This blog is Part 4 of a multi-part series. Make sure to check out the other blogs on this topic:

1. Epson Robots Getting Started: Create a New Project in Epson RC+
2. Epson RC+ Project Structure Explained: Files, Folders, and Flow
3. Epson Robots Commissioning Tools and Workflows in RC+
4. Epson RC+ 7.0 Robot Simulator: Setup, Testing, and Debugging

Summary

This article is the fourth in a series to explain the basics of creating a base project using Epson RC+, Epson’s software for developing and simulating an industrial robotic application. Epson offers a wide range of industrial robots for a variety of applications. Programming and configuring are done through their easy-to-use configuration software, Epson RC+, which offers many time-saving features and various add-on packages depending on the complexity of each application. In this article, we will cover the configuration of the Robot Simulator and demonstrate some useful features for simulating and testing the robot program prior to deployment in the field.

Set up Virtual Controller

The first step to simulate the robot is to configure a virtual controller. This is done through the Setup > PC to Controller Communications menu. Here, you can add a new Controller as a virtual controller. Once added, the controller can be given a different name, and then click ‘Apply’.

For this demo, we utilized the Robot model LS6-B502S. Also, important for this demo are the points used in the program logic shown below.

Using the Connection dropdown, select the new virtual controller that was created. This will start up the virtual controller and allow us to control the robot in the simulator. Open the Robot Simulator by using the toolbar icon.

Robot Simulator Environment

The Robot simulator environment has several different features and functions to test parts of the robot application. The most basic use case is to import CAD shapes or models to create a simulated environment for the application. The first 4 icons in the Robot Simulator allow the user to add 2D and 3D objects to the workspace. By default, a 2D plane is generated, with the robot placed at the world origin. Often, a robot is mounted on a pedestal that requires the user to move it with some offset relative to the origin; however, we will keep the robot at the origin for simplicity in this example.

The first objects we will add to the simulation will be two rectangles to emulate stations within the machine. Click on the SPlane_1 object, then click on the layout box (purple cube) icon at the top. The size, position, and colors were modified as shown.

Devices mounted to the robot arm, such as a camera, are configured as mounted devices. This means the device will move with the robot rather than remain in a fixed position. To attach a device to the robot, right-click on the device in the layout tree and select Part/Mounted Device Settings. Two cylinders were added to the layout to emulate a camera mounted to the end of the second robot arm. The smaller red cylinder is just added as a reference to show where the center of the camera’s field of view is located. For this cylinder, we have disabled the Collision check option, since it will not be physically present in the actual application.

CAD models can also be imported to the simulation environment using the CAD icon in the toolbar rather than relying solely on basic shapes. Supported file types include XV3, VRML, STEP, IGES, and DXF. The dialog offers options for Scale Units, rendering quality, and CAD-to-Point functionality. If CAD-to-Point is enabled, the user can generate robot points directly from the CAD model for use in the robot program. The CAD to Point function is in the toolbar at the top. Once selected, you can click on an edge, and the simulator will automatically generate points for the number of vertices found on the CAD model.

This example shows how the CAD model provides robot points for the two corners of the part tray by simply selecting the right edge of the tray’s cavity. The selected edge endpoints are shown as the yellow spheres in the screenshot below. We have exported these two points into the points file at indices 5 and 6.

The simulator can also import CAD models as ‘Hands’, which are the same as the robot’s end-of-arm tooling. The hands are treated as an extension of the robot, so they will move and rotate with the robot. When importing hands, you can adjust the mounting position and orientation to emulate the tooling assembly on the robot. Below is a CAD model imported that has different-style grippers on either end.

Testing Your Epson Robot

Now that the 3D environment is set up, you can move the robot around using the robot manager, running a program function in the ‘Run’ window, or using the Robot Operation Panel in the Simulator environment. We put together a short demo program to move the robot between a couple of positions while enabling a trace of the Tool Center Point (TCP) with a green line.

The Robot simulator also has several other useful features, such as surveillance planes and areas, recording and playback options, rendering point locations in 3D space, and much more. For more assistance with Epson Robot programming and integration, please reach out to DMC’s Industrial Automation team!

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The DMC Drinkbot is a robotic bartender powered by Siemens automation hardware. It was originally created in the DMC Denver office in 2016 using a Siemens S7-1200 PLC interfaced by a 7″ SIMATIC Comfort Panel.

