CONFIG_C, Robots and Device Modules
| File Name | Program Name | File Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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CONFIG_C.V2 |
a.config_c |
B |
Controller configuration utility |
CONFIG_C allows you to list or copy device modules to make them available for use. You will need one device module for each mechanism. Groups of one or more device modules are stored in disk files, and must be copied as a group.
Procedure for Copying Device Modules to a System File shows a graphical interpretation of the CONFIG_C program. In this example, we assume the user wants three robots, two using device module A (for example, a viper robot module) and one using device module B (for example, a SCARA robot module). Using the replace or append operations, Module A is copied twice to the boot disk, and module B is copied once. The robot selection procedure allows the desired modules to be selected and any undesired ones to be ignored.
Procedure for Copying Device Modules to a System File
For each type of device module, Adept has developed a document describing the information that is required by the device module. This document is necessary for the configuration procedure, since it tells the user how to answer some questions posed by the SPEC program for that particular module. For more information on the setup of robot and device modules, see the Device Module documentation.
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CAUTION: Before loading a device module to your Adept SmartMotion system, make sure that you have created a backup copy of the V+ system. For details, see DISKCOPY in the Instructions for Adept Utility Programs documentation. |
NOTE: This program modifies a system disk. Do NOT make these changes to the original system disk sent by Adept. Instead, make changes to a working copy of the system disk that you have transferred to the hard drive or to a duplicate floppy made using Adept’s DISKCOPY Utility.
Robots and Device Modules Menu
NOTE: If you want to exit the program at any prompt, enter CTRL+Z (that is, hold down the CTRL key and press Z).
Choose this item when you are ready to exit the menu and return to the main menu.
LIST current CONFIGURATION of system file
Select this item to see a display of the device modules in your system file and how they are matched to robots. Example System Disk Configuration shows a typical display.
Example System Disk Configuration
The module name, such as “Linear-Module Robot Control Module,” is extracted from the device module. When you first transfer a device module to your system file, it will have the default module name such as those shown. Later, you can change these names with the “Edit start-up message” menu selection in the SPEC program. The module name for each selected device module is displayed whenever the system is booted up, as shown in Multi-robot Initialization Messages.
Multi-robot System Initialization Messages
The preceding module list indicates that there are various Adept robot modules on this particular system disk. The two modules currently allocated to robots are module #42 and module #32, which are assigned, respectively, to robot #1 and robot #2.
The module numbers, which are part of the “Robot (number): (model#)-(serial#)...(module#)” display in the initialization messages, as shown in the above figure, are listed in the documentation you receive with your device modules.
LIST device modules in a device-module FILE
Device Modules in Device-module File
In order to determine whether a device module file contains a device module you want transferred to your system disk, you may want a list of the contents of that file. This menu selection allows you to see such a list, which looks like the module list shown above.
NOTE: All the device-module files in the specified directory are listed on the screen, and any of those device-module files can be loaded into the V+ system. However, before they can be used, some device modules require that the Kinematic Modules software license be installed, and others require the Enhanced Kinematic Modules software license. For more information on a device module, refer to the Robot Device Modulesdocumentation.
REPLACE device modules in system file
To delete any device modules from your system file, you must use this selection to delete ALL of them. It then allows you to replace the deleted ones with device modules taken from your device-module disk file(s). The following figure shows a typical terminal session in which the existing device modules are replaced with the contents of an X/Y/Z/Theta module file.
Example Device Module REPLACE Procedure
APPEND device modules to system file
Select this menu item to add more device modules to your system file. If you already have a robot (such as an Adept robot) installed in your system, you should normally use the Append option instead of Replace.
Example Append Device Modules Screen
SELECT device modules for robots
Choose this menu item to change which device module corresponds to each of the available robots. Any module in the system file can be assigned to any robot. If you have copied the external encoder device module to the system file, that module will be enabled automatically if you have the V+ Extensions software license installed.
If a mechanism already has an associated device module, you will be prompted to retain the selection (Y) or change it (N) as illustrated in the following figure.
Example Select Device Modules Screen
Controller NVRAM
Controller NVRAM
The description of these menu items follows:
DISPLAY NVRAM contents
The controller model, serial number, network IP address, and list of installed options are stored in a special section of nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). This option displays the contents of the NVRAM.
INITIALIZE the NVRAM
This option initializes the NVRAM on the AWC processor. This must be done only when a replacement NVRAM has been installed on the processor. (The program does not permit an initialized NVRAM to be modified.)
