External I/O

[jbrodt]

Hello, 

We are looking to utilize an external sensor to trigger our sequence to initiate our loop.  The sensor will be triggered by a carton passing on a conveyor.  Sawyer has some I/O available but the literature online isn't as helpful as hoped.

Looking to see if anyone can provide further information as to parts/wiring diagram/ logic to integrate this sensor into Sawyer.

[Jake Hiltz]

Hi jbrodt,

Have you checked out this page?  http://mfg.rethinkrobotics.com/intera/Moxa_ioLogik_E1212

There you will find wiring diagrams from the perspective of the Moxa.  Your sensor should also have a wiring diagram and probably has a brown, black, and a blue wire.  It is just a matter of matching them up.  Note, there is a terminal strip directly above the yellow Banner safety controller that you can use for power.  Also, before doing any wiring, I recommend to unplug the controller from the AC power source.  If it is plugged in, that 24V power supply is on even if the robot is turned off.  You may blow a fuse if you wire while it is plugged in.

Typically, the brown wire goes to +24V, the black wire goes to the specific input you want to use, and the blue wire goes to 0V.  Depending on whether the sensor is PNP or NPN, you will connect either 0V or 24V to the common.  So, typically, this is the specific wiring which also includes the ground connection specified in the Moxa diagrams.

PNP: 

  - brown wire to +24V

  - black wire to the input on the Moxa (DI0 for example)

  - blue wire to 0V, GND, and COM 0.

NPN:

  - brown wire to +24V and COM 0

  - black wire to the input (DI0 for example)

  - blue wire to 0V and GND

 

Once you have it wired, you can use the signals in your task.  So, if you wire up DI0, on the Moxa, this is DI_0 in the software.  You can use a Do If node, a Loop If, or a Wait Until node which uses the input as the condition.  More info on signals:  http://mfg.rethinkrobotics.com/intera/Signals_Panel

More info on the Do If, Loop If, and Wait Until nodes:  http://mfg.rethinkrobotics.com/intera/Intera_Studio#Node_Palette

Let us know if you have more questions.

 

Jake

[Raj]

Hi Jake,

I was wondering if there was a tutorial for using the Moxa with the SDK. The link you have shared only talks about intera. 

Thanks,

Raj

 

[Jake Hiltz]

Hi Raj,

Unfortunately, there is no documentation or support for using the Moxa with SDK in version 5.2.  

[Hal Bennett]

Jake,

I thought I would add this question to the External I/O topic.  I was wondering about the "Additional Modbus TCP devices can be connected to an external Ethernet port of the robot (not the available ports on the internal Modbus TCP). These will need to be powered externally and the IP address will need to be configured according to the requirements explained below." statement from the Online Users Guide.  If the additional Modbus TCP device requires less than the 1 amp available on the robot contact block (mounted above the Banner safety controller), is it OK to power the device from the robot contact block?

INTERNAL MOXA MODBUS TCP REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT (SAWYER ONLY)

The Sawyer Robot comes with a Moxa Modbus TCP Remote Terminal Unit(RTU) pre-installed in the controller and this device is pre-configured to display as the “Robot” device in the Configure Modbus screen. The IP address of this Modbus RTU is pre-configured specifically for communication with the Sawyer Robot through the internal I/O board. This Ethernet connection is dedicated to the internal Modbus RTU configuration. The Modbus RTU can be used to directly wire up to 8 inputs and 8 outputs to Sawyer. For information on using these inputs and outputs, see:Moxa ioLogik E1212

Additional Modbus TCP devices can be connected to an external Ethernet port of the robot (not the available ports on the internal Modbus TCP). These will need to be powered externally and the IP address will need to be configured according to the requirements explained below.

[Jake Hiltz]

Hi Hal,

Yes, you can use the supplied 24V as long as the total current doesn't exceed 1A.

Jake