Set up Standard Interface Communication with FANUC

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This topic introduces the process of setting up the Standard Interface communication with a FANUC robot.

Check Controller and Software Compatibility

FANUC robot: 6-axis or 7-axis
Controller system software version: V8.* and V9.*
Additional controller software packages:

R651 or R632 (karel)

R648 (User Socket Msg)

Set up the Network Connection

Hardware Connection

Plug the Ethernet cable of the IPC into the Ethernet port of robot controller as shown in the figure. You can plug the cable into either CD38A port or CD38B port. CD38A corresponds to Port#1 in the robot IP setting, while CD38B corresponds to Port#2.

IP Configuration

Press MENU SETUP Host Comm ENTER to open the SETUP Protocols window.
Select TCP/IP and press DETAIL to open the SETUP Host Comm window.
If the Ethernet cable is connected to CD38A port (Port#1), press the IP address line and enter the IP address by using the keyboard of the teach pendant, and then press ENTER to finish. Please note that the robot IP address should be within the same subnet as that of the IPC.

If the Ethernet cable is connected to CD38B port (Port#2), please press Port to switch to Port#2. Then you can enter the robot IP in the IP address line and press ENTER on the teach pendant to finish.

Set up “Robot and Interface Configuration” in Mech-Vision

Click Robot and Interface Configuration in the toolbar of Mech-Vision.
Select Listed robot from the Select robot drop-down menu, and then click Select robot model. Select the FANUC robot model that you use, and then click Next.
In Communication Option, select Standard Interface for Interface Type, TCP Server and HEX-Big endian for Protocol, and then click Apply.
Make sure the Interface Service is started: on the toolbar of Mech-Vision, the Interface Service switch on the far right is flipped and turned to blue.

Load the Program Files

Back up Robot Programs

Connect the USB flash drive, and pressMENU FILE File ENTER to open the FILE window.

You can connect the flash drive to the robot controller or the teach pendant according to the actual requirement.
Select UTIL Set Device to select the flash drive folder, and press on ENTER to open the USB folder. If your flash drive is connected to the controller, please select USB Disk (UD1:); if your USB flash drive is connected to the teach pendant, please select USB on TP (UT1:).
In the USB FILE window, select UTIL Make DIR to create a new folder.
Select Words, Upper Case, Lower Case, or Options/Keybd to name the folder, and then press on ENTER to confirm and enter the new folder. In this example, Upper Case is selected, and the folder name is AOA.
Select BACKUP All of above ENTER to backup the files.
A message asking whether to delete the new folder before backup files will display on the screen. Select Yes. Then a message asking whether to delete the new folder and backup all files will display on the screen. Select Yes to start the backup.
After the backup is complete, press all files ENTER to view all backup files.

Prepare the Files

Navigate to Communication Component/Robot_Interface from the installation directory of Mech-Mind Software Suite, and copy the entire FANUC folder to the root directory of your flash drive.

Load the Files to the Robot

Connect the USB flash drive, and pressMENU FILE File ENTER to open the FILE window.

You can connect the flash drive to the robot controller or the teach pendant according to the actual requirement.
Press UTIL Set Device in turn.
Select the USB flash drive. If your flash drive is connected to the controller, please select USB Disk (UD1:); if your USB flash drive is connected to the teach pendant, please select USB on TP (UT1:).
After confirming the install location, you can view the files in the root directory of the flash drive. Select the first line (all files) and press ENTER to enter the root directory of the USB flash drive.
In the root directory of the USB flash drive, select FANUC.
In the FANUC directory, select INSTALL and choose YES to start loading the programs.
When the message “Programs Loaded” is displayed, the program files have been loaded successfully. Press OK to exit the program.

Further Configurations

After loading the program files, press SELECT key on the teach pendant to enter the program selection interface. Select MM_AUTO_CALIB and then press ENTER to open the program.
Configure the arguments of MM_INIT_SKT. There are 4 arguments in total. Please configure them according to your actual situation.
- Argument 1: client port number (string 1-8)
- Argument 2: IP address of the IPC
- Argument 3: server port number of the IPC
- Argument 4: timeout (min)
Then, press STEP key to switch into Step mode. Now the Step icon on the teach pendant turns yellow as shown below.
Press and hold either one of the deadman switches on the back of the teach pendant.
Press the SHIFT and FWD keys at the same time to call MM_INIT_SKT.
After calling MM_INIT_SKT, press MENU > USER to enter the USER interface.
If the following information appears in the interface, the loading is successful. In this case, restart the robot.

If the following information appears in the interface, restart the robot.

Test Robot Connection

Run the first command MM_INIT_SKT of the program MM_AUTO_CALIB again according to the instructions mentioned before. The robot can be connected successfully if the Console tab of Mech-Vision Log panel displays messages indicating that the client is connected.

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