Set up Standard Interface Communication with ABB

This topic introduces the process of setting up the Standard Interface communication with an ABB robot.

The process consists of the following steps:

Please have a flash drive ready at hand.

Check Controller and Software Compatibility

Compatibility requirements are as follows:

• Robot: a 4-axis or 6-axis ABB robot

• RobotWare Option: 616-1 PC Interface

Hint

You can tap in the upper left corner on the teach pendant and then go to System Info ‣ System properties to check if the necessary option has been installed.

Set up the Network Connection

Hardware Connection

Plug the Ethernet cable of the IPC into the X6 (WAN) port of the robot controller, as shown below.

Hint

If you only need to load the program files via RobotStudio, you can use either LAN port or WAN port to connect the robot controller. However, in order to enable visual communication, the Ethernet cable can only be connected to the WAN port.

IP Address Configuration

You can set the IP on the teach pendant or via RobotStudio.

• Set the IP on the teach pendant

  1. Tap and select Restart.

     

  2. Select Advanced…

     

  3. Select Start Boot Application and tap Next.

     

  4. Select Start Boot Application to confirm.

     

  5. After restarting, you will see the interface as shown below. Tap Settings.

     

  6. Select Use the following IP settings and configure the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default gateway. Tap OK after configuration.

     

  7. Tap Select System.

     

  8. Select the system name in Installed Systems box and then tap Select. Tap OK after configuration.

     

  9. Select Restart Controller.

     

  10. Tap OK to proceed.

      

• Set the IP via RobotStudio

  1. Follow the steps as shown in the figure below to configure the robot IP, and restart the robot after configuration.

     

• Go to System Info‣ Network connections‣ WAN to check if the IP configuration was successful after restarting.

  

  

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 HEX-Little endian

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 Files

Attention

Before operating the robot, please follow the backup instructions below to back up the system.

Back up Robot Programs

1. Go to the home page using the menu in the upper-left corner, and then select Backup and Restore.

   

2. Select Backup Current System….

   

3. Specify the backup file name by pressing on ABC…, and specify the directory for saving the file by pressing …. Then, press Backup in the lower right to start the backup process.

   

Prepare the Files

Copy MM_Module.mod and MM_Auto_Calib.mod from xxx\Mech-Mind Software Suite-x.x.x\Mech-Center\Robot_Interface\ABB and paste them into the flash drive.

Hint

MM_Module.mod and MM_Auto_Calib.mod are program module files.

Load the Files to the Robot

You can load the program modules (i.e., MM_Module.mod and MM_Auto_Calib.mod) with the teach pendant or via RobotStudio.

• Load the modules with the teach pendant

  1. Insert the flash drive into the USB port of the teach pendant.

  2. Go to Program Editor ‣ Tasks and Programs.

     

     

  3. Select T_ROB1 and tap Show Modules.

     

  4. Select File ‣ Load Module.

     

  5. Select the module in the USB flash drive one at a time and tap OK to load the module.

     

     Hint

     It is recommended to load the MM_Module.mod module before the MM_Auto_Calib.mod module, or else an error may occur. The instructions on loading the two modules are the same.

  6. Select Yes in the pop-up window to confirm adding a new module.

     

  7. After loading successfully, you can see the two modules in T_ROB1.

     

• Load the modules via RobotStudio

  1. Insert the flash drive into the USB port of the computer.

  2. Open RobotStudio and connect the robot.

     • If the robot controller is connected via the LAN port, click on One Click Connect….

     

     • If the robot controller is connected via the WAN port or a switch, click on Add Controller and then select the controller and click on OK.

     

  3. Request write access: click Request Write Access in RobotStudio, and press Grant on the teach pendant.

     

  4. Click on Controller and right click on T_ROB1. Select Load Module in the context menu, and then open the two modules, as shown below.

     

     

  5. If MM_Module.mod and MM_Auto_Calib.mod appear in T_ROB1, the modules are loaded successfully.

     

Further Configurations

Locate and open MM_Calibration routine in MM_Auto_Calib module. Change the IP address in the program to the IP address of the IPC.

Test Robot Connection

1. On the teach pendant, tap Debug ‣ PP to Routine.

   

2. Select MM_Calibration and then tap OK.

   

3. Press the button on the teach pendant to execute the program until the PP moves to line 9.

   

4. If the following message appears on the teach pendant, then the robot can be connected successfully.