grunthos

NJ to Kuka EL6695 EtherCAT bridge (secondary side)

17 posts in this topic

Hi all,

I have an NJ trying to talk to the secondary side of a Kuka EL6695-1001 EtherCAT bridge. The NJ appears to recognise the bridge but fails with an "acquisition error" or "Failed to get the lower network configuration information". Apart from these messages (and the fact it doesn't work), it all appears to configure correctly (memory sizes and PDOs). The activity light on the bridge 'IN' port is flashing (connection to NJ) and we have verified the Ethernet cable. I have tried the ESI file supplied by Kuka and one supplied by Omron - no joy.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks.

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Interesting. I'm currently attempting the same thing.

I have had trouble using a Beckhoff bridge in the past, namely the EL6692. The NJ simply could not use the secondary side, and I needed a modified ESI for the primary side.

I think the same will apply here. Ask Kuka to configure your robot so it is setup as the secondary (which my Kuka contact tells me is no problem for them), then map the EK1100 coupler into your network and use the EL6695-1001 primary. I have used EK1100 couplers before and they present no issues.

I haven't been able to physically try this yet, so I await your results with interest!

Edited by Andy_P

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Hi Andy_P,

Thanks for the response. I saw a video from Omron that showed the EL6695 connected up that way. Unfortunately, there is an input and an output module for the Kuka with the bridge so swapping primary/secondary has 'consequences' but I will keep that in mind when I get desperate!

I will keep you informed. I am in Melbourne too (Truganina, till Thursday evening).

Cheers.

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Maybe you could map the IO that is connected to the EK1100 coupler (presumably EL1008 etc. or similar) into the NJ and simply pass the info back to the Kuka through the bridge.

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I had thought of that - the 'consequences' I mentioned above. Messy, but it would work. Apparently, the Omron rep is coming to site so I will sort out other stuff while I wait for him.

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Success - thanks to the valiant efforts of the guys at the Melbourne Omron office. :)

When you get to Edit Module Configuration, don't map IO for the 'Standard Sync Inputs' or 'Safety Process Data'. Only map IO for 'Standard Process Data'. Also, 'Module Config Send Method' must be set to 'Send' (default is 'Do not send'). I think those were the significant issues - there may have been others (I changed so many things trying to get it going).

Let me know how you go. Cheers.

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Great news, well done.

Did you end up using the El6695-1001 primary or secondary side in the NJ EtherCAT network?

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Thanks - and thanks to Omron techs. NJ connects to secondary side as originally intended.

Good luck with your system.

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11 hours ago, grunthos said:

Also, 'Module Config Send Method' must be set to 'Send' (default is 'Do not send').

 

Hmm, I can't see that setting anywhere and I can't add any PDO entries. Can you upload the ESI you are using?

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On 5/9/2017 at 6:42 PM, Andy_P said:

Interesting. I'm currently attempting the same thing.

I have had trouble using a Beckhoff bridge in the past, namely the EL6692. The NJ simply could not use the secondary side, and I needed a modified ESI for the primary side.

I think the same will apply here. Ask Kuka to configure your robot so it is setup as the secondary (which my Kuka contact tells me is no problem for them), then map the EK1100 coupler into your network and use the EL6695-1001 primary. I have used EK1100 couplers before and they present no issues.

I haven't been able to physically try this yet, so I await your results with interest!

EL6695 is a special version of EL6692 made just for KUKA. It supports safety. KRC4 must have ONE safety interface so when using EL6695 others must be deactivated. When using safety, KRC4 must be connected to primary side and PLC must be on secondary.

All KUKA device description files are installed with WorkVisual:

C:\Program Files (x86)\KUKA\WorkVisual 4.0\DeviceDescriptions

 

Attached is what your PLC will need to connect to secondary of EL6695.

ESISec.rar

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Thanks for comments panic mode.

I am using the ESI file supplied by Omron for the EL6695-1001 but, as far as I can tell, it is identical with the Kuka file except the Omron file has the icon images included (Kuka images are separate). The Kuka fiie should work. We are not using any of the safety features of the EL6695. I vaguely remember reading something about Omron (or the NJ) not supporting the safety features of the EL6695. Disabling safety and sync (in NJ and KRC4) seemed to be the thing that made it work.

The Kuka EL6695 ESI file for the NJ is in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\KUKA\WorkVisual 4.0\DeviceDescriptions\ESISec

I will check if I am allowed to post the Omron ESI file...

Cheers.

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On 5/12/2017 at 1:44 PM, grunthos said:

I will check if I am allowed to post the Omron ESI file...

 

Please do :-)

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Thanks for that, seems to have done the trick!

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Hi, did anyone use  safety features of the EL6695 ? I've done I/O standard data communication between NX1 (secondary side) and KRC4 (primary sid) but can't deal with safety data. Is it possible to do this?

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Omron don't support FSoE to anything other than their own devices right now.

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