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CAUTION: When initializing the NVRAM, you are asked to enter the serial number of the controller. The serial number cannot be changed after it is written to the NVRAM. If the wrong serial number is stored, none of the license passwords for the controller are accepted. |
SET IP address in the NVRAM
The IP address of the Adept controller (the controller's address on the local area network) is stored in the NVRAM on the AWC board. The CONFIG_C utility is used to change the IP address.
To change the IP address:
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Select "Set IP ADDRESS in the NVRAM" from the controller NVRAM menu.
The current IP address is displayed. If there is no address stored in the NVRAM, the default address for this AWC module is shown.
The default IP address is based on the serial number of the AWC board. Thus it is possible to use the default address for a network that consists of multiple Adept controllers and a PC (or other server). See the AdeptNet User's Guide for more information on the default IP address.
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Enter the desired IP address (in the format displayed), or just press ENTER to retain the setting displayed.
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After you have set the IP address, you must set the IP subnet mask. If you use the AWC controller on a LAN and you do not know the proper IP subnet mask, ask your network system administrator. For further information see theAdeptWindows User's Guide and the AdeptNet User's Guide.
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After you have entered new values, the program asks whether you want them stored in NVRAM. Type to have the new values stored in the NVRAM. You must reboot the controller for the changes to take effect.
SET "SWITCHES" in the NVRAM
In contrast to other Adept VME processor boards and the SIO board, the AWC allows you to define V+ configuration settings in software rather than using hardware DIP switches. Since the hardware DIP switches on the AWC are on the board and not the card edge/front panel, this facility allows you to change these settings without removing the AWC board. See the Adept MV Controller User's Guide for information about the hardware DIP switches.
NOTE: The Software switch settings are active only when all the hardware DIP switches on the AWC board are in the ON position, or all are in the OFF position. If this is not the case, V+ uses the user interface and autoboot settings selected by the hardware DIP switch settings on the AWC module.
To make changes to the Software switches, start the CONFIG_C utility, select the menu option "Controller NVRAM", and then select the Set "SWITCHES" in the NVRAM item from the submenu. Switch Setting Display Example displays the switch setting for the system.
Switch Setting Display Example
User Interface
AWC Board User Interfaces describes the various AWC board user interfaces and corresponding NVRAM switch settings.
NOTE: The hardware DIP switches on the AWC board or SmartController can be used to override these settings of the software switches.
AWC Board User Interfaces
Interface Type NVRAM Switch Notes ASCII-based (Wyse terminal or emulation software)
1
If you do not have a VGB board in the system, you can select option 1 or option 2 to direct the V+ monitor to an ASCII terminal.
2
If you have a VGB board in the system, you must select option 2 to direct the V+ monitor to an ASCII terminal.
VGB board
1
If you have a VGB module in your controller, select option 1. A monitor and keyboard must be connected to the VGB board. See the VGB board chapter in the Adept MV Controller User's Guide for further information.
AdeptWindows PC Serial Interface
3
If you want to use the AdeptWindows PC interface via a serial line, you must select it with either the hardware DIP switch or the software switches. To select a serial AdeptWindows PC interface with the software switches, select option 3.
AdeptWindows PC Ethernet Interface
4
If you want to use the AdeptWindows PC interface with an Ethernet connection and a user-defined IP address, select option 4. See SET IP address in the NVRAM for details.1, 2, 3
5
If you want to use the AdeptWindows PC interface with an Ethernet connection and the Adept default IP address, select option 5. See SET IP address in the NVRAM for details.1, 3
Notes:
- The IP address of the Adept controller must be correctly set, and you must access that same address from the PC. See the AdeptWindows User's Guide for a full description of the required setup on the PC.
- The default IP address is always used if no user-defined address has been set, or if the controller NVRAM is found to have invalid contents.
- To ensure safe and reliable operation of the Ethernet connection, Adept strongly recommends that shielded Ethernet cables and hubs be used to connect the AWC board to an Ethernet network.
V+ Auto-Start
Use this setting to select whether the V+ system automatically loads a file named AUTO.V2 and execute a command program named AUTO during the process of loading and initializing V+. Select option 1 to disable this feature, or option 2 to enable the feature. See the V+ Operating System User's Guide for details on auto-start programs.
Boot Sequence
Use this option to select the sequence of drive letters that is accessed when locating an operating system to load into memory. If option 1 is selected, the boot procedure first looks to drive A for an operating system, then drive B, then drive C, and, finally, drive D. If option 2 is selected, the search sequence is changed to drive B, then A, then D, then C.
NOTE: The two search sequences are effectively the same if there is no SIO board installed in the Adept controller.
Auto-Boot
Normally, the controller is configured to automatically boot V+ when power to the controller is turned ON (that is, auto-boot is normally enabled). Occasionally, you may want to manually specify the disk device from which to load V+. You can disable auto-boot for such purposes.
NOTE: Autoboot is automatically disabled if all of the hardware DIP switches on the (main) AWC board are set to a combination other than OFF. Thus, for example, setting all of the hardware switches to ON causes autoboot to be disabled, while all the other software switches are still used.
DDT Serial I/O on Auxiliary CPU
This option is used only for special diagnostic purposes and is normally disabled. When DDT serial I/O is enabled, DDT start-up messages are output to the TERM serial ports of any auxiliary processors in the controller, and DDT commands can be input via those ports.
For further information about the functionality of the various switch settings see the Adept MV Controller User's Guide .
Scan the DeviceNet
The AWC board and the SmartController incorporate DeviceNet scanner functionality. The Scan the DeviceNet menu item allows you to configure the MAC ID for DeviceNet communications and select the baud rate that will be used to communicate with all devices on the network.
NOTE: The DeviceNet scan will fail if the .DEVICENET section of the system configuration file does not already contain a LOCAL statement (e.g. LOCAL = "/MACID 0 /BAUD 125K"). You should verify that this statement exists before attempting to run the scanner utility. For details, see DeviceNet Statements in V+ Configuration Data.
After this configuration is completed, the program scans the DeviceNet to find the information recorded for each DeviceNet component. This information is used to map the digital inputs and outputs on the DeviceNet bus to V+ input signals.
NOTE: To complete the mapping, see Change DEVICENET Configuration.
Please follow the instructions below to use the Scan the DeviceNet function.
SCAN the DeviceNet for nodes
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Load and execute the CONFIG_C program.
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Select "Scan the DeviceNet" from the main menu, and then select "Scan the DeviceNet for nodes" from the submenu.
CAUTION:No other execution task should be started while this program is running.
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The program asks you for the Local MAC ID (Media Access Control Identifier) to use for the Adept controller. It can be a value from 0 to 63. The default value is 0. You can enter -1 to cancel the scanning process.
NOTE: For details, see DeviceNet Statements in V+ Configuration Data.
To avoid a network conflict, select a MAC ID that is different from those for all the connected modes. If you have more than one Adept AWC controller connected to the DeviceNet, you must specify a unique MAC ID in the system configuration data for each Adept controller.
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Next, you are asked to select the baud rate to be used for DeviceNet communications. The baud rate to use depends on the capabilities and configuration of the hardware installed on the DeviceNet and on the length of the trunk lines. All the devices on the network must be configured for the same baud rate. (See the DeviceNet standard and the documentation for your DeviceNet nodes for further information.)
After you enter a selection for the baud rate, the program stops the V+ DeviceNet scanner, resets and restarts it, and begins scanning the DeviceNet for nodes. You see information similar to that shown in Example DeviceNet Scanning Results, although the details depend on the hardware connected to your DeviceNet.
NOTE: You may need to use CTRL+S to stop the output temporarily, so the information does not scroll off the screen before you can read it. Use CTRL+Q to resume the output.
Example DeviceNet Scanning Results
The example shown in Example DeviceNet Scanning Results displays the information acquired by the scanner from two WAGO I/O SYSTEM 750-306 blocks, connected as slaves to the DeviceNet. These I/O blocks can be populated with a variety of digital I/O bus modules.
DeviceNet Scanner Results shows the information you must record for each DeviceNet component that you want to access with the Adept Controller. Interpretation of DeviceNet Scanning Results describes the items listed in DeviceNet Scanner Results, as well as the other information that is reported for each component.
DeviceNet Scanner Results
MAC ID Input Size Output Size Vendor ID Device Type Product Code Status 1
2
1
40
12
306
0
2
1
2
40
12
306
0
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Make a copy of the worksheet found at the end of this section ( DeviceNet Scanner Results Worksheet) and record your scanning results. You will need them to Change DEVICENET Configuration that maps DeviceNet inputs and outputs to V+ signals.