Eight years after creation as Siemens has begun to phase out their COMFORT HMI Panels, DMC wanted to give Drinkbot an HMI upgrade. We received a new MTP700 Unified Comfort Panel that runs TIA Portal V19 WinCC Unified programs to show off the latest and greatest of Siemens HMI technology. This guide will walk through the steps taken to upgrade Drinkbot and the new features developed.

Background and Operational Overview

The DMC Drinkbot uses PROFINET communication for a Siemens G120 VFD drive controlled by an S7-1200 PLC. The user can choose drinks on a SIMATIC key panel or the MTP700 Unified Comfort Panel HMI that this blog focuses on. The user can choose between 44 standard drink recipes made from 8 bottles of alcohol and 6 mixers. There is also a custom drink option where the user can select any ingredient available based on the current configuration of the Drinkbot. 

Without replacing any bottles on the machine, the ability to make alcoholic drinks can be toggled. If the Drinkbot is taken to an event where alcohol is not permitted, the bottles may also be swapped out for flavored syrups and soda water to make “Italian sodas”. The Italian soda switch overrides the selectable recipes limiting the machine to the new available ingredients. The settings screen for these configurations is accessible by selecting the DMC logo in the upper left corner where the user can view alarms and diagnostics and change the machine mode. The motion axis of the Drinkbot can also be manually operated for demonstration and debugging purposes.

For a detailed history of the development of Drinkbot, refer to the following two blogposts.

DMC Engineers Serve up a Siemens S7 Powered DrinkBot

Adding Siemens MindSphere Tracking to the DMC DrinkBot

Data 2 Unified

About half of the work for creating the Unified program was accomplished using the Data2Unified tool by Siemens. This tool does a great job taking an older Comfort program and converting it to Unified, maintaining the basic layout and functionality of most HMI Elements and Controls. For some deprecated elements, the tool will even generate custom VBA scripting to maintain original functionality.

There are current limitations to this tool as the conversion will notably not create alarm lists, faceplates, and navigation elements. Additionally, due to WinCC Unified’s aspect flexibility, it is typically worth touching up the screens’ layout and aesthetics. The custom scripting that is auto-generated may also need to be redone as more efficient element functions can be created manually without scripts. Typically, the automatically generated scripts will function as intended, but the script will be written in unconventional and overcomplicated language. Double-checking these scripts and replacing them with standard functions where applicable is good practice.

After running the conversion, most of the Drinkbot settings screens were recreated to match the previous comfort program to maximize the ease of configuring the system during events. The cleaning sequence screens that use basic elements were converted seamlessly into Unified. Settings screens, like the alarms and diagnostics, were easily replaced with drop-in standard Siemens resources.

The bulk of the work left out by the tool was completed when modernizing the faceplates for drink selection and the recipe management system talked about in the following section.  

Recipe Conversion

In the Comfort program, there was a built-in recipe management feature that the developer could create their own data type and store recipes locally on the HMI panel to be written onto the PLC when selected. In the Drinkbot Comfort HMI the recipe list included 44 drinks detailing their ingredients and quantities.

This recipe feature was a convenient way to store information and access data to be written into the instructions of the PLC. In WinCC Unified, this feature was removed, so this storage was recreated using a user-defined type and a data block on the PLC.

The dbHMI data block stores all of the original recipe data using integers to signify ingredient quantities and a single string for the name of the recipe. Memory on the PLC is conserved by these simple UDTs, provided that the bottle setup in the Drinkbot is always the same. For simplicity, to set up the Drinkbot, the user consults a printout that lists all of the ingredient bottle positions. The string and 18 integers are then fed to the HMI through a multiplexed array 11 recipes at a time.

The 11 recipes are selected to be read based on the page of the HMI drink list the user is currently reading. The last display recipe on the page is number 12 that is left intentionally blank. A custom drink faceplate is opened when the custom button is pressed that displays all possible ingredients in the Drinkbot. The user can select how many of each ingredient to make their drink based on if alcohol is toggled on or the Drinkbot is displaying Italian Sodas. Once completed the ‘Make Drink’ button populates the display recipe 12 and once the Drinkbot completes the cycle the recipe is cleared.

