PLC-based robot control

Industrial Robot Control System

• Adopting a standard IR control approach, the robot’s task, namely the sequence of
operations and motion to be performed within the programmed working cycle, is defined
by the user via a set of instructions coded in a vendor-specific programming language and
directly downloaded on the controller unit.
• Such instructions are progressively read, interpreted, and passed through the path
planning and trajectory generation modules.
 Industrial Robot Control System

• The path planning calculates a feasible path that connects the starting point (i.e., an
initial robot configuration) to the endpoint in the end-effector space, whereas the
trajectory generator combines geometric and time information and provides as an
output of the inverse kinematic problem the motion law in the joint space.
• Then, the calculated position set-points are cyclically sent to the servo drives, which
modulate and deliver the electric current to the servomotors by means of a closed-
loop control based on the servomotors’ position feedback (i.e., angular encoder
mounted on each servomotor).
Industrial Robot Control System
Industrial Robot Control System

Time-waste: Any requested change in a robotic task/sequence/cycle requires an

interruption of the plant operation, a manual modification of the robot program, and its
subsequent download on the robot controller. Then, before returning the IR to full
operability, extra time to reinitialize the system and perform a first movement at a very low
velocity is needed by the controller, inevitably causing delays in the production system
Code redundancy: A modern production line can involve hundreds of robots, each with its own
code executed at a local level. In most cases, similar tasks (i.e., procedures within the IR’s
working cycle) are programmed multiple times within different scripts and downloaded on
each IR controller, inevitably increasing the number of robot programs that need maintenance.
This condition favors the emergence of failures and increases the time required for any
reconfiguration because the operators in charge of updating the code on many stand-alone
controllers do not communicate.
Industrial Robot Control System
Limitations of programming languages: In contrast to machine tool programming (based,
e.g., on G-code), the lack of a universal, manufacturer-independent programming language
complicates the integration of different robot technologies within a single production plant.
Indeed, the language of each robot manufacturer (e.g., KUKA, ABB, Fanuc, Stäubli) differs in
complexity, syntax, and semantics, requiring specialized personnel . Moreover, robot
programmers are compelