Connect KUKA to Wandelbots NOVA

Open the home screen

Open your cloud instance via NOVA Cloud or type in your physical instance’s/virtual instance’s IP address to access the home screen. Get an overview on the home screen and its functionalities here.

Create a cell in Setup

Open Setup and go to the “Cell” tab.

Add robot to your cell

If you want to start using the Wandelbots API, do so now and add a robot via the Wandelbots NOVA API.

OR add a robot to your cell in Setup:

• Select the “Robots” tab.
• Click to add a robot to your cell.
  If the button is greyed out, your license might not support adding more robots. Please contact your administrator.
• Select the robot type Virtual.
• Name the robot
• Select KUKA as manufacturer.
• Select the desired robot model.
• Add the robot to the cell.

Add a TCP

To replicate a physical robot’s behavior accurately, you can define TCPs for virtual robots in the Setup app.

1. Select the TCPs tab in the robot’s settings.
2. Click to create a new TCP.
3. Name the TCP.
4. Define the TCP’s translation and rotation relative to the robot’s flange.
5. Save the TCP.

Prepare the KUKA Admin

Activate Administrator user group and stop programs

1. Using the original robot’s control panel, switch from automatic mode to T1 mode.
2. Open Main menu > Configuration > User group.
3. Select Administrator and enter the password.
4. If the R in the header has a green background color, click on it.
5. Cancel the robot program.
6. If the S in the header has a green background color, click on it.
7. Stop and deselect all submit interpreters.

Install option packages

1. Download the required option packages listed in the requirements of the supported controllers as well as the Wandelbots custom .kop option package to a personal computer.

Get overview on IP addresses

During the setup of the KUKA robot controller, a variety of IP addresses are required. To facilitate understanding who defines the IP addresses and for what they are used, the following table provides an overview:

Log in

Using the original robot’s control panel

1. Switch from automatic mode to T1 mode.
2. Open Main menu > Configuration > User group.
3. Select Expert and enter the password.
4. Click Log on.

Add required network interfaces

1. Open Main menu > Start-up > Network configuration.
   The network configuration is displayed. If you can’t access the network configuration, a program might be running. Cancel the program and try again.
2. Click on the Advanced… button.
3. Enter the following values to configure the KLI interface:

   Field	Value
   Interface designation	KLI
   Address type	Fixed IP address
   IP address	172.31.1.147
   Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
   Windows interface	Selected (default)

4. Click on the Add interface button.
5. Enter the following values to configure the RSI interface:

   Field	Value
   Interface designation	RSI
   Address type	Mixed IP address
   IP address	172.31.2.147 This IP address can be any valid IP address that you can think of. It can’t be in the same subnet as the KLI address.
   Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
   Windows interface	Not selected

6. Click on Save.
   A popup is displayed.
7. Confirm the changes to add both interfaces.

Restart the robot controller

1. Open Main menu > Shutdown.
2. In section Settings for next shutdown, select the options Force cold start and Reload files.
3. In section Shutdown actions, click on the Reboot control PC button.
   A popup is displayed.
4. Confirm the reboot of the controller to apply the network changes.

Connect IPC to the robot controller Admin

Configure the IPC’s network settings

1. Open https://<ipc-ip-address>:9090, e.g. https://172.345.538.2:9090, in a browser on your personal computer.
   If the IPC is not connected to the same network as your personal computer, you can connect a keyboard, a mouse and a display to the IPC. Then open localhost:9090 in a web browser.

2. Log in with the user credentials created during the Wandelbots NOVA installation.
   The IPC’s settings are displayed. A popup prompts you to enable administrative access.

3. Enable administrative access and enter the admin password.

4. Select the Network tab in the sidebar.
   The IPC’s network settings are displayed.

5. Toggle the button next to the enp3s0 port (corresponding to the IPC’s LAN-1 port) to enable network activity.

6. Click “edit” next to the IPv4.
   The IPv4 menu opens.

7. Set the address dropdown to “Manual”.

8. Set the prefix to 255.255.255.0 (will automatically change to 24).

9. Delete the prefilled gateway value.

10. Create an IP address that will be used as IPC KLI IP address. It has to be in the same subnet as the KUKA’s KLI IP address, e.g. 172.31.1.55.

