TH6D

ABB Ethernet Interface

Interface description

Translation of the Original Technical

Information

Version 1.0, Date of issue: 2015-03-20

 Imprint

Manufacturer Scansonic MI GmbH

Rudolf-Baschant-Straße 2
13086 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49 30 912074–10 E-mail: service@scansonic.de
Fax: +49 30 912074–29 Internet: www.scansonic.de

Notice The contents of this manual may be changed in response to changes in the
product. This shall not result in a disclosure requirement on behalf of
Scansonic MI GmbH.

Reproduction and The contents of this manual are protected by copyright. It may only be
copyright applied for the use of the product. This manual may not be reproduced by
anyone, distributed, or modified in any way without the express written
consent of Scansonic MI GmbH.

Customer service, sales Scansonic IPT GmbH

and service agents Rudolf-Baschant-Straße 2
13086 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49 30 912074–10
Fax: +49 30 912074–29
E-mail: service@scansonic.de
Internet: www.scansonic.de
 Contents

1. Overview ......................................................................... 7

2. Connection overview ....................................................... 9

3. Setting up the robot interface ....................................... 13

3.1 Activating the interface ............................................................. 13
3.2 Specifying the IP addresses and system parameters ...................... 15
3.2.1 Measured output...................................................................... 17

4. Configuring the robot controller .................................... 19

4.1 Protocol between the TH6D software and the ABB Control ............... 19

5. Tool calibration ............................................................. 21

6. Sensor coordinate system ............................................. 25

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 5

 Overview

1. Overview

The TH6D optical seam tracking system is used for no-contact

measurement and detection of surface geometries on workpieces. It
can be used for various machining processes (such as arc and laser
welding) or robotic welding systems.
The connection of the TH6D within a larger facility depends on the
specific facility interface. The TH6D connection to an ABB Ethernet
interface is described here. This interface description supplements
the User's Manual, which describes the safety notices, operational
description, installation, operation and maintenance of the TH6D in
more detail. Be sure that you follow the instructions in the User's
Manual and in particular the safety chapter in this manual.

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 7

Overview

8 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Connection overview

2. Connection overview

The procedures described in this document are based on the

following hardware and software platform.

Robot controller - Robot controller IRC5

and robot connections - Ethernet interface

Robotic software - Robot Ware 5.15.xx

- Optional 633-1 Arc
- Optional 660-1 Optical Tracking Arc

TH6D sensor software - Josy 1.6.0 (operating system for TH6D embedded PC)
- THxDView 1.6.0 (graphical user interface used to control the
operator PC)

Ethernet TCP connection ETH1 port 5020

Network ports on the TH6D The TH6D embedded PC has four network ports.
embedded PC

IMPORTANT There are two ports for connecting the robot controller but only one
may be used, depending on which type of robot controller you are
using (refer to the connection diagram Figure 3).
The actual arrangement of the Ethernet ports (ETH1 and ETH2) on
the TH6D embedded PC may differ from this illustration. The
labelled ports have the following functions:

2 1 1 ETH1, connection to the operator PC (not real-time capable)

2 ETH2, connection to the robot controller
(not real-time capable)

3 3 RTETH2, connection to the sensor (real-time capable)

4 4 RTETH1, connection to the robot controller
(real-time capable)

Figure 1

Default IP addresses of the TH6D - ETH1: 192.168.0.201

embedded PC, as delivered - ETH2: 192.168.3.200

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 9

Connection overview

Facility components The following illustration shows the major components of a robotic
welding system with an integrated optical seam tracking system.

2 4

Figure 2

1 ABB robot
2 Robot controller
3 TH6D embedded PC (EPC)
4 Operator PC for the graphical user interface (GUI): THxDView
(PC is not included in the delivery)
5 TH6D sensor
(Tracking Head 6 Dimensions)

The other components of an automated welding system are not

relevant to the interactions between the robot and sensor system.
The robot controller performs all functions associated with the
automated manufacturing process. Thus, the specific welding
parameters are retrieved or modified at the robot controller. This is
also where the connection to the facility controller is controlled.

10 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Connection overview

Connection overview

IMPORTANT The TH6D sensor must always be properly earthed (grounded)!

Be sure to follow the Earthing provisions as described in the
Installation chapter (Chapter 4) of the TH6D manual.

Ethernet is used for the data exchange between the robot and the
TH6D sensor system. A real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) connection is
required for both communication nodes (the robot and the TH6D
system). This is why they use static IP addresses which only differ
in the last number (octet).
A programmable switch must be used for the network connection.
You must ensure that this data connection is capable of real-time
communications.
Only the ETH2 port on the TH6D embedded PC (3) should be used
for the connection to the robot.

