ROBOTICS

Application manual
Mechanical Unit Manager
Trace back information:
Workspace R18-1 version a9
Checked in 2018-03-22
Skribenta version 5.2.025
 Application manual
Mechanical Unit Manager
RobotWare 6.07

Document ID: 3HAC050959-001

Revision: B

© Copyright 2007-2018 ABB. All rights reserved.

The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and should not
be construed as a commitment by ABB. ABB assumes no responsibility for any errors
that may appear in this manual.
Except as may be expressly stated anywhere in this manual, nothing herein shall be
construed as any kind of guarantee or warranty by ABB for losses, damages to
persons or property, fitness for a specific purpose or the like.
In no event shall ABB be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from
use of this manual and products described herein.
This manual and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without ABB's
written permission.
Keep for future reference.
Additional copies of this manual may be obtained from ABB.
Original instructions.

© Copyright 2007-2018 ABB. All rights reserved.

ABB AB, Robotics
Robotics and Motion
Se-721 68 Västerås
Sweden
 Table of contents

Table of contents
Overview of this manual ................................................................................................................... 7
Product documentation .................................................................................................................... 8
Safety ................................................................................................................................................ 10

1 Introduction 11
1.1 Welcome to Mechanical Unit Manager ................................................................... 11
1.2 User stories ..................................................................................................... 12
1.3 Installation ....................................................................................................... 13

2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager 15

2.1 User interface ................................................................................................... 15
2.2 Create, save and open projects ............................................................................ 17
2.3 Import and export cfg files .................................................................................. 18
2.4 Add, remove and modify a unit ............................................................................ 20
2.5 Edit system parameters ...................................................................................... 22
2.6 Print ............................................................................................................... 23

Index 25

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 Overview of this manual

Overview of this manual

About this manual
This manual contains instructions for daily operation of the software tool Mechanical
Unit Manager.

Usage
This manual should be used when using Mechanical Unit Manager to configure an
additional axis for the IRC5 Controller.

Who should read this manual?

This manual is intended for:
• Commissioning personnel
• Service engineers
• Production engineers
• Robot programmers

Prerequisites
The reader should be familiar with system parameters and be used to editing these.

References

Reference Document ID
Operating manual - RobotStudio 3HAC032104-001
Technical reference manual - System parameters 3HAC050948-001
Application manual - Servo Gun Setup 3HAC065014-001
Application manual - Additional axes and stand alone controller 3HAC051016-001

Revisions

Revision Description
- Released with RobotWare 6.0.
A Released with RobotWare 6.04.
• Cfg version removed when exporting a configuration file.
• It is now possible to add missing default parameters from a template
file.
• It is now possible to load and replace parameters in a unit.
• It is now possible to import and export configuration from a controller.
B Released with RobotWare 6.07.
• References to the new manual Application manual - Servo Gun Setup,
that replace the old Application manual - Servo Gun Tuning.

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© Copyright 2007-2018 ABB. All rights reserved.
Product documentation

Product documentation
Categories for user documentation from ABB Robotics
The user documentation from ABB Robotics is divided into a number of categories.
This listing is based on the type of information in the documents, regardless of
whether the products are standard or optional.
All documents can be found via myABB Business Portal, [Link].

Product manuals
Manipulators, controllers, DressPack/SpotPack, and most other hardware is
delivered with a Product manual that generally contains:
• Safety information.
• Installation and commissioning (descriptions of mechanical installation or
electrical connections).
• Maintenance (descriptions of all required preventive maintenance procedures
including intervals and expected life time of parts).
• Repair (descriptions of all recommended repair procedures including spare
parts).
• Calibration.
• Decommissioning.
• Reference information (safety standards, unit conversions, screw joints, lists
of tools).
• Spare parts list with corresponding figures (or references to separate spare
parts lists).
• Circuit diagrams (or references to circuit diagrams).

Technical reference manuals

The technical reference manuals describe reference information for robotics
products, for example lubrication, the RAPID language, and system parameters.

Application manuals
Specific applications (for example software or hardware options) are described in
Application manuals. An application manual can describe one or several
applications.
An application manual generally contains information about:
• The purpose of the application (what it does and when it is useful).
• What is included (for example cables, I/O boards, RAPID instructions, system
parameters, software).
• How to install included or required hardware.
• How to use the application.
• Examples of how to use the application.

Continues on next page

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 Product documentation
Continued

Operating manuals
The operating manuals describe hands-on handling of the products. The manuals
are aimed at those having first-hand operational contact with the product, that is
production cell operators, programmers, and troubleshooters.

