Familiarization with the Servo Robot System

Exercise 1 Familiarization with the Servo Robot System EXERCISE OBJECTIVE In this exercise, you will be introduced to the Lab-Volt Servo Robot System. In the Procedure section, you will install and connect the equipment. You will experiment with the control of the Servo Robot using the Hand-Held Terminal and Robotics. DISCUSSION In the early 1920s, the word robot, derived from the Czech word robotnik, meaning slave, first appeared in a play about a scientist who invents artificial people to do the world's work. Although today's robots are not biological creations, science fiction has had a tremendous influence on what today has become science fact. The robots we use today come in many shapes and sizes, and many of them are analogous to humans. For instance, the Servo Robot of your training system has a shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, and gripper for fingers. As robots become more advanced and less expensive, more are employed in industry situations where working conditions are dangerous or boring. Some examples of areas where robots are being used today include: undersea and space exploration, surgery, nuclear power plants, electronics manufacturing, painting and welding. Robots can be built to lift or move much more weight than a human can move. They can work almost nonstop, and do not require food or breaks. Most often, a robot will do more accurate work than a human. The Lab-Volt Servo Robot System The Lab-Volt Servo Robot System consists of a Servo Robot, Robot Controller, Hand-Held Terminal, Grids, Work Surfaces, Emergency Stop module, Robotics (a software used to control the Servo Robot), and all the accessories required to perform the exercises of this manual. 1-1

Servo Robot The overall mechanical layout of the Servo Robot is shown in Figure 1-1. The Servo Robot has five rotational axes: base, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and gripper. Figure 1-1. Mechanical layout of the Servo Robot. The base supports the arm mechanism. It houses the motor that provides shoulder rotation. The shoulder rotates on the base. It houses the motors associated with the gears and belts that move the other sections of the arm. 1-2

The lower end of the upper arm carries the gears and pulleys that drive the forearm, wrist, and gripper. The upper arm and forearm have up and down motions. The wrist and gripper work together to pick up items and move them to desired locations. The wrist moves up and down to control the two-finger gripper. It can also rotate in a 360-degree clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The fingers of the gripper move in an open or close motion. The operation of the Servo Robot is controlled using the Hand-Held Terminal or from a host computer with the Robotics software. Robot Controller The Robot Controller is the brain of the Servo Robot. It is a specialized computer with ports, switches, and programming capabilities that enable it to control the Servo Robot and external device(s). Grids and Work Surfaces In the hands-on exercises of this manual, you will create programs that simulate industrial applications. If you wish to repeat these programs at a later moment, it is important to place the equipment exactly where it was when the position points were saved. The Grids and Work Surfaces supplied with your Servo Robot System will help you to achieve this goal. As Figure 1-2 shows, the Grids contain 12 rows numbered from R0 to R11 and 12 columns numbered from C0 to C11. Figure 1-2. Layout of the Grids and Work Surfaces. 1-3

The rows and columns are numbered to locate the Servo Robot and accessories such as the film canisters, metallic can, or external devices such as the Belt Conveyor, Rotary Carousel, Gravity and Pneumatic Feeders, and Linear Slide. As an example, when it is asked in a procedure to place a film canister at position (R7,C9), you must center the film canister at the intersection of the eighth row from the top of the Grid, and the tenth column from the right. The position (R7,C9) is pointed by an arrow in Figure 1-2. If you are using the perforated Work Surfaces, Model 6309, place the equipment as shown on the Grid. The Work Surfaces contain the same number of rows and columns as the Grids. Even if the Servo Robot is designed to be used with both the Grids and Work Surfaces, it is strongly recommended to use the Work Surfaces to perform the hands-on exercises. They are simple to use, and they are less subject to undesirable movements. The Work Surfaces are designed to be used on top of a table. Procedure Summary In the first part of the exercise, Set-up, you will install and connect the Servo Robot System. In the second part, Experiment with the Operation of the Servo Robot Using the Hand-Held Terminal, you will experiment with the various articulations of the Servo Robot. You will grip, move and rotate a film canister in various positions. In the third part, Speed Setting Using the Hand-Held Terminal, you will learn to set the speed using the Hand-Held Terminal. In the fourth part, Experiment with the Operation of the Servo Robot Using Robotics, you will experiment with the various articulations of the Servo Robot. You will grip, move and rotate a film canister in various positions. In the fifth part, Speed Setting Using Robotics, you will learn to set the speed using Robotics. In the last part of the exercise, Shutdown Procedure, you will shut down the system. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED Refer to the Equipment Utilization Chart, in Appendix A of this manual, to obtain the list of equipment required to perform this exercise. PROCEDURE CAUTION! When you work with moving equipment, make sure you are not wearing anything that might get caught, such as a tie or jewelry. If your hair is long, tie it out of the way. 1-4

