Tooling Gallery

This page provides a detailed overview about the Tooling Gallery and how to configure various grippers.

Contents

• Contents
• Tooling Gallery
• Adding a ClickSmart Gripper
• Adding a Rethink Electric Parallel Gripper
• Adding a Rethink Vacuum Gripper
• Configuring Custom End of Arm Tooling
• Tools Classification (new in Intera 5.5)
• Known Issues

Tooling Gallery

The Tooling Gallery is the main repository for all of the End of Arm Tools that have been created for a particular task saved on the robot. Having the EOAT configured correctly on a task is incredibly important for the success of the application.

The tooling gallery can be accessed on the Studio by clicking on the Tools icon in Task Bar.

After selecting the tools option on the task bar, the below window will appear.

Adding a ClickSmart Gripper

Summary of Steps

• Set up Gripper Name.
• Set up mass and center of mass. Please note that setting up the mass, COM, and tool center points is critical to get the best possible performance out of the robot.
• Set up TCP.
• Select Gripper Type.
• Test Grip, Open and Closed signals. Invert signals and adjust sensor positions if necessary.
• Save your settings and exit.

Detailed Steps

• Follow the instructions in the latest User Guide to assemble this gripper and attach it to the robot.
• The ClickSmart gripper will be recognized by the software and appear in the Tooling Gallery.

• Select the pencil icon to expand the Tooling Editor for the Smart Plate.
• At the top of the panel, rename the gripper and enter the mass of the gripper plus the ClickSmart Plate.

• Enter the coordinates of the center of mass based on the CAD drawing of the gripper or measurements. Follow the definitions of x, y and z-axes as illustrated. 

• Edit the Tool Center Point (TCP) to provide the best representation of the finger tips. For example, if the gripper is centered on the ClickSmart Plate, provide the distance in the z-direction from the Training Cuff to the tip of the gripper fingers. The TCP position z should be measured from the top of the ClickSmart Plate Robot Side that meets with the cuff to the end of the fingertip.
• Set the orientation preset and twist to match the physical configuration of the gripper. Note that this will change the x, y, and z orientation of the active endpoint. If a PLG is built according to the User Guide, select z+ and 2.

• Working your way down the Tooling Editor, select the tool type. For a pneumatic gripper, select Gripper. For a vacuum gripper, select Vacuum. When a gripper type is selected, the signals are mapped automatically.

• Actuation time is the time it takes for the gripper to close or the vacuum cup to firmly grasp the object. A default time may be assigned that can be adjusted as necessary.
• The channel used in configuring the gripper is determined by which port the gripper is connected to on the ClickSmart Plate. If only one pneumatic actuator is being used, use Port A. The Intera software automatically populates the four signals. Select the pencil icons to verify the signals are configured correctly, but this is not necessary when using a ClickSmart gripper kit.

• Any of the signals can be changed except for Power. The Grip, Open, and Closed signals can be defined based on the setup and task. For example, open and closed will be different for gripping an object from the outside versus from the inside. The Open and Closed signals are determined by the position of the sensors on the gripper. An explanation of the default signal settings can be found at the end of this section.

Note: If a PLG is built according to the User Guide, turn off "invert signal" for the Grip signal.

• To test the signals, open the Shared Data and toggle the Grip signal to test if the Open and Closed signals respond as expected.

Note: For PLG and PSG, the Open and Closed Inputs are from the two magnetic sensors that slide in the tracks on either side of the pneumatic gripper. The sensor positions may need to be adjusted using the smallest hex key in the gripper kit.

• Select the Save button at the top of the Tooling Editor panel to save all the configuration settings to the ClickSmart Plate. The gripper is now ready to be used in a task.

Using the Gripper in a Task

• To open or close the pneumatic gripper, use a SET TO node to set Grip to false/0 or true/1 respectively as shown below.

• To check if the gripper is opened or closed, use a DO IF node. Check for the condition Open == true or Closed == false.

Default signal settings of ClickSmart grippers in Intera

For pneumatic grippers:

• The Grip signal needs to be inverted so that when the pneumatic valve is powered off, the parallel actuator is in the closed state to keep the part in hand instead of dropping it accidentally.
• The gripper should not be actuated when it is first plugged into a robot, so the default value of Grip is set to true, which becomes false after inversion.
• The Open and Closed input signals should be inverted because the magnetic sensors used to detect open and closed states are PNP sensors. This means when the sensor is on, it sends an off signal; when the sensor is off, it sends an on signal. The Open and Closed signals must be inverted so that when the sensor is on, the corresponding signal is on, too.
• When using the Pneumatic Small Gripper, both Port A and Port B should have the same signal settings.
• Changing the air hose connections may affect the settings of the Grip signal.

