20-2 BASIC TWO-AXIS ROBOT WITH PLC SEQUENCER CONTROL We progress through two schemes of controlling the basic pick-and-place robot shown in figure 20-1. We use switches first, and then a drum controllersequencer. The robot used for illustration starts operating from the position shown, which is the “at-rest.” lower-left, initialized position. The step-by-step sequence of operation to move a part from position A to position B is as follows: 1. Armis initially in the down-left position as shown. Gripper is open and not extended, 2. Arm moves to upper position. Upper Position Indicator - Limit Switch Part Left Pet Position B Upper Right Upper cn in Creston it tal Lower Left 1]! Right Lower step Psion (rita | | Pasion Extendable a Asm Section Bera Actuate Device 5 / FIGURE 20-1 Basic Pick-and-Place RobotBASIC TWO-AXIS ROBOT WITH PLC SEQUENCER CONTROL ait Arm rotates to tight. Hand extends to position A. Gripper closes, gripping part. ‘Arm swings back to the left to position B, Gripper opens, releasing part, Hand retracts. Arm lowers to the initial position. SEI AHaAw For illustration, assume that the robot has four powered pneumatic solenoids. If all solenoids are off, no air is applied to the robot's actuators. In this initial position, the robot is in the lowered, left position with the hand retracted and the gripper open. Energizing each of the four solenoids causes the following action to uccur: 1. ROTATE: arm rotates full right. 2. RAISE: arm rises to the upper position. 3. EXTEND: hand extends from the arm. 4, GRIP: the gripper closes. More than one solenoid can be energized in combination to facilitate operation. If a solenoid is not energized, the function is in the other extreme initial position, opposite those listed. An operational matrix for the robot to move a part from position A to position B is shown in figure 20-2. An O indicates the opposite position; down, left, in, or open. A simple control system for the robot shown in figure 20-1 could consist of four switches, one for each motion. One disadvantage of the four-switch control is that someone would have to do the controlling continuously. In addition, turning off a switch would not immediately stop the arm; it would spring-return to its initial position, which would be hazardous to anyone expecting it to stop immediately. There could also be problems in mechanical interferences during operation. In the upper position, with the arm extended, moving the arm down could break off the arm on the conveyor below it. Also, if the gripper opened up while the arm was making a swing, the part would be dropped or thrown outward. For these and other reasons, a ladder diagram with interlocks and sensors included for the robot's control should be developed. We do not develop the complete ladder control FIGURE 20-2 Fat Movement Robot Operati Rotate Hand Grip Matrix shat ual Step Up Right Out Close Step Up ght, ute Initialized ° ° ° 8 1 x ° ° ° 2 x x o o 3 x x . x 4 x x 5 x o« x xe 6 x ° x ° 7 x ° 2 ° ° ° 2CONTROLLING A ROBOT WITH A PLC. system in this chapter, but we do develop a drum controller/sequencer program of thet commonly used for robotic control. ; ‘Two basic programs for controlling the robot of figure 20-1 are shown in figure 29-3 The first program is a PLC version of the switcl/relay system. The second is a DR functio, and registers. The DR is ‘yp step-pulsed at intervals by a timer. The timer's preset times ay Input Switches Input Switches 1No001 outo177 ND00r outo177, Ly C)- Rotate © Rotate INoo02 outoi7e nioote ouro78 Ly C) Raise k C) Raise 'Nooo3 ‘ouroi7e |No003 INooos — OYTQ179 HE (een tC) eens Noos ourgiso shanti ourTo180 Hr OC) Grip F ( Grip Upper Position Limit Switch Simple Coil-Contact feebot Control Fragram: Coil-Contact Robot Control Program with Interlock FromTimer op e aw Up Steps Hand Extend Enable § Rotate twooos_| | Start Grip H HROtS1 i Reset ; HROIS! 0 0 0 Oo INooo9_| Pointer HROIS2 0 0 0 4 Aozao HROISS 0 0 61 0 Dest HROIS4 1 1 1 9 ‘oGo004 HROISS 1 4 4 9 HROISE 0 1 9 9 HROIS7 ~0 «1 0 HROISB =0 60 0 1 DRISQ Robot Control HRO'S9 0 0 0 Oo Renown Register Pattern -4 Bits of 8 or 16 DRISO Robot Control Register Patterns FIGURE 20-3 PLC Program for Robot Control