Fanuc LRMate 200iC Interfacing

[RWiersma]

 I'm looking for a low-cost method of interfacing LabVIEW to a Fanuc robot. I know there has got to be an easier way than wiring up discrete I/O.  

We have a standard Dell PC running Windows XP and LabVIEW software installed.  We are using LabVIEW to provide master machine control, data collecting, analysis, reporting, GUI, etc.

 

The robot we will be purchasing is a Fanuc LRMate 200iC Robot.

 

One of the main functions that LabVIEW is required to do is to command the robot to move to desired positions (GI/RSR), and then read back status and position information(GO).

The robot will speak EthernetIP, but the only LabVIEW EIP drivers I found are still in development.

The robot will also speak Modbus/TCP, and there is integration for that protocol in DSC.  Does anyone here have experience with this configuration?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-RW

 

[AdnanZ · Accepted solution]

You should be able to use the Modbus Library if you want to use that protocol to communicate with the Robot. LabVIEW DSC will give you the advantage of setting up the registers quite easily, and then setting up alarming, logging amongst other things on those registers. I would recommend contacting your local sales engineer to give you a demo of the LabVIEW DSC Module. They should be able to hand you a copy which runs on evaluation for a month. Post back if you have any additional questions.

[RWiersma]

Thank you for the reply, Adnan.

I do own the DSC module; we use it for the mainly for the SPC functions (which used to be included in the standard toolkit package, but that's a gripe for another day).

There is a neat Modbus/TCP example that comes with the DSC module. I have experimented with it, but it didn't satisfy my quest for knowledge.

I have also looked at the Modbus Library you linked to, and there are some new questions that arise. First, is this older code, possibly replaced by the Modbus/TCP implementation in the DSC module? Also, there are reports of bugs and instability in the user-reviews on that page. That doesn't give me the warm-fuzzy I was hoping for either. 

I know people out there are interfacing LabVIEW with Fanuc robots, and I doubt they are all shelling out the cash for the cost-prohibitive commercial options that are available.  For whatever reason, I cannot find anyone that is saying "this works, that doesn't work..."

-RW

PS- Maybe I'm over-thinking this. LabVIEW speaks Modbus/TCP and so can the robot controller. Should be plug-and-play right? I'm just afraid because it rarely works that easily.

[AdnanZ]

The Modbus Library is an example program and not an official NI Product.  The Modbus library in LabVIEW DSC is a more fully supported solution. So, that should tell you which one NI will be more inclined to support and release upgrades for.

What exactly happened when you tried the Modbus Example in LabVIEW DSC? If the Fanuc Robots support Modbus communication, the Modbus LabVIEW DSC implementation should work great. You must try to figure out if the Fanuc robots do work well with Modbus.

[RWiersma]

Thank you for the reply.

I've only been able to experiment with the DSC Modbus implementation, since I have no hardware on the shelf that speaks Modbus.

I have not yet placed the order for the robot, since I wanted to nail down the comms package before I ordered it.

Still searching for a concrete answer.

Perhaps someone can speak to the functionality of the Ethernet/IP library in LabVIEW?

[Drouilhet]

We are using the ModbusTCP protocol in DSC to interface to an Allen-Bradley Powerflex motor drive.  It works well.  We haven't tried EthernetIP.

[RWiersma]

Just checking back with everyone;

I opted for the Modbus TCP option on the Fanuc LrMate200ic, and I'm using the Modbus Server package in the DSC module for communication.

DSC/Modbus populated LOTS of variables, and it required trial and error to find which variables I wanted to use. I couldn't find any documentation on which variables were which.

I ended up mapping the UOP signals to the Modbus unit in the Fanuc, and a few GI/GO bits as well. 

Thanks everyone!

[metzler]

I am trying to configure my Ethernet connection by using the instructions at

http://zone.ni.com/wv/app/play_doc/p/id/wv-1653/width/800/height/640/autostart/y

When I try to connect to port 546 or 547, When I use this port when trying to connect, I get an error “ Could not open a VISA session to
"TCPIP0::192.168.0.3::546::SOCKET".  Error code 0xBFFF0011.”

The company I work for used an outside source for programming this product, so information from them is limited.  Here is the communication information I was able to get:

The product uses Ethernet-IP, 4 incoming words and 4 outgoing words.

The programmer also gave me a reference file with the definitions we need.

Wireshark reports the ports that are used are 546 and 547 (see included wireshark screen dump).

Also included is the file network connection details, which may help with the problem.  This screen dump was taken during the computer communicating with our product.

I need to be able to communicate with this product using ethernet IP.  Can anyone help me establish communication to this product?



Thanks in advance,

Mark

[RWiersma]

Mark,

Have you seen NI's new library module for communicating with EthernetIP devices?

http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/209676

I had a chance to use this on a project recently, and it was smooth as silk.

-Ryan

[metzler]

I have an NI labs version of this before it was released, for LV 8.6. 

I don't know much about ethernet communication, but need to learn.  Are there any examples of a VI using ethernet IP?