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Safety

Safety
Safety of personnel
A robot is heavy and extremely powerful regardless of its speed. A pause or long
stop in movement can be followed by a fast hazardous movement. Even if a pattern
of movement is predicted, a change in operation can be triggered by an external
signal resulting in an unexpected movement.
Therefore, it is important that all safety regulations are followed when entering
safeguarded space.

Safety regulations
Before beginning work with the robot, make sure you are familiar with the safety
regulations described in the manual Operating manual - General safety information.

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© Copyright 2007-2018 ABB. All rights reserved.
 1 Introduction
1.1 Welcome to Mechanical Unit Manager

1 Introduction
1.1 Welcome to Mechanical Unit Manager

What is Mechanical Unit Manager?

Mechanical Unit Manager is a stand alone software tool where system parameters
for servo guns and track motion can be edited.
The advantage is the focus on servo guns and track motion with a structure that
gives a good overview of the system parameters.
In a configuration file (cfg file), the instances are arranged according to type, e.g.
all instances of Arm are listed under the type ARM. In Mechanical Unit Manager
all instances belonging to a servo gun or track motion are found under that unit in
the structure.

Intended use
The intention is to import a system parameter configuration into Mechanical Unit
Manager, edit the configuration and then export the configuration and use it in an
IRC5 controller.

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1 Introduction
1.2 User stories

1.2 User stories

About the user stories

These are examples of how users use Mechanical Unit Manager, intended as
inspiration and explanation of when Mechanical Unit Manager is useful.

User story 1
The user, who wants to tune a gun in the lab, uses Mechanical Unit Manager to
edit all the system parameters during the tuning. The user starts Mechanical Unit
Manager and adds a servo gun to the project by selecting Add Unit and selecting
the servo gun type. After that the user saves the project and starts to tune the gun.
After all the steps in the tuning process are completed and some parameters have
been changed, the user imports the data into Mechanical Unit Manager. The
configuration can then be loaded again into the robot controller later on.

User story 2
The user has tuned one servo gun. There are other guns in the same gun family
as the one that has just been tuned. However, the behaviors of the guns are very
similar, and a lot of the tuning parameters can be reused within the same gun
family. To create a configuration of a new gun in the same family the user opens
the related project, and duplicates the existing gun. The user tunes the new gun
and changes some parameter values, and then select Save to save the project
with all the guns.

User story 3
A company has a configuration file for a servo gun they have delivered with the
S4C+ controller. A new delivery is based on the same type of guns they have
already delivered, but targeting the IRC5 controller. The user imports a configuration
file with S4C+ syntax to Mechanical Unit Manager. The user saves the project and
then exports it, which will create a configuration file with IRC5 syntax.

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 1 Introduction
1.3 Installation

1.3 Installation

Location of the installation file

The installation can be downloaded from the RobotStudio Online Community,
where it is included in the Tools and Utilities package.

Note

To run Mechanical Unit Manager, RobotWare of the same version must be

installed on your computer. All necessary templates are taken from RobotWare.

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 2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.1 User interface

2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager

2.1 User interface

Unit properties view

A B

D
E

xx1600001008

Part number Term Description

A Unit view Tree structure for selecting unit and type.
B Unit properties win- Text box where you can write unit properties for
dow the selected unit. Some text is generated automat-
ically (e.g. which template the unit is created from),
but any text can be added or edited.
C Unit picture Picture indicating if it is a servo gun or track mo-
tion.
D Project tree A project tree contains one or more units. A project
acts as a file that can be saved and opened again.
The project can be exported as a whole or selected
parts of the project can be exported.
E Unit Represents a servo gun or track motion and con-
tains unit properties and all the system parameters
for that unit.

Continues on next page

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2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.1 User interface
Continued

System parameter view

A B

D
E
F

xx1600001009

Part number Term Description

A unit view Tree structure for selecting unit and type.
B System parameter List of system parameters for the selected type.
window
C Description window Description of the selected type.
D Project tree A project tree contains one or more units. A project
acts as a file that can be saved and opened again.
The project can be exported as a whole or selected
parts of the project can be exported.
E Unit Represents a servo gun or track motion and con-
tains all the system parameters for that unit.
F Type A group of system parameters. E.g. the type ARM
contains all system parameters that define an arm.
The type SINGLE_TYPE specifies if the unit is a
servo gun or a track motion.
G System parameter A system parameter contains a value that defines
a characteristic of the unit.