Set-up G 1. Install the Servo Robot as shown in Figure 1-3. Note: Make sure that no wall or obstacle is present within 750 mm (30 in) from the base of the Servo Robot. Figure 1-3. Location of the equipment on the Work Surface. G 2. Make sure that the emergency stop button is released (in the up position) and easily accessible. G 3. Connect the equipment as shown in Appendix B. Refer to the User Guide of your training system for detailed instructions. Note: If the cables have already been installed by your instructor or classmates, verify each connection. 1-5

Experiment with the Operation of the Servo Robot Using the Hand-Held Terminal G 4. Turn on the Robot Controller by setting its power switch at the I (on) position. G 5. Once the Robot Controller has finished initializing, the Hand-Held Terminal will display the Main menu. G 6. Execute a hard home positioning by performing the following steps: Note: The hard home positioning is described in the next exercise. In the Main menu, press the 4 key to select Motion Control. In the Motion Control menu, press the 4 key to select Hard Home. Within 6 seconds, press the Enter key to execute the Hard Home command. Note: Do not try to move a section of the Servo Robot manually when the power is on, this could damage the equipment (if the motors are not freed). G 7. Press the Teach Menu key to display the Teach menu. Use the 6 and T keys to rotate the shoulder of the Servo Robot in both directions. Note: Figure 1-4 shows the keys associated with the actions performed by the Servo Robot. Experiment with this articulation by setting various positions. Without trying to exceed the mechanical limits, determine the operating range of this articulation, then return the Servo Robot to its original position (approximately). Note: You will observe in the next steps that the movement of an articulation may be limited by the position of other articulations. When this occurs, the message Limit Error appears on the display. Modify the position of the articulation that limits the movement to obtain full operating range of the articulation. 1-6

Figure 1-4. Keys associated with the actions performed by the Servo Robot. G 8. Use the 5 and S keys to move the upper arm up and down. Experiment with this articulation by setting various positions. Without trying to exceed the mechanical limits, determine the operating range of this articulation, then return the upper arm to its original position. G 9. Use the 4 and R keys to move the forearm up and down. Experiment with this articulation by setting various positions. Without trying to exceed the mechanical limits, determine the operating range of this articulation, then return the forearm to its original position. G 10. Use the 3 and J keys to move the wrist of the gripper up and down. Experiment with this articulation by setting various positions. Without trying to exceed the mechanical limits, determine the operating range of this articulation, then return the wrist to its original position. G 11. Use the I and 2 keys to turn the gripper by rotating the wrist in both directions. gripper to its original position. G 12. Use the 1 and H keys to open and close the gripper. Note: If the Gripper does not operate, the Robot Controller probably needs to be configured. Check the Configuration section in the User Guide of your training system. 1-7

Experiment with this articulation by opening and closing the gripper, then return the gripper to its closed position. Speed Setting Using the Hand-Held Terminal G 13. Place a film canister on the Work Surface at position (R11,C10). Refer to Figure 1-3 if necessary. Note: Add coins in the film canister to improve stability. G 14. Press the Teach Menu key to display the Teach menu. Open the gripper, and move the Servo Robot so the gripper is about 150 mm (6 in) above the film canister as shown in Figure 1-5. Figure 1-5. Position of the gripper over the film canister. G 15. Set the speed at 15 by performing the following steps: In the Teach menu, press the 0 key to select the Speed Control option Press the 1 key to set the speed at 10 then press the right arrow key five times to obtain a speed of 15. Press the Enter key to save the setting. Note: Speeds below 20 are used for precision movements. Conversely, high speeds are used for long displacements where there is no risk of hitting an obstacle. G 16. Grip the film canister as shown in Figure 1-6, and raise it 150 mm (6 in) above the Work Surface. 1-8