For vacuum grippers:

• The Vacuum On signal needs to be inverted so that when the pneumatic valve is powered off, the vacuum generator is still on to keep the part in hand instead of dropping it accidentally.
• The gripper should not be actuated (air turned on) when it is first plugged into a robot, so the default value of Vacuum On is set to true, which becomes false after inversion.
• When the valve is powered on (indicated by the orange light on it), vacuum should be off. When the valve is powered off (no light), vacuum should be on.
• Adjust the vacuum threshold value so that when the gripper picks up an object of interest, the sensor value in Shared Data exceeds this threshold.
• When using the Vacuum Small Gripper, both Port A and Port B should have the same signal settings.

Setup Notes

Please follow the instructions below to set up your ClickSmart gripper in Intera Studio:

• Set up Gripper Name.
• Set up mass and center of mass.
• Set up TCP.
• Select Gripper Type.
• Test Grip, Open and Closed signals. Invert signals and adjust sensor positions if necessary.
• Save your settings and exit.

Best Practices

• Toggle the Grip signals in the Shared Data to verify the Grip, Open, and Closed signals are set correctly with respect to the actual gripper motions.
• Add the cap provided in the gripper kit to the channel port on the ClickSmart Plate that is not connected to a gripper.
• Do not remove the ClickSmart Plate while the configuration is being saved.

Troubleshooting

• If the arm moves to the miss-pick position all the time, check to be sure the Closed Sensor is not on when the gripper closes on the part, but is on when the gripper closes and misses the part.

Adding a Rethink Electric Parallel Gripper

• Plug in the Electric Parallel Gripper to the robot's basic adapter plate. The Electric Parallel Gripper will be recognized by the software and appear in the Tooling Gallery.

• Click the pencil icon next to the tool to edit the parameters of the tool. The tool will contain default information based on the default parameters of the EPG.

• Enter the correct weight, center of mass, and tool center point (TCP) for the tool and press "Save."
• Comments can also be added to the tool to help specify to other users the details of this EOAT.

Calibrating the Electric Parallel Gripper

• On the tooling Gallery, the status light indicates the particular tools communication with the robot. Yellow indicates the tool is not yet ready to be used. In the case of the electric gripper, the yellow light means the gripper must be calibrated.

• Press the calibrate icon next to the tool to calibrate the EPG. The gripper fingers will open and close to the full positions.

Adding a Rethink Vacuum Gripper

• Plug in the vacuum gripper. Notice that the gripper is detected in the Tooling Editor automatically.

• Click the pencil icon next to the tool to configure the parameters.

• Enter the name, mass, center of mass, and tool center point.
• Press Save
• Open Shared Data and scroll to the signals section to view the vacuum sensor reading of the gripper.

• Use the vacuum or vacuum_volts parameters in your behavior tree to allow the robot to detect when it is successfully picking a part.

Configuring Custom End of Arm Tooling

This section will explain how to configure custom end of arm tooling.

• Attach the tool to the robot. The robot will not recognize the type of tool is attached.
• Open the Tooling Gallery & select + Tool icon to edit the tool settings.

• Enter the tool mass. This includes the mass of the adapter plate.

• Add values for the center of mass for the gripper.

• Scroll down to add values for the tool center point.

• To add an additional tool, select Add Subtool in the tooling gallery.
• When complete, press Save to store all values.

For custom end of arm tooling, the grasp button on the cuff will not function to actuate the gripper. Custom end of arm tools do not require calibration.

Note: The total mass of all the active tools are considered while the robot is idle, during motion and while operating in zero G mode, therefore, if the total mass of the tools does not correspond to the actual mass attached to the robot flange, operating in zero G mode would be more aggressive and running a task with Move To nodes may lead to collision error. Hence, to ensure the best performance, correctly set the tool mass and unused custom tools should be deleted (not detached). 

Tools Classification (new in Intera 5.5)

Tools are classified into USED BY, USED BY OTHER TASKS and UNUSED categories. Use the attach and detach button to move a tool between the different categories.

• USED BY: This consists of the tools that are attached to the current task. Signals of tools in this category can be used in the task.
• USED BY OTHER TASKS: This consists of tools that are used by other tasks. "Other tasks" are tasks that are closely linked with the current task. Signals of tools in this category cannot be used in the task until it is attached to the task and moved to the USED BY category. 
• UNUSED: This section consists of tools that are unused by both the current and supporting task.

Further information of the impact of the total mass in case of multiple active tools is provided here.

Known Issues

• Tools and devices in the unused category that are not used by any task or "other tasks" would not be available after a restart, therefore make sure the tools or devices are attached to at least a task. The saved tools can still be accessed through the import tool function.
• The total mass of all the active tools are considered while the robot is idle, during motion and while operating in zero G mode, therefore if the total mass of the tools does not correspond to the actual mass attached to the robot flange, operation in zero G mode would be more aggressive and running a task with Move-To-Nodes may lead to collision error. Therefore, to ensure the best performance correctly set the tool mass and unused tools should be deleted.