To access standard drinks that access one of the stored recipes, 11 faceplate buttons are displayed on each page. These simple faceplates display the drink name based on page number and intake the recipe parameters once selected. They serve as an in between display button to open a nested faceplate that will display the selected drink in detail. The nested standard drink faceplate used in reading and writing recipe data is talked about in the next section.

Faceplates and Scripting

In the Comfort HMI, having a local way to manage the recipes within the HMI made development simpler as a single popup recipe screen could read the ingredients for each drink and display all possible options at once in a matrix.

The Drinkbot is intended to be used at live events in a fast paced setting so for the WinCC update, the drink recipe popup should prioritize readability and information efficiency. The new Unified program uses a standard drink faceplate that only displays ingredients used in a particular drink recipe.

The maximum ingredient amount in the original 44 drinks was 3 alcohols and 3 mixers. Custom scripting is used to take the recipe fed into the faceplate and populate the drink name plus the ingredients with their amounts. The script takes in the name and amount of each drink in ounces and automatically fills out each box for how many ingredients exist in each recipe. The user then has controls to make the drink and stop the process midway if needed.

For taking Drinkbot to events where alcohol is not an option, the machine can also be configured to dispense “Italian sodas” using soda water and flavored syrup. Selecting this mode locks the display page to an Italian soda mode and makes the button faceplates open a nested Italian soda faceplate. All Italian soda recipes only include up to two syrups and eight ounces of soda so the faceplate is simplified and resized.

For information on how to create a faceplate in WinCC unified, refer to the guide here: Creating Faceplates in WinCC Unified

Conclusion

The updated HMI program improves the usability and functionality of the COMFORT version. The custom scripted nested faceplates using the new recipe storage system in Unified make it easier to order a drink. To celebrate the completion of the WinCC Unified upgrade the DMC Chicago office had a happy hour party to have the Drinkbot make cocktails and entertain.

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The Simatic Step 7 manager uses the S7ONLINE access point for communication on the PC/PG interface. By default, the access path on S7ONLINE is set to none as simulating a WinCC HMI program will run disconnected of the PLC program through Simatic manager. The HMI in this state will not display tags read from the PLC but will use HMI local tags and should be fully navigable.

Connection Parameters

The easiest tool to use for establishing a simulator connection is the Siemens Communication Settings tool located in the control panel. Opening the tool will provide you with all possible connection modules on the computer as well as their respective parameters and diagnostics tools. From the address menu you can configure your IP address in the network connections menu of your PC.

To establish simulator-hardware connection, open the Access points menu. Select S7ONLINE and open the dropdown arrow. From here you can select the interface parameter which should match the same pathway that the PC uses to communicate with the hardware. The module property should auto populate and match the network connection name you configured.

In older versions of TIA Portal there is an interface configuration tool found in the Windows control panel named Set PG/PC Interface. From here, you can set the same pathway that will enable communication between the simulator and PLC.

After opening the tool, navigate to the Access path tab and select S7ONLINE as the access point. In the box below you will see all available interfaces for the path to take. Select the module in the list that matches the communication method you are using to talk to your hardware.

After selecting the correct module, you can close the tool and launch your WinCC simulation from Simatic Manager or TIA Portal. Provided that you are in contact, the S7ONLINE point should update your simulation with real data coming from the PLC.

Troubleshooting

If the Set PC/PG tool opens but does not display the S7ONLINE access point, it may be resolved by downloading a Siemens PC_Identifier hotfix support package linked below.

SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM Advanced V4.0

Troubleshooting the PLC connection can follow the same path as a typical process to go online with hardware. Ensure that you have a stable ethernet connection to the PLC you are attempting to communicate with. On the S7ONLINE path that you configured, note the module name that auto populated when the interface parameter was assigned. In your Windows taskbar search “view network connections.” Then, in this menu locate the ethernet driver that has the same module name as on the S7ONLINE path you are trying to use. In the popup window, go to properties then IPv4 and assign your own IP address on the same subnet and mask as the desired PLC. Once complete you should be able to ping the IP of your PLC from the command prompt.

If the simulated instance of your HMI still does not communicate with the PLC, stop the simulation and verify that the PC/PG interface selected when trying to go online with the PLC is the same as configured in either of the tools. Redownloading the program and verifying run mode is active may also assist with troubleshooting measures.

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