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 2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.2 Create, save and open projects

2.2 Create, save and open projects

Create new project

If there is no project open, a project must be created before adding a unit.
To create a new project:
1 Click on the File menu and select New Project.

Save project
To save a project with all its units:
1 Click on the File menu and select Save Project or Save Project As.
2 Type a name for the project and click Save.

Open project
If you have saved a project earlier, you can open it by:
1 Click on the File menu and select Open Project.
2 Browse to the project and click Open.

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2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.3 Import and export cfg files

2.3 Import and export cfg files

About cfg files

A cfg file is a text file with configuration data. A cfg file for a servo gun or track
motion can be delivered from the manufacturer of the unit. A cfg file can also be
generated from, or installed to, the robot controller using RobotStudio, see
Operating manual - RobotStudio.
A cfg file can contain configuration data for several units.

Supported cfg formats

Imported cfg files can be of both S4Cplus and IRC5 format.
Exported files are of IRC5 format and can only be used by an IRC5 controller.

How to import a cfg file

When importing a cfg file, Unit Manager will use all parameters that have to do with
servo guns and track motion. All other parameters will be ignored.
If no project is open, a new one will be created containing one or several new units
according to the cfg file. If a project is already open the program will add the
imported units to the existing project.
Action Illustration
1 In the File menu, select Import.
2 Browse and select the cfg file you wish to import
or select a controller to import from.
3 If the cfg file contains more than one unit, a dialog
will allow you to select which units to import.
4 If any types are missing in the cfg file, a dialog
shows which types are missing and asks if you
want to add the unit with default values for these
types.
5 The missing types must get the default values
from a template. Either select the template file by
clicking From template and select a template, or
select the correct values under Joint and Meas-
urement Channel. For more information about
connection settings, see Change connection on
page 20.

xx1600001010

How to export a cfg file

Action Illustration
1 In the File menu, select Export.

Continues on next page

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 2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.3 Import and export cfg files
Continued

Action Illustration
2 Select which units and which types to export.
Check the box in front of the unit to select the
whole unit.
Click on the plus in front of the unit to see the
types of that unit. Check the box in front of the
types you wish to export.
3 A dialog allows you to change the connection
settings for the units in the exported file. This does
not affect the open project.
For more information about connection settings,
see Change connection on page 20.
The connection settings can be changed for all
exported units by selecting unit in the field Unit
name.
If no changes are made, the connection settings
from the project will be exported.

xx1600001011

4 Enter a file name or select a controller to export

to.

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2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.4 Add, remove and modify a unit

2.4 Add, remove and modify a unit

Add unit
To add a new unit to the project:
1 Click on the Unit menu and select Add Unit.
2 Enter a name for the unit, select type of unit, connection settings and click
OK.
A standard servo gun or track motion is now added to the project, containing
default values for all parameters.

Remove unit
To remove a unit from the project:
1 Select the unit in the unit view.
2 Click on the Unit menu and select Remove Unit.
3 Confirm by clicking Yes.

Duplicate unit
Duplication of a unit may be useful if you have already configured one unit and
want to configure a similar one.
To duplicate a unit:
1 Select the unit you want to duplicate in the unit view.
2 Click on the Unit menu and select Duplicate Unit.
3 Type a new name for the new unit and click OK.
A new unit is now created in the same project with the same parameter values
as the original unit.

Rename unit
Renaming a unit does not only change the name of the unit itself, but the instances
of all types under that unit will have the parameter Name set to the new name.
To rename a unit:
1 Select the unit in the unit view.
2 Click on the Unit menu and select Rename Unit.
3 Type the new name for the unit and click OK.

Change connection
To change connection for a unit:
1 Select the unit in the unit view.
2 Click on the Unit menu and select Change Connection.

Continues on next page

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 2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.4 Add, remove and modify a unit
Continued

3 Select connection settings and click OK.

xx1600001010

Logical See Technical reference manual - System parameters, topic Motion, type
Axis Joint, parameter Logical Axis.
Drive The physical drive module that the mechanical unit is connected to.
Module
Drive The physical drive unit that the mechanical unit is connected to.
Unit
Measure- See Technical reference manual - System parameters, topic Motion, type
ment Joint, parameter Measurement Link.
Link
Board See Technical reference manual - System parameters, topic Motion, type
Position Joint, parameter Board Position.
Measure- See Technical reference manual - System parameters, topic Motion, type
ment Joint, parameter Measurement Node.
Node

More information about these settings can also be found in Application

manual - Additional axes and stand alone controller.

