Kuka and Arduino

[benlawson]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently trying to use an arduino as a digital i/o on an Agilus.  As I understand it, there are a few intermediary steps on both the physical side relating to bringing down the voltage out of the cabinet, as well as setting things up in WorkVisual. I'm pretty sure I've gotten the WorkVisual side of things taken care of, it's just the wiring from the cabinet to the arduino that is giving me trouble.  Does anyone have any photos or part numbers that could help to achieve this?  I'm super new to electronics and I'd like to keep my arduino intact...

Thanks in advance,

Ben

[Johannes @ Robots in Architecture]

Hello Ben,

The WorkVisual side is easy to troubleshoot (at least if you've got regular Beckhoff modules) - you just go to Display/IO, go to the output tab, select the output and then (while pressing the confirmation button on the back of the smartPAD as if you were moving the robot) click "Value". This should now toggle the state of the output, and you should see a light on the Beckhoff module go on or off. If nothing changes, there is probably some issue with the IO Configuration in WorkVisual.
On the hardware-side you have to get the voltage of the Beckhoff digital output (usually 24V) down to either 5V or 3.3V, depending on the Arduino. There are countless ways to adjust the voltage, personally I like the small step-down modules that cost like 4USD and allow you to adjust the voltage by turning a small screw (variable resistor). Alternatively you could e.g. connect the output to a relay that can be switched by 24V DC.
Please mind that I'm most definitely not an electronics expert myself (which is why I use 4USD step-down adapter rather than 30 Cents of resistors) but it worked for us ;)

Of course be sure to measure the voltage before connecting the Arduino!

Best,
Johannes @ Robots in Architecture