Robotics/Automation Engineer

[rdixiemiller]

All
I am a new member here. I am mostly here for manual machining, but I am a Robotics/Automation engineer and have been for the last 10 years.
I can help with general robotics and automation issues, and I have a lot of robot cell safety experience.

 

[Halcyon]

What are your thoughts on Pi and Arduino based builds? Are they robust enough for light industrial use?

 

[rdixiemiller]

The Rasberry Pi industrial rented controllers are pretty solid, we use them in small applications through out the plant. That being said, I have never used them on a CNC machine. However, if there are applications written for them to control a machine, I see no reason why they wouldn’t work.

 

[Strostkovy]

I have an arduino running a spray booth that gets more than daily use. It's never had any issues, though I have all safety related features made in relay logic.

 

[jtcrowder49]

I am interested in adapting a Fanuc robot controller to a homemade 6 axis robot. I know Fanuc programming but I have no knowledge of the actual requirements from the hardware side. Are you aware if it is possible to use the fanuc teach pendant and software to control a non fanuc robot?

 

[rdixiemiller]

Unless you are using Fanuc servo motors, no.
All the commercial robots I work with are tailored to their specific controller and software packages.

 

[Halcyon]

The Rasberry Pi industrial rented controllers are pretty solid, we use them in small applications through out the plant. That being said, I have never used them on a CNC machine. However, if there are applications written for them to control a machine, I see no reason why they wouldn’t work.

Would be neat to make a Pi based controller. You could use the analog i/o's to map things like Feedrate/Spindle overrides, and a joystick to jog controls.

 

[jscpm]

How do I protect against this?

 

[TeachMePlease]

How do I protect against this?

View attachment 377276

 

[rdixiemiller]

Sorry, for some reason I didn't get any notifications on this post.

That being said, I would recommend the mech with Gatling guns from the Matrix movies. Should be able to handle the issue.
Collateral damage might be extreme.....

 

[M. Roberts]

Robert, Good morning. If you have a moment, check out my posting regarding robotic abrasive blasting....interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[Orange Vise]

What are your thoughts on Pi and Arduino based builds? Are they robust enough for light industrial use?

I've found well designed Arduino systems to be quite robust. In fact, more robust than some CNC machines (sadly). Just gotta make sure the wiring connections are solid... lots of easy, low cost ways to accomplish this, e.g. screw terminal + DIN rail mount shields.

With Arduino, it's also really easy to use multiple boards to control different aspects of a system. No need to bloat a single unit. And they can communicate with each via simple digital I/O, I2C, or Software Serial.

SBCs like Pi and BBB are great if you need more computing power for stuff like HMI, camera/vision feed processing, etc. But Arduino doesn't have an OS and is thus much simpler. If your project can run on an Arduino, it should, IMHO.

 

[Strostkovy]

The key to reliable arduino systems is to not rely on the weak internal pullup resistors for inputs. Use a lower value external resistor to shunt the noise away.

 

[crickets]

A thing to point out about Arduino is that the term is a bit bloated, could mean different though related things and thus have different implications on reliability. First, you have the various hardware distributed through the official Arduino project and affiliated distributors. Those are integrated boards using various standard microcontrollers (Arduino project doesn't design microcontrollers, they only integrate them) and generally are okay. The potential weak link is the power regulation on those boards. Then you have the Arduino clones produced by various Chinese companies. Those boards again use standard microcontrollers, but can have random voltage regulators and varying assembly quality... not ideal for serious use. Finally you have the Arduino software ecosystem, primarily revolving around the bootloader, dev tools and libraries - those can often be used on the same supported microcontrollers without Arduino boards.

 

[Mike RzMachine]

Rdixiemiller,

Thanks for offering to share your experience.
Can you point to any resources that clearly explain robot programming at different levels?

Lots of online materials explain simple pick and place, but I havent found much about integration details. What functions are implemented as macros from fanuc/yaskawa/etc. and what should I plan to program myself.

Like many folks, I want to set up a machine tender. I'm interested in:
1. standard approach to pick and place from arrays of stock and to finished part arrays
2. Reliable methods for cleaning fixtures, placing then verifying part placement.
3. When adding feedback loops using vision or external sensing, what that looks like on the programming side
4. On ladder logic, common approaches to state machine implementation. I generally track states with an integer and loads of if statements to change states. It works well for the test machine system I put together but no idea if there's a well established way to do this. I realize this is a plc question more than a robot controller question.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[EmGo]

Then you have the Arduino clones produced by various Chinese companies.

In fact, there are no "clones". Arduino is an open hardware project. It's public domain. There are arduinos from Hungary, from Italy, from the US, from China, probably from Siberia and Nigeria and the Black Hole of Calcutta..

And also, there was some sort of fight among the original developers about who owns the name, so even the ones made by the "real" guys can be called phonies, by the other "real" guys.

They are not all the same, true. But there aren't any "real" ones and "clones". It's a public domain design. You can even make your own if you want.

 

[crickets]

In fact, there are no "clones". Arduino is an open hardware project. It's public domain. There are arduinos from Hungary, from Italy, from the US, from China, probably from Siberia and Nigeria and the Black Hole of Calcutta..

And also, there was some sort of fight among the original developers about who owns the name, so even the ones made by the "real" guys can be called phonies, by the other "real" guys.

They are not all the same, true. But there aren't any "real" ones and "clones". It's a public domain design. You can even make your own if you want.

There are many "Arduino compatible" boards that aren't designed within the Arduino project. They're not just copies, they're modifications of the design with different microcontrollers, pinout and component layout. They come from a variety of "noname" manufacturers and sold through retail channels like Ebay and AliExpress, and they're the ones with questionable quality/reliability and shouldn't be used in critical applications.

Either way, those definitions are murky. For example, I use ESP8266 for telemetry applications. It's widely available as an add-on WiFi module for Arduino projects, but... it can actually be programmed like an Arduino directly. I mean this exact thing:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51dgwrO7IYL.jpg

 

[EmGo]

There are many "Arduino compatible" boards that aren't designed within the Arduino project. They're not just copies, they're modifications of the design with different microcontrollers, pinout and component layout. They come from a variety of "noname" manufacturers and sold through retail channels like Ebay and AliExpress, and they're the ones with questionable quality/reliability and shouldn't be used in critical applications.

What part of "open source" and "open hardware" and "public domain" did you not notice ?

Not only that, there's at least one place that claims the original arduino design is flaky and subject to unnecessary failures, I believe they called themselves "ruggeduino" .... there's plenty of complaints about the original design as well, it's not like the ones that they stamp their name on are wonderful, while everyone else's are junk. That's just bee ess.

 

[crickets]

What part of "open source" and "open hardware" and "public domain" did you not notice ?

Not only that, there's at least one place that claims the original arduino design is flaky and subject to unnecessary failures, I believe they called themselves "ruggeduino" .... there's plenty of complaints about the original design as well, it's not like the ones that they stamp their name on are wonderful, while everyone else's are junk. That's just bee ess.

I didn't miss anything. I am talking about the implications: when folks buy those designs, they do so at their own risk. I have no problem with Chinese doing whatever, especially since I am one of the consumers

 

[Emma99]

Unless you are using Fanuc servo motors, no.
All the commercial robots I work with are tailored to their specific controller and software packages.

Exactly. What none of the big three robot MFR's will share is their programming language without a PO, and for someone who wants to understand the code, you are left in the dark until cash is on top of the barrel.