Eastern Kentucky University

Department of Applied Engineering & Technology

Moving the Robot Using the Teach Pendant

Submitted by
John Harris

Date Submitted: 9/10/2019

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Introduction

Automation runs the world. Robotic systems dominate the manufacturing industry with their low
operating cost, little required maintenance, long hours, and complaint free services. The purpose
of this lab was to get familiar with the robot controller and operating the robot using the teach
pendant. Coming in, many have never been around robots or have any knowledge about them at
all. This lab gave the individuals who lacked this knowledge and experience an opportunity to
catch up with those who might be more advanced. A Mitsubishi system was used for this lab. The
lab information and results are below.

Objectives
The purpose of the lab is to get familiar with the following:

 Power-up procedure

 Joint jog movement (JOINT)

 Cartesian coordinate movement (XYZ)

 Tool Movement (TOOL)

Equipment and Applications Used

 Mitsubishi robot and controller

 Teach pendant

 Marker and paper

Lab Description
The first objective of the lab was to power on the robot controller. Having been the first time
using a Mitsubishi system for most, this was more challenging than one might think. The power
control for the system looked like a light switch and was mounted on the left side as shown in
Figure 1. After powering on the system, the fault must be reset. To do this the red button shown
in Figure 1 must be pressed. After the system was on and the faults were clear, the servo must
then be turned on. The controller has a servo on and servo off option. They are shown and
labeled in Figure 1 as well.

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 Figure 1

Reset button

Servo ON/OFF
ON/OFF Switch

After the controller is on and everything is ready, the pendant is ready to be used. The pendant is
shown in Figure 2. On the back are two deadman switches. Before the robot can be moved from
the pendant controls, a deadman switch must be pressed. At the top left of the controller there is
a power on button as well. This must be illuminated before movement is allowed. After the
deadman is released, the servo will go off. The Servo button on the pendant must be pushed and
the light must come on before it will move again. The controls to move the robot are shown in
the picture on the far-right side of the controller. This is movement for all axes and coord.
Systems. The buttons vary depending on which coord. System is being used.

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 Figure 2

CONTROL POWER FOR MOVING ROBOT

ESTOP BUTTON

SERVO ON/OFF BUTTON

ROBOT MOVING
CONTROLS FOR
ALL JOINTS

DEADMAN SWITCHES
ON BACK OF
PENDANT

Figure 3 shows a picture of the robot. For reference, all 6 axes are labeled. As mentioned before,
the pendent has controls for each axis.

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 Figure 3

Joint 5 Joint 4

Joint 3

Joint 6

Joint 1
Joint 2

After the pendant controls were played with and figured out, the assignment was started. For the
assignment the robot had to grip a marker and draw something on a piece of paper. For the
example shown, my group played a game of connect the dots. The dots were drawn beforehand.
The TOOL coord. System was used to grip the marker. The JOINT coord. Was used to align the
axis as needed in order to make the marker level. The XYZ coord. was used to connect the dots.
This coordinate system was used because it locks the robot into a 3-axis control. This allowed for
a level and straight line to be drawn. Figure 4 shows the before picture of the blank dots and
Figure 5 shows the finished dots connected using the robot.

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Figure 4

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 Figure 5

Discussion of Questions

1. The difference between the Enable/Disable switch and the Emergency Stop.

The Enable/Disable switch does not kill the power. It just disables and enables the
functions to be used. The Emergency Stop kills the power to the system, and it cannot be
used.

2. Describe the characters of Joint Jog movement?

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 Joint mode allows for the individual controls of all joints. I found this to be best when
trying to get the robot into a tight position. We used this to make our pen above and level
with the paper.

3. In Joint mode the -x and +x moves the robot in which direction?

The x position moves the robot from left to right.

4. In the XYZ mode the -y and +y moves the robot in which direction?

The y position in this mode moves the robot forward and backward.

5. In the Tool mode, the -z and +z moves the robot in which direction?

The z position moves the robot up and down.

Conclusions

Overall, the lab was very successful. It taught everyone, even the more advanced students, more
about Mitsubishi robotic systems. The main objectives of the course were to get familiar with the
power up procedure, joint, XYZ, and tool movements from the pendant. As shown above, the
results were very pleasing, and all objectives were met.

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