Purge air for safety glass

1

Cooling air: on / off

3 ETH2 ETH1
4

Figure 3

1 Operator PC with THxDview 2 ABB robot controller 3 TH6D embedded PC

software (EPC)
4 TH6D sensor
(Tracking Head 6
Dimensions)

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 11

Connection overview

12 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Setting up the robot interface

3. Setting up the robot interface

The TH6D system comes by default with a pre-set A/D correction

interface. The THxDView user interface can be used to convert to
the ABB Ethernet interface. The robot interface is activated by
 selecting the robot interface and then
 specifying the IP addresses and system parameters.

3.1 Activating the interface

Ensure the following before activating the robot interface:

- The current access level is Service.
- The TH6D system is in setup mode.
- There is no active measurement.

Activate the interface as follows:

1. Select the System > Machine Interface tabs (1).
2. Choose the interface from the drop-down list.
3. Activate the interface by clicking on the Load button (2).
4. You will then be asked to reboot the system. Confirm the
system restart by clicking on Yes or wait about ten seconds for
the system to restart automatically.

Figure 4

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 13

Setting up the robot interface

The reboot takes about one minute, after which the system is ready
for operations. A five-beep signal confirms that the reboot was
successful.

After the restart of the TH6D, the selected interface is enabled and
the system is in automatic mode. The user is not required to log in
again. The previously logged-in users with the corresponding access
level will be re-enabled.

All profiles which have been created by the user (such as seam
patterns and jobs) are linked to a specific machine interface. When
a machine interface is changed, the previous profiles and jobs are
reset. If you change back to a previous machine interface, the
corresponding profiles and jobs that you created for that interface
are once again available.

14 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Setting up the robot interface

3.2 Specifying the IP addresses and system parameters

You must configure the interface after you have selected the proper
robot interface. Specify the IP address and subnet mask of the
TH6D system. Then specify the system parameters.

IMPORTANT The IP addresses of the TH6D embedded PC and the robot must be
in the same address space.
Data can only be reloaded after it has first been saved by clicking
on the Save button.
These changes are not effective until the system has been rebooted.

IP addresses The option eth1 is pre-configured and cannot be changed.

Communications to the robot controller go through this port.
1. Enter the IP address of the TH6D embedded PC that should be
addressed by the robot in field (2).
2. Specify the subnet mask in field 3. (TH6D system delivered by
default with 255.255.255.0)
3. Click on the "Save" button (4) to apply the change.
4. You will be asked if you want to restart. Click on Yes to confirm
and reboot.
(You can also use the menu option Extras>Reboot to reboot).

1 2 3 4

Figure 5

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 15

Setting up the robot interface

IMPORTANT We recommend that the values for system delay (5) and No joint
(6) only be changed in close cooperation with the robot
programmer. Changed values must then be confirmed by testing.

Parameter

5 6

Figure 6

System delay (5) An empirical value is used for System delay. The minimum value for
the delay is the time to output the measured values to the
interface. Only after the transfer and evaluation of an image (17
ms) can a measurement be issued. The default value is 25 ms.

No joint (6) An empirical value is used for No joint.

"No joint" is the time during which the sensor detects no seam. This
period must not exceed 100 ms. If the value is greater than 100
ms, the seam detected signal is reset at the robot controller.

16 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Setting up the robot interface

3.2.1 Measured output

The average of the measured values of all three lines is transmitted

to the controller by default. In the sequence controller profile,
however, the measured value for each individual laser line can be
chosen instead of the average value.

IMPORTANT In order for there to be a valid image and thus a calculated

measurement value, all three laser lines must contribute to the
seam detection (refer to the example in the following table).

Definition:
laser line numbering Direction of travel Line: 3 2 1

Figure 7

Correct measurement Invalid measurement

Start of the seam

Output: Measurement of third Laser line 3 is not on the

line workpiece and provides no
All three laser lines are on the measured value.
workpiece and provide
measured values.
Seam end

Output: Measurement of first Laser line 1 is not on the

line workpiece and provides no
All three laser lines are on the measured value.
workpiece and provide
measured values.

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 17

Setting up the robot interface

Figure 8

For test purposes, the transmission of the corrective data can be

deactivated.
The measured values can be selected separately by line rank.
The selected measurement data is transmitted to the robot
controller; the position of the TCP is determined by the tool
calibration.

18 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Configuring the robot controller

4. Configuring the robot controller

A communication link between the robot controller and the TH6D

system must be established so that the robot can receive and
process the correction data from the TH6D sensor head. Thus, the
robot controller must be configured using the controller menu. The
menu settings are found in the documentation from the robot
manufacturer.

NOTICE We strongly recommended getting the help of the support service

for the robot facility when carrying out the commissioning with the
sensor.

