Robot Controller Requirements and Safety Signal Wiring

Select a robot controller to use the cooperative control function according to the following requirements.

Robot Controller Requirements

• The master controller must be a robot controller equipped with a high-specification CPU.
• A robot controller with an older software version cannot be used. Available robot controller software versions vary depending on the method of communicating between robot controllers.
  

  Method of communicating between robot controllers	Available software version
  Ethernet only	1.9.* or higher
  Ethernet and EtherCAT	2.3.* or higher

  
  For the methods of communicating between robot controllers, refer to "Methods of Communicating between Robot Controllers".
• The master and slave controllers must have the same robot controller software version.
  

  The software version is made up of three numbers separated by a period. If the left two numbers (indicating the version) of three are the same for the master and slave controllers, the software can be used.

  <Example>

  Software version		Usable/unusable
  Master controller	Slave controller
  2.0.2	2.0.0	Usable
  2.2.0	2.0.0	Unusable

   

• The master and slave controllers must have the same specification.
  The specification in this section refers to the following.
    (1) Standard specification (RC8A or RC8)
    (2) Safety-IO Less specification (RC8A or RC8)
    (3) Safety Motion specification
  For example, if the master controller has the Standard specification, the slave controller must also have the Standard specification (RC8A and RC8 can coexist).
  To comply with the ISO safety standard, use the following (1) or (3).
• A software license for the cooperative control function is required.
  Software licenses are required for master and slave controllers for each. A software license for the slave controller is free of charge. For information about how to obtain the license, refer to "OPTIONAL FUNCTION AND LICENSE".
  A software license for the master controller is not free of charge. The part number of the license for ordering differs depending on the type of communication method between robot controllers. The part numbers are listed in the contents that describe the wiring methods for each communication method between robot controllers.
  For information of how to connect robot controllers, refer to ""Method of Communicating between Robot Controllers".
• Available robots are as follows.
  

  Master controller Slave controller	VM-6083 / VM-60B1 VS-6556 / VS-6577 VS050 / VS060 / VS068 / VS087 VP-6242/ VP-5243 HM series HS series HSA1 series HSR series

  
  A robot can be different for the master and slave controllers.
  Extended-joints can also be used.
• Up to four robots can be linked for cooperation.
  Among all robot controllers used in the cooperative control function, only one robot controller can be master controller, and the others are slave controller.
  To cooperate with three or more robots, the following conditions are required.
  

  Software version of robot controller	Version 2.5.* or higher.
  Communication method between robot controllers	Combination use of Ethernet and EtherCAT

  
  For information about communication between robot controllers, refer to "Method of Communicating between Robot Controllers".
• MC8 cannot be used.

Safety Signal Wiring

The safety signal wiring method varies depending on the robot controller specification.
To comply with ISO10218 (safety-related standard for robots), some actions are required as well as wiring safety signals.
In addition, the pendant connector of the slave controller basically needs to connect to a dummy connector.
For details, refer to the reference in the table below.