Set up Standard Interface Communication with Kawasaki

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

The process consists of the following steps:

Please have a flash drive ready at hand.

Note

A USB 2.0 flash drive is recommended. Otherwise, the robot controller may not recognize the flash drive.

Check Controller and Software Compatibility

• Controller: E and F series

• Controller system software version: no requirement

• Additional controller software options: not required

• Mech-Mind Software Suite: latest version recommended

Set up the Network Connection

Hardware Connection

Plug the Ethernet cable into:

• An Ethernet port on the IPC

• The Ethernet port inside the accessory panel on the front of the controller

IP Address Configuration

To allow communication between the IPC and the robot controller, the IP addresses of the two must be in the same subnet.

1. Check the IP address of the IPC: please use the ipconfig command in Command Prompt or PowerShell to check the IP address.

2. On the teach pendant, press on Aux., and then select 8. System ‣ 12. Network Setting.

   

3. Set IP Address to one in the same subnet as that of the IPC.

4. Set Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0.

   Note

   If the IP address is set to either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, please set Subnet Mask to 255.255.0.0 instead.

5. If you are using a network gateway, the gateway address should also be set. Please consult your IT support for help.

   

6. Press the ENTER key to confirm, and then restart the controller.

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

1. Click Robot and Interface Configuration on the toolbar of Mech-Vision.

2. Select Listed robot from the Select robot drop-down menu, and then click Select robot model.

3. Select the robot model that you use, and then click Next.

4. Select the following options and click Apply.

   • Interface Type: Standard Interface

   • Protocol: TCP Server and ASCII

5. 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 File

Prepare the File

The program file is stored in the installation directory of Mech-Mind Software Suite.

Navigate to xxx\Mech-Mind Software Suite-x.x.x\Mech-Center\Robot_Interface\KAWASAKI, and copy mm_module.as to your flash drive.

Note

Copy the file to the root directory of the flash drive. Do not put it in another folder or rename it.

Load the File to the Robot

1. Insert the flash drive to the USB port inside the accessory panel on the controller.

2. Check the Program area to see if any robot control program is running. If so, back up and exit the program according to the following instructions.

   
   If there is a program in the Program area, please create a backup first.

   Follow the steps below to back up all files except for system logs to the flash drive.

   1. Press on Aux., and select 2. Save/Load ‣ 1. Save.

      

   2. Press on Input File name to input a File Name for the backup file, and then press on SAVE.

      
   Cancel robot control program.

   1. Press on the Program area, and select Cancel register in the drop down menu.

      

3. Make sure that the robot is in teach mode, and make sure that the Program area has nothing listed.

   

   Note

   To switch the robot to teach mode, turn the Teach/Repeat switch on the controller to TEACH, and the teach lock switch on the teach pendant to ON.

4. Press on Aux., and select 2. Save/Load ‣ 2. Load.

   

5. Press on mm_module.as in the file list twice to select it, and then press on LOAD.

   

6. When loading completes, make sure no errors occurred during loading, and press on the R key to exit.

   

Test Robot Connection

1. On the teach pendant, press on the Program area, select Directory.

   

2. Select vision_sample _1 in the list, and then press the ENTER key to confirm.

   

3. Modify the IP address and port number in the program:

   • Press the J/E key, select Program Edit in the pop-up menu, and then press the ENTER key to confirm.

     

   • Select vision_sample_1 in the list, and then press the ENTER key to confirm.

     

   • Use the arrow keys on the teach pendant to move the cursor to Line 10, and then press the ENTER key to confirm.

     

   • Use the arrow keys and number keys to change:

     • 127,0,0,1 to the IPC’s actual IP address

     • 50000 to the port number set in Mech-Vision

     

   • Press ENTER to save the changes, and then press R to exit.

   • In the pop-up windows, press Yes and Close, respectively.

     

4. Switch the robot to repeat mode, press on RPT. SPD to adjust the repeat speed to 10%. Press on the white button below Aux., and change the drop-down options to STEP CONT and REPEAT ONCE.

   

   Note

   To switch the robot to repeat mode, turn the Teach/Repeat switch on the controller to REPEAT, and the teach lock switch on the teach pendant to OFF.

5. If the program is run from STEP 1, the robot will return to HOME position first according to the command in Line 7. To avoid this when testing the robot’s connection with Mech-Mind Software Suite, press on the STEP area, press the number key 9, and then press ENTER to confirm.

   

6. Press on MOTOR while holding down the A key to power the motor.

7. Press on CYCLE while holding down the A key to run the program.

8. If RUN does not turn green, press the RUN/HOLD key while holding down the A key.

   

9. The robot can be connected successfully if the Console tab of Mech-Vision Log panel displays messages indicating that the client is connected.