If all settings for the sensor and robot are configured, the
communication link can be established and the tool can be
calibrated.

4.1 Protocol between the TH6D software and the ABB Control

A master-slave protocol is used between the TH6D software Josy

4 bytes (Byte
HEADER length of body) and the ABB robot. The ABB robot is the master and is constantly
sending the requests. Josy responds with the measured data. The
application protocol LTAPP is used here as a serial ABB interface.

Body ist wie The LTAPP protocol running over Ethernet is called LTAPPTCP.
BODY LTAPP Protokoll

FOOTER 2 bytes 0xabb

Figure 9

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 19

Configuring the robot controller

The following protocol has been extended to IDs 54-62, so that the
measurement data of the three laser lines are transferred
individually to the ABB robot controller.

ID Variable Description Read / write

1 Version =0 Read
4 Ping Check if sensor ready Write
6 Start Start seam tracking (on = 1, off = 0) Read / write
7 Pause Unused Can only read. (on = 0, off = 1) Read
8 X Measurement data (average of 3 measurements) Read
9 Y Measurement data (average of 3 measurements) Read
10 Z Measurement data (average of 3 measurements) Read
11 Gap width Measured data Read
12 Step height Measured data Read
13 Surfaces Measured data Read
16 Seam ID Seam number Read / write
17 Time Time stamp, unsigned word, time difference since the last Read
request
18 C Measured data Read
19 Unit 0 = 0.1 mm, 1 = 0.01 mm Only valid for Y, Z, gap width and Read / write
step height
51 B Measured data Read
52 A Measured data Read
53 Flange Column width Read
54 X0 Measured data (from first line) Read
55 Y0 Measured data (from first line) Read
56 Z0 Measured data (from first line) Read
57 X1 Measured data (from second line) Read
58 Y1 Measured data (from second line) Read
59 Z1 Measured data (from second line) Read
60 X2 Measured data (from third line) Read
61 Y2 Measured data (from third line) Read
62 Z2 Measured data (from third line) Read

20 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Tool calibration

5. Tool calibration

The tool calibration is used to match the coordinate systems of the

TH6D sensor and the robot controller.
During the calibration, the robot uses its automatic calibration
program to move the sensor within the limits of the measuring
range in order to obtain the largest possible changes in the
measured values. This increases the accuracy of the tool calibration.

Sensor Type Definition Form The limits of the measuring range for each sensor are specified in
Sensor Type Definition Form.

Figure 10

Designation CF sensor [mm] KF sensor [mm]

Close Field-of-View 11.7 38.0
Depth-of-Field 36.0 90.0
Far Field-of-View 14.5 54.0
Line spacing in the x 8.0 10.0
direction

These values are used in the robot controller to specify the limits for
the field of view (in the Instance Editor as shown in the illustrations
below).

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 21

Tool calibration

CF sensor

Figure 11

KF sensor

Figure 12

22 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Tool calibration

The tool calibration requires that you use a calibration plate from
Scansonic or ABB. The dimensions for both calibration plates are
already configured in the ABB controller.

ABB Scansonic

Figure 13

The tool calibration is carried out as an automatic sequence by the

robot controller. The calibration plate is calibrated as a workpiece
for the robot. Since the dimensions of both plates and the sensor's
measuring range are already configured in the Sensor Type
Definition Form of the robotics software, the robot guides the sensor
head within the limits of the measuring range over the calibration
plate.
Three jobs must be defined in the sensor before the automatic tool
calibration can begin:
- Job 2: Fillet seam left
- Job 3: Fillet seam right
- Job 4: Check

IMPORTANT When you create the seam pattern for the tool calibration (seam
left, seam right), you must assign the TCP position parameter to the
upper plate (left or right). Otherwise, the TCP would be guided too
deeply during the subsequent seam tracking.
It is better to use the general pattern Tailored Blank instead of the
Fillet seam seam pattern.

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 23

Tool calibration

24 TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface

 Sensor coordinate system

6. Sensor coordinate system

IMPORTANT During the configuration of the Josy TH6D software, the measured
values for the angle (x, y, z) are displayed by the THxDView user
interface. According to the robot coordinate system, this angle has
the opposite sign in the robot controller.

A right-handed coordinate system is used to transfer the

measurements to the robot controller. This is shown by the
illustration.

Figure 14

The ABB robot controller is special because it uses the measured

data from the start of the seam.

Figure 15

If the TCP at the seam start is already on the seam, then the first
seam detection is at point P0 (at a gap to the forward feed). The
first track correction occurs at point P0.
If the sensor is at P1, then the tool is at P0.

TH6D ABB Ethernet Interface 25