Add default attributes

When a saved [Link] from the controller is missing some attributes with default
values they can now be added with Add Default Attributes for each unit.
Attributes are added from a template file that contains all default attributes that
need to be added in the [Link].

Load and replace

Parameters can be replaced from the Unit menu.
Motor type parameters can for example be replaced with data from the manufacturer
of the motor if they have delivered a [Link].

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2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.5 Edit system parameters

2.5 Edit system parameters

Descriptions of system parameters

For information about the system parameters, see Technical reference
manual - System parameters. There you can find descriptions of most system
parameters, including allowed values, default values, etc.

Type a new value

1 Select the type in the unit view.
2 Click on the value you wish to change.
3 Type the new value.

Select value from drop down list

Some parameters are used to select which instance of a type to use. These
parameters typically starts with "use_". These values are set by selecting one of
the instances of the corresponding type present in this project.

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 2 Using Mechanical Unit Manager
2.6 Print

2.6 Print

Print the content of a project

To print the content of a project:
1 Click on the File menu and select Print.
2 Select the units you want to print and click OK.
Unit properties and all system parameters for the selected units will be printed
in a list. In the left column are the type names and in the right column are
the system parameter names and their values:
[Link] - 2016-06-23
Servo Gun: "MYSERVOGUN"
..\..\..\..\Syspar\EXT_M7L1B1S_DM1.cfg
SGUN_BASE.SISSINGLE.MEASUREMENT_LINK_1.BOARD_POSITION_1.MEASUREMENT_NODE_
[Link]
IVE_UNIT_7.ROBOT_1.EXTERNAL_RECTIFIER_1
ACC_DATA -> name = "MYSERVOGUN"
ACC_DATA -> wc_acc = 6
ACC_DATA -> wc_dec = 6
ACC_DATA -> wc_dacc_ratio = 1
ACC_DATA -> wc_ddec_ratio = 1
FORCE_MASTER -> name = "MYSERVOGUN"
FORCE_MASTER -> use_force_master_control = "MYSERVOGUN"
FORCE_MASTER -> bandwidth_ramping = 15
FORCE_MASTER -> ramp_start_switch = 1
FORCE_MASTER -> ramp_time_switch =
FORCE_MASTER -> ramp_torque_ref_closing = 80
FORCE_MASTER -> ramp_time = 0.07
FORCE_MASTER -> bandwidth_lp = 5
FORCE_MASTER -> alarm_torque = 1.5
FORCE_MASTER -> col_speed = 0.006
FORCE_MASTER -> distance_to_contact_position = 0
FORCE_MASTER -> max_pos_error_closing = 0.1
FORCE_MASTER -> delay_ramp = 0.03
FORCE_MASTER -> ramp_to_real_contact =
FORCE_MASTER_CONTROL -> name = "MYSERVOGUN"
FORCE_MASTER_CONTROL -> no_of_posts = 2
FORCE_MASTER_CONTROL -> speed_limit_ipol = 2
FORCE_MASTER_CONTROL -> torque_1 = 0.001
...

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 Index

Index O
open project, 17
A P
add default attributes, 21 print, 23
add unit, 20 project, 17
project tree, 15–16
C
cfg files, 18 R
change connection, 20 remove unit, 20
change values, 22 rename unit, 20
configuration files, 18
copy unit, 20 S
safety, 10
D save project, 17
description window, 16 system parameter, 16, 22
duplicate unit, 20 system parameter view, 16
system parameter window, 16
E
edit system parameters, 22 T
export cfg files, 18 type, 16
I U
import cfg files, 18 unit, 15–16, 20
installation, 13 unit picture, 15
unit properties view, 15
L unit properties window, 15
load and replace, 21
unit view, 15–16
N user interface, 15
new project, 17

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ABB AB, Robotics
Robotics and Motion
S-721 68 VÄSTERÅS, Sweden
Telephone +46 (0) 21 344 400

ABB AS, Robotics

Robotics and Motion
Nordlysvegen 7, N-4340 BRYNE, Norway
Box 265, N-4349 BRYNE, Norway
Telephone: +47 22 87 2000

ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd.

Robotics and Motion
No. 4528 Kangxin Highway
PuDong District
SHANGHAI 201319, China
Telephone: +86 21 6105 6666

ABB Inc.
Robotics and Motion
1250 Brown Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
USA
Telephone: +1 248 391 9000

[Link]/robotics
3HAC050959-001, Rev B, en

© Copyright 2007-2018 ABB. All rights reserved.