Figure 1-6. Gripping the film canister with the gripper. G 17. Set the speed at 95. G 18. Move the film canister above position (R11,C0). Note: Notice that it is quite difficult to move the film canister with precision at high speed. G 19. Set the speed at 10, then lay down the film canister on the Work Surface at position (R11,C0). Open the gripper to release the film canister and raise the gripper. G 20. Continue to experiment with the Hand-Held Terminal by gripping, moving, and rotating the film canister in various positions. Experiment with the Operation of the Servo Robot Using Robotics G 21. From the host computer, launch Robotics by clicking the Robotics icon appearing on the desktop, or choosing the Run command in the Start menu of Windows, and type X:\Program Files\Robotics\wrobot4.exe (if you did not accept the default folder, enter your folder path). Click the OK button or press the Enter key on the keyboard. Note: Replace the X by the letter associated with your hard disk drive. 1-9

G 22. Select Online in the Robot menu to enable the control of the Servo Robot from the host computer. Note: The Online option in the Robot menu must be checked to enable the control from the host computer. When it is checked, the Hand-Held Terminal displays the message Remote Host Control. G 23. Execute a hard home positioning by selecting Hard Home in the Motion Control sub-menu of the Robot menu. G 24. Open the Point Editor window by selecting Point Editor in the Window menu. G 25. Click the arrows showing the direction of the shoulder movements to rotate the shoulder of the Servo Robot in both directions. Servo Robot to its original position (approximately). G 26. Click the arrows showing the direction of the upper arm movements to move the upper arm up and down. Servo Robot to its original position. G 27. Click the arrows showing the direction of the forearm movements to move the forearm up and down. Servo Robot to its original position. G 28. Click the arrows showing the direction of the wrist movements to move the wrist up and down. Servo Robot to its original position. G 29. Click the arrows showing the rotation direction of the wrist to rotate the wrist. Servo Robot to its original position. G 30. Click the Open and Close arrows to operate the gripper. 1-10

Servo Robot to its original position. Speed Setting Using Robotics G 31. Place a film canister on the Work Surface at position (R11,C10). Refer to Figure 1-3 if necessary. G 32. Open the gripper, and move the Servo Robot so the gripper is about 150 mm (6 in) above the film canister as shown in Figure 1-5. G 33. Set the speed at 15. To do so, edit the number in the Speed field by doubleclicking in the field and enter 15. Alternatively, you can use the arrow buttons beside the field. G 34. Grip the film canister and raise it 150 mm (6 in) above the Work Surface. Set the speed at 95. G 35. Move the film canister 150 mm (6 in) above position (R11,C0). G 36. Set the speed at 10, then lay down the film canister on the Work Surface at position (R11,C0). Open the gripper to release the film canister and raise the gripper. G 37. Continue to experiment with Robotics by gripping, moving, and rotating the film canister at various positions. To develop your abilities, stack two film canisters at a particular position. Shutdown Procedure G 38. Make sure that there is nothing inside the gripper. G 39. Clear the area around the Servo Robot so that it will not hit anything when it moves. G 40. Execute a hard home positioning. G 41. Turn off the Robot Controller by setting its power switch at the O (off) position. 1-11

G 42. Disconnect the system and return the equipment to its storage location. CONCLUSION In this exercise, you were introduced to the installation and connection of the Servo Robot System. You learned to control the Servo Robot using the Hand-Held Terminal and Robotics. You also learned to control the speed. You experimented with the articulations of the Servo Robot by gripping, moving, and rotating a film canister at various positions. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Name the articulated sections of the Servo Robot. 2. What are the Grids and Work Surfaces used for? 3. Name three sections of the Servo Robot that can move up and down. 4. Name two sections of the Servo Robot that can rotate. 1-12

5. Referring to the row and column numbers, describe where the point (R3,C5) is located. 1-13