Warning

This software controls expensive and possibly dangerous machines. You may use it at your own risk, if so, you're responsible to ensure safety of people and material. PRINT_py is distributed on an 'AS IS' basis, without warranties of conditions of any kind, either expressed or implied.

General

Hi! First of all: be careful with this program. Keep in mind, that it controls a very large robot arm that can easily cause a lot of damage. Also, I am not a programmer (nor is english my first language for that matter). Therefore, you can not count on me following standard industrial procedures or that all of the docstrings convey the meaning I intended. I tried to build this application according to the standards that I know of, though. You can write me issues, I'll see to them, if I find the time.

File structure

Note

c

• source codes for data access points and microcontrollers
• everything written in C or C++
• PlatformIO projects for esp-idf or Arduino using OLIMEX ESP32-PoE-ISO

conv

• LabView VI for GCode ➡️ RAPID conversion
• used for testing and in hand mode operation

gh

• grasshopper scripts used for conversion of:
  • CAD object ➡️ GCode
  • CAD object ➡️ RAPID
  • CAD object ➡️ point list
• uses one or multiple curve objects
• solids or surfaces need to be sliced beforehand
• conversion either controlled by minimum CP¹ per curviture or fixed CP distance

libs

• actual software libraries for PRINT_py
• libs with the win_ prefix for GUIs
• TCP and COM interfaces are scripted in threads.py

mtec

• Modbus interface for mtec P20 & P50 mortar pumps
• modded version with custom return values and common serial interface for multipe pumps (original module by m-tec)

simCom

• virtual robot used for simplified integration tests

test

• unittests für most libs (:warning: not up-to-date)

ui

• Qt designer files and pyuic5 outputs

Scope

This programm was written to remotely control the second robot arm (Roboter 2) of the instituts robotic cell. The robot arms were manufactured by ABB while all of their subroutines were programmed by Klero Roboter Automatisation from Berlin. This code requires a TCP/IP interface running on the robot, which takes 159 byte commands. The robot can either act upon them immediately or buffer up to 3000 commands. The current version runs on 10 forwarded commands, which goes easier on the robots internal route planning. While the interface is connected the robot sends positional data (36 byte blocks) around every 0.2 seconds. Additionally, PRINT_py controls 2 mtec P20 or P50 mortar pumps and maybe an inline mixing device in the future.

Usage

start with py .\PRINT.py

Tip

you can also start a testing environment with:

start a virtual robot with py .\simCom\test_server.py

start PRINT_py in local mode with py .\PRINT.py local

Pumps are currently connected via COM port using a USB001Z-3 USB-to-Serial conversion unit. Both pumps are connected to this converter via Modbus, sharing the same bus and therefore the same COM port. Modbus adresses are '01' & '02'. There is no testing environment for the pumps, yet.

Shortcuts

Script control

button	shortcut
start queue processing	CTRL+ALT+S
stop queue processing	CTRL+A
send first queue command	CTRL+F
clear queue	CTRL+#
forced stop	CTRL+Q
reset script ID to robot ID	CTRL+ALT+I

Direct control

button	shortcut
(step) + X	CTRL+U
(step) - X	CTRL+J
(step) + Y	CTRL+I
(step) - Y	CTRL+K
(step) + Z	CTRL+O
(step) - Z	CTRL+L
(step) + EXT	CTRL+P
(step) - EXT	CTRL+Ö
NC set current position	CTRL+T

Other

button	shortcut
browse files	CTRL+N
load selected file	CTRL+M
stop pumps	CTRL+E
invert pump speed	CTRL+R

Robot communication syntax

Command

size [byte]	type	description
4	INT	ID:
		command ID for robot to keep track
1	CHAR	MT (move type):
		L (linear movement)
		J (joint movement)
		C (circular movement)
1	CHAR	PT (position type):
		E (rotation in Euler angles)
		Q (rotation as quaternion)
		A (pass 6 axis values)
4	FLOAT	X or A1:
		X = position in global coordinate [mm]
		A = axis 1 position [deg]
4	FLOAT	Y or A2
4	FLOAT	Z or A3
4	FLOAT	Q1, Rx or A4:
		Q1 = quaternion 1. dimension [-]
		Rx = rotation around X [deg]
4	FLOAT	Q2, Ry or A5
4	FLOAT	Q3, Rz or A6
4	FLOAT	Q4 or 0
4	FLOAT	EXT:
		postion of external axis [mm]
4	FLOAT	(2) X or A1:
		(2) = second coordinate block for C-type movement
4	FLOAT	(2) Y or A2
4	FLOAT	(2) Z or A3
4	FLOAT	(2) Q1, Rx or A4
4	FLOAT	(2) Q2, Ry or A5
4	FLOAT	(2) Q3, Rz or A6
4	FLOAT	(2) Q4 or 0
4	FLOAT	(2) EXT
4	INT	ACR:
		acceleration ramp [mm s-2]
4	INT	DCR:
		deceleration ramp [mm s-2]
4	INT	TS:
		transition speed [mm s-1]
4	INT	OS:
		orientation speed [deg s-1]
4	INT	SBT:
		speed by time (if SC = T) [ms]
1	CHAR	SC:
		V = velocity dependent
		T = time-dependent
4	INT	Z:
		zone (destination accuracy)
4	INT	PAN_ID
4	INT	PAN_STEPS:
		tool panning step-motor [-]
4	INT	FIB_DELIV_ID
4	INT	FIB_DELIV_STEPS:
		fiber delivery step-motor [-]
4	INT	MOR_PUMP_ID
4	INT	MOR_PUMP_STEPS:
		not in use
4	INT	PNMTC_CLAMP_ID
4	INT	PNMTC_CLAMP_YN:
		pneumatic clamp on/off [0/1]
4	INT	KNIFE_POS_ID
4	INT	KNIFE_POS_YN:
		knife in cutting pos on/off [0/1]
4	INT	KNIFE_ID
4	INT	KNIFE_YN:
		rotary knife on/off [0/1]
4	INT	PNMTC_FIBER_ID
4	INT	PNMTC_FIBER_YN:
		pneumatic fiber delivery system on/off [0/1]
4	INT	TIME_ID
4	INT	TIME_TIME:
		time [ms]

Position update

size [byte]	type	description
4	FLOAT	TCP_SPEED:
		tool center point velocity [mm s-1]
1	INT	ID:
		current command ID being processed
4	FLOAT	X:
		current position on global x-axis [mm]
4	FLOAT	Y
4	FLOAT	Z
4	FLOAT	Rx
4	FLOAT	Ry
4	FLOAT	Rz
4	FLOAT	EXT

more detailed documentation may follows in future commits...

Shield:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Footnotes

1. control points ↩