Set up Standard Interface Communication with FANUC¶

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

The process consists of the following steps:

Check Controller and Software Compatibility
Set up the Network Connection
Set up “Robot and Interface Configuration” in Mech-Vision
Load the Program Files
Test Robot Connection

Please have a flash drive ready at hand.

Check Controller and Software Compatibility ¶

Compatibility requirements are as follows:

Robot: a 6-axis or 7-axis FANUC robot
Additional controller software packages:
- R651 or R632 (karel)
- R648 (User Socket Msg)
Controller system software version: V8.* and V9.*

Set up the Network Connection ¶

Hardware Connection¶

Plug the Ethernet cable of the IPC into the Ethernet port of robot controller as shown in the figure. You can plug the cable into either CD38A port or CD38B port. CD38A corresponds to Port#1 in the robot IP setting, while CD38B corresponds to Port#2.

IP Configuration¶

Press MENU‣ SETUP, and then select Host Comm in the context menu, and then press ENTER to open the SETUP Protocols window.
Select TCP/IP and press DETAIL to open the SETUP Host Comm window.
Enter the robot IP in the IP address line with the keyboard of the teach pendant. The robot IP should be in the same subnet as the IPC.
If the Ethernet cable is connected to port 2, please press Port to switch the port. Then you can enter the robot IP in the IP address line.

Set up “Robot and Interface Configuration” in Mech-Vision ¶

Click Robot and Interface Configuration on the toolbar of Mech-Vision.
Select Listed robot from the Select robot drop-down menu, and then click Select robot model.
Select the robot model that you use, and then click Next.
Select the following options and click Apply.
- Interface Type: Standard Interface
- Protocol: TCP Server and HEX-Big endian
Make sure the Interface Service is started: on the toolbar of Mech-Vision, the Interface Service switch on the far right is flipped and turned to blue.

Load the Program Files ¶

Back up Robot Programs¶

Connect the flash drive to the robot controller or the teach pendant.
Press on the MENU button, and select FILE ‣ File on the screen, and then press on ENTER to open the FILE window.
Select UTIL ‣ Set Device, and press on ENTER to open the USB folder.
If your flash drive is connected to the controller, please select USB Disk (UD1:); if your USB flash drive is connected to the teach pendant, please select USB on TP (UT1:).
In the USB FILE window, select UTIL ‣ Make DIR to create a new folder.
Select Words, Upper Case, Lower Case, or Options/Keybd to name the folder, and then press on ENTER to confirm and enter the new folder.
Hint
- In this example, Upper Case is selected, and the folder name is AOA.
Select BACKUP ‣ All of above ‣ ENTER to backup the files.
A message asking whether to delete the new folder before backup files will display on the screen. Select Yes.
Then a message asking whether to delete the new folder and backup all files will display on the screen. Select Yes to start backup.
After the backup is complete, select all files and press on ENTER to view all backuped files.

Prepare the Files¶

The program files are stored in the installation directory of Mech-Mind Software Suite.

Navigate to xxx\Mech-Mind Software Suite-x.x.x\Mech-Center\Robot_Interface\FANUC, and copy all the contents in this folder to the root directory of your flash drive.

Note

DO NOT copy the entire FANUC folder directly to the root directory of the flash drive.
All copied contents must be saved in the root directory of the USB flash drive. Do not rename them.

Load the Files to the Robot¶

After connecting the USB flash drive, press MENU and select FILE ‣ File, and then press ENTER to open the FILE window.
Press UTIL and select Set Device in the context menu.
Select the USB flash drive. If your flash drive is connected to the controller, please select USB Disk (UD1:); if your USB flash drive is connected to the teach pendant, please select USB on TP (UT1:).
Select the first line (all files) and press ENTER to enter the root directory of the USB flash drive.
Hint

For the next step:
- If the USB flash drive is connected to the robot controller, please select INSTALL_UD.cm.
- If the USB flash drive is connected to the robot teach pendant, please select INSTALL_UT.cm.
Select the corresponding CM file and press ENTER key on the teach pendant. Choose YES to start loading the programs.
When the message “Programs Loaded” is displayed, the program files have been loaded successfully. Press OK to exit the program.

Further Configurations¶

After loading the program files, press SELECT key on the teach pendant to enter the program selection interface. Select MM_AUTO_CALIB and then press ENTER to open the program.
Configure the arguments of MM_INIT_SKT. There are 4 arguments in total. Please configure them according to your actual situation. Then, press STEP key to switch into Step mode.
- Argument 1: client port number (string 1-8)
- Argument 2: IP address of the IPC
- Argument 3: server port number of the IPC
- Argument 4: timeout (min)
Now the Step icon on the teach pendant turns yellow as shown below.
Press and hold either one of the deadman switches on the back of the teach pendant.
Press the SHIFT and FWD keys at the same time to run line 1.
After running line 1 of the program, press MENU and then select USER.
If the message “MM:Restart Robot” appear on the screen, the program can be executed successfully on the robot. Please restart the robot later.

Test Robot Connection ¶

Run the first command of the program MM_AUTO_CALIB again according to the instructions mentioned before. The robot can be connected successfully if the Console tab of Mech-Vision Log panel displays messages indicating that the client is connected.