From 9beb63427425dd8c7242db29cfcc2a15acfa82db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Felix Mauch Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2019 22:19:16 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Added setup guide for the tool communication --- README.md | 5 +- .../doc/setup_tool_communication.md | 48 +++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 52 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 ur_rtde_driver/doc/setup_tool_communication.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index ad19912..59ed92d 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -76,7 +76,10 @@ necessary. For installing the necessary URCap and creating a program, please see the individual tutorials on how to [setup a CB3 robot](ur_rtde_driver/doc/install_urcap_cb3.md) or how to [setup an e-Series -robot](ur_rtde_driver/doc/install_urcap_e_series.md) +robot](ur_rtde_driver/doc/install_urcap_e_series.md). + +To setup the tool communication on an e-Series robot, please consider the [tool communication setup +guide](ur_rtde_driver/doc/setup_tool_communication.md). ### Prepare the ROS PC For using the driver make sure it is installed (either by the debian package or built from source diff --git a/ur_rtde_driver/doc/setup_tool_communication.md b/ur_rtde_driver/doc/setup_tool_communication.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..143f0ea --- /dev/null +++ b/ur_rtde_driver/doc/setup_tool_communication.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +# Setting up the tool communication on an e-Series robot +The Universal Robots e-Series provides an rs485 based interface at the tool flange that can be used +to attach an rs485-based device to the robot's tcp without the need to wire a separate cable along +the robot. + +This driver enables forwarding this tool communication interface to an external machine for example +to start a device's ROS driver on a remote PC. + +This document will guide you through installing the URCap needed for this and setting up your ROS +launch files to utilize the robot's tool communication. + +## Robot setup +For setting up the robot, please install the **rs485-1.0.urcap** found in the **resources** folder. +Installing a URCap is explained in the [setup guide](install_urcap_e_series.md) for the **external-control** URCap. + +After installing the URCap the robot will expose its tool communication device to the network. + +## Setup the ROS side +In order to use the tool communication in ROS, simply pass the correct parameters to the bringup +launch files: + +```bash +$ roslaunch ur_rtde_driver ur<3|5|10>e_bringup.launch \ + use_tool_communication:=true \ + tool_voltage:=24 \ # can be 0, 12 or 24 + tool_parity:=0 \ # 0: none, 1: odd, 2: even + tool_baud_rate:=115200 \ + tool_stop_bits:=1 \ + tool_rx_idle_chars:=1.5 \ + tool_tx_idle_chars:=3.5 \ + tool_device_name:=/tmp/ttyUR # remember that your user needs to have the rights to write that file handle +``` + +The `tool_device_name` is an arbitrary name for the device file at which the device will be +accessible in the local file system. Most ROS drivers for rs485 devices accept an argument to +specify the device file path. With the example above you could run the `rs485_node` from the package +`imaginary_drivers` using the following command: + +```bash +$ rosrun imaginary_drivers rs485_node device:=/tmp/ttyUR + +``` + +You can basically choose any device name, but your user has to have the correct rights to actually +create a new file handle inside this directory. Therefore, we didn't use the `/dev` folder in the +example, as users usually don't have the access rights to create new files there. + +For all the other tool parameters seen above, please refer to the Universal Robots user manual.