11. Click on the ”+” button to add another IP address.

12. Create an IP address that will be used as IPC RSI IP address. It has to be in the same subnet as the KUKA’s RSI IP address, e.g. 172.31.2.55.

13. Save the settings.
    Wandelbots NOVA can now connect to the robot.

Use KUKA controller on NOVA

1. Type in your physical instance’s IP address to access the home screen.
2. Open Setup and go to the “Cell” tab.
3. Select the “Robots” tab.
4. Click to add a robot to your cell.
   If the button is greyed out, your license might not support adding more robots. Please contact your administrator.
5. Select the robot type Physical.
6. Name the robot.
7. Select KUKA as the manufacturer.
8. Enter the Host and RSI IP address according to the info field.
9. If you’re setting up one KUKA robot controller on a bare-metal NOVA instance, leave the RSI Server Port field empty. The default port will be used to connect.
   If you’re setting up more than one KUKA robot controller on the same bare-metal NOVA instance, enter the respective port in the RSI Server Port field for all controllers. Use different ports for each connected controller. If the field is left empty for more than one controller, the default port will be used multiple times and the connection will fail.
10. Click on Add.
11. Set the robot to one of the operating modes: Manual or automatic.

Manual mode

1. Press enabling switch on the original robot control panel and keep pressing it.
2. Confirm all safety messages.
   The robot program starts automatically.
3. Press the green button on the backside (or the play button on the front side) of the original robot control panel once.
   The robot’s motor breaks will be released.
4. Press the green button on the backside (or the play button on the front side) again and hold.
5. Ensure the program pointer is below the comment “DO NOT CANCEL THIS PROGRAM IF YOU WANT TO MOVE THE ROBOT WITH WANDELBOTS”.
6. Activate the motion group in Robot Pad in the safety bar or via the Wandelbots NOVA API Motion Group endpoint POST /cells/{cell}/motion-groups/all.
   As soon as you stop pressing the enabling switch and the green button on the backside, the robot will stop moving immediately.

Automatic mode

1. Confirm all safety messages.
   The robot program starts automatically.
2. Press the green button on the backside (or the play button on the front side) of the original robot control panel 2 times.
3. Ensure the program pointer is below the comment “DO NOT CANCEL THIS PROGRAM IF YOU WANT TO MOVE THE ROBOT WITH WANDELBOTS”.
4. Activate the motion group in Robot Pad in the safety bar or via the Wandelbots NOVA API Motion Group endpoint POST /cells/{cell}/motion-groups/all.

External automatic mode

To start a robot program in external automatic mode, internal variables have to be triggered in the right order:

1. $MOVE_ENABLE
2. $CONF_MESS
3. $DRIVES_ON
4. $EXT_START

For more information about the use and the communication flow of these internal variables read the KUKA System Integrator documentation of the respective KSS version.

All variables need to be mapped to inputs to enable triggering them via a higher-level controller such as a PLC, physical buttons or a BUS I/O communication device.

TCPs

To use TCPs for connected physical controllers on NOVA, you need to set them up on the robot controller first. Refer to the original KUKA documentation.

TCPs will then be displayed in the Setup app under the TCPs tab in the robot’s settings and can be selected for path planning in Robot Pad.

KUKA brake test guide

The KUKA brake test is a safety feature that ensures the robot’s brakes are functioning correctly. Before operating the robot with Wandelbots NOVA, it is essential to perform the brake test to prevent any unexpected movements or accidents.

1. Ensure that you have the latest option package for KUKA from Wandelbots (.kop file) installed.
2. Using the robot control panel, open System → wb_safe_func.src and write an invocation of the desired safety check function into it.
3. Subscribe to, or poll, Output #3023 to be notified when BrakeTest or SafeReferenceDrive are required.
4. It may be required to enter Monitoring Mode so leave PositionControl if necessary.
5. Set Output #3022 to 1.
6. Observe that your function in wb_safefunc.src is executed.
   If the safe_func() satisfies the controller’s safety requirements, OUT#3023 will turn to 0 at the end.
7. Reenable PositionControl.
   The robot has passed the brake test successfully and can be operated safely.