3. If the following information is displayed on the teach pendant, the backup is complete. A ZIP file is saved to the flash drive. Unplug the flash drive.

    backup5

Prepare Program Files

Navigate to Communication Component\Robot_Interface from the installation directory of Mech-Vision & Mech-Viz, and copy the following KUKA folder to your flash drive.

The KUKA folder contains the following files:

  • mm_module.src (program file)

  • mm_module.dat (program file)

  • XML_Kuka_MMIND.xml (network configuration file)

  • MM_COMTEST.src (program file for testing communication)

  • MM_COMTEST.dat (program file for testing communication)

The XML_Kuka_MMIND.xml configuration file defines communication parameters, including the IP address and port of the IPC, the Alive flag, and the RECEIVE flag. Please modify the settings according to the actual on-site configuration before loading the program files. For more information about the XML_Kuka_MMIND.xml configuration file, refer to the MM_Init_Socket command.

Load the Program Files to the Robot

Make sure you have switched to the expert mode. Otherwise, the flash drive will not show up on the teach pendant.

  1. Plug the flash drive into the controller, select the flash drive on the left panel, and then locate the preceding folder.

    copy file1

  2. Copy mm_module.src, mm_module.dat, MM_COMTEST.src, and MM_COMTEST.dat to the KRC:\R1\mm directory. If the mm folder does not exist, create the folder.

    1. Create a mm folder.

      Click KRC:\, click R1 folder, and then click New.

      copy file2

      Enter mm as the folder name in the pop-up window and click OK to create the mm folder.

      copy file3

    2. Select mm_module.src, mm_module.dat, MM_COMTEST.src, and MM_COMTEST.dat from the KUKA folder of the flash drive, click Edit, and then click Copy.

      Long-press and drag to select multiple adjacent files.
      copy file4

    3. Select the mm folder from the KRC:\R1 directory and click Open.

      copy file5

    4. Select Edit  Paste to paste the selected files.

      copy file6

  3. Follow the preceding steps to copy and paste XML_Kuka_MMIND.xml to C:\KRC\ROBOTER\Config\User\Common\EthernetKRL.

  4. Select XML_Kuka_MMIND.xml from C:\KRC\ROBOTER\Config\User\Common\EthernetKRL and click Open.

    copy file7

  5. Select line 4 and click pen icon on the left to call out the keyboard. Change the IP address in this line to that of the IPC, and click pen icon again to hide the keyboard. The port number in line 5 must be the same as the port number of the host PC that is specified in Mech-Vision. To change the port number, repeat the preceding steps.

    copy file8

  6. After the modification is complete, click the close button on the left. In the pop-up window, click Yes to save the modification.

    copy file9

  7. Follow the instructions in switching to the Expert mode to switch to the Administrator mode. Click robot icon. In the pop-up menu, select Shutdown to enter the Shutdown interface.

    copy file10

  8. Select Cold start, Reload files, and Reboot control PC.

    copy file11

  9. In the pop-up window, click Yes to restart the robot.

    copy file12

Test Standard Interface Communication

Select the Program to Test Communication

  1. Follow the instructions in switching to the Expert mode to switch to the Administrator mode.

  2. Open the KRC:\R1\mm folder, select MM_COMTEST.src, and then click Select.

    change aut

Run the Program and Test Connection

Before you start, we recommend that you see the following instructions to learn how to switch between running modes.

Turn the key switch to horizontal, select the running mode (such as T1 or AUT) in the pop-up dialog box, and then turn the switch back to vertical.

T1 stands for the Manual Reduced Velocity mode, and AUT stands for the Automatic mode.
change aut1

  1. Follow the preceding instructions to switch to the T1 mode.

  2. Click O. In the pop-up window, click I to set Drives to I. If Drives is already set to I, skip this step.

    change aut2

  3. Press the white enabling switch halfway in and press the green start button to run the program. When R turns green, the program is running. After the program is run, MM:Init Connection ok is displayed. In this case, release the enabling switch and start button.

    change aut3
    change aut4

  4. If the communication between the robot and the vision system is set up, a log will be recorded on the Console tab of the Log panel of Mech-Vision.

    vision center log

Now you have loaded the robot Standard Interface program and the configuration files to the robot system to establish the Standard Interface communication between the vision system and the robot.

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