Software:
ABB RobotStudio, B&R Automation Studio| Software/Package | Link |
|---|---|
| ABB RobotStudio | https://new.abb.com/products/robotics/robotstudio/downloads |
| B&R Automation | https://www.br-automation.com/en/downloads/#categories=Software-1344987434933 |
The project is focused on a simple demonstration of client-server communication via OPC UA, which is implemented in C# Console App. (Server - B&R Automation PLC, Client - C# Console App). The console application communicates with the ABB robot via UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and controls the robot throught EGM (Externally Guided Motion). The application uses performance optimization using multi-threaded programming.
Notes:
EGM (Externally Guided Motion) is an interface for ABB robots that allows smoothless control of the robotic arm from an external application (in our case it is a C# Console Application). EGM can be used to stream positions to the robot controller either in the Joint / Cartesian space.
Autogenerated code from the egm.proto -file:
ABB_BaR_EGM_Control/C_Sharp_App/EGM_OPCUa_ABB_BR_Client/EGM_OPCUa_ABB_BR_Client/Egm.cs
The file "egm.proto" can be found in the installation folder of RobotWare. For example on Windows with RobotWare 6.12.2013:
- %localappdata%\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\RobotWare\RobotWare_6.12.2013\utility\Template\EGM
(C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\RobotWare\RobotWare_6.12.2013\utility\Template\EGM)EGM communication must be defined in: Configuration Editor/Communication/Transmission Protocol
Unpacking a station (/RSPAG_File/ABB_EGM_BR_UA.rspag):
- On the File tab, click Open and then browse to the folder and select the Pack&Go file, the Unpack & Work wizard opens.
- In the Welcome to the Unpack & Work Wizard page, click Next.
- In the Select package page, click Browse and then select the Pack & Go file to unpack and the Target folder. Click Next.
- In the Library handling page select the target library. Two options are available, Load files from local PC or Load files from Pack & Go. Click the option to select the location for loading the required files, and click Next.
- In the Virtual Controller page, select the RobotWare version and then click Locations to access the RobotWare Add-in and Media pool folders. Optionally, select the check box to automatically restore backup. Click Next.
- In the Ready to unpack page, review the information and then click Finish.
MappView (HMI):
Simulation Address
PLC_ADDRESS = localhost or 127.0.0.1
http://PLC_ADDRESS:81/index.html?visuId=abb_moveThe project was realized at the Institute of Automation and Computer Science, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (NETME Centre - Cybernetics and Robotics Division).
Appendix:
Example of a simple data processing application (OPC UA):
OPC UA B&R Automation - Data Processing
Example of a simple data processing application (Robot Web Services):
Repositary [/ABB_BaR_EGM_Control/]:
/C_Sharp_App/EGM_OPCUa_ABB_BR_Client/ -> C# Application
[ Main Program (EGM, OPCUA Client, etc. ] Program.cs
[ EGM (Externally Guided Motion) Lib. ] Egm.cs
ABB RobotStudio Project
[ RobotStudio Data Format File ] /RSPAG_File/
[ Rapid Program ] /Rapid/T_ROB1/
/Automation_Studio_BaR/OPCUa_Client_ABB_EGM/ -> Automatio Studio B&R Project
[ Main Program (control of the main state machine) ] /Logical/Server_t/Main.c
[ MappView Visualization ] /Logical/mappView/
@misc{RomanParak_ABB_BaR,
author = {Roman Parak},
title = {System integration of the communication interface between ABB robots and the B&R Automation control system},
year = {2020-2021},
publisher = {GitHub},
journal = {GitHub repository},
howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/rparak/ABB_BaR_EGM_Control}}
}