Okuma Auto Door Integration

I am in final stages of adding a DIY auto door to one of the Okuma Multus at work. The company purchased the robot interface from Okuma. The company elected to not purchase the auto door option from Okuma. The Okuma robot interface has inputs for door open and door close signals from the robot. The machine has outputs for the signal to activate the valves for the Okuma auto door option. The pendant has buttons to open and close the auto door. I can't get a straight answer from the distributor as to whether or not I can use the outputs to activate my valves for the auto door. When the robot integration was finished, all signals were checked at the control so I know the control (P200) is seeing the signals for open/close door. I am well aware of the fact that I can connect my robot and fire the door open/close signals and see what I get at the output port. It was just so much easier and quicker for me to ask here first and there is the added bonus of not interrupting production. I know that there are people/is a person on this forum who have/has integrated robots and automation with Okuma machines. Just wondering if the output side of the I/O is available to me without my employer getting forcibly sodomized through the purchase of a software option. I only want to use the Okuma I/O because it makes the wiring cleaner... if I can't access the outputs I will work around it.
Thanks,
Justin

I would just check the outputs. Fire them from the pendant and check with a meter. You should be able to do this without major interruption to production. If that fails, then you'll need to fire the door from the robot via one of the M codes for the robot interface. (M code at end of cycle -> robot open door.) Probably should still wire feedback from the robot to the machine the door is open / closed. Not ideal, but will work just fine. You will need a separate door switch on the door anyway for your robot safety circuit, the P200 doesn't have dual safety circuit outputs available for the robot. (Found this out the hard way.) That is available on the P300 from what I understand, but not the P200.

jhearons said:

Just wondering if the output side of the I/O is available to me without my employer getting forcibly sodomized through the purchase of a software option.

Click to expand...

The software package is probably cheaper than a new door from Okuma after the door is sodomized by the robot.

You will need inputs also. M codes require a finish signal. So, you either have to fake the finish signal through the PLC with a timer or something, or you need prox switches to tell the machine the door is actually open or closed.

I have no experience with the robot interface, but I worked with 5 Okuma lathes with auto doors. All were purchased from Okuma with the option installed. Ours required holding the door button on the pedant and the cycle start button at the same time to close the door. Opening just required the pendent. In auto mode, the machines had 2 cycle start buttons that had to be held at the same time.

I doubt you will get a straight answer from the distributor due to liability issues with the DIY auto door. There have been limit switches for door open on every auto door option I have installed. It sounds like everything is there but the spec code determines if it will be used.(software)

Yes, you certainly need door switches to confirm if the door is open or not.. I ASSuMEd you knew this in my post above. The Open/Closed signals also need to go to the robot. Whether this is done via the "ready to load" signal from the machine (which you need anyway and the robot interface provideds) or is done by redundant sensors on the door directly to the robot, it MUST be done. If you are controlling the door via robot, this is pretty simple. If you control it via the Okuma, it will be integrated into the robot interface and you won't have to worry about it. Either way works and works just fine.

Remember that if you do it from the robot side, you need to wait until the door is closed to issue cycle start to the machine from the robot otherwise you will get machine faults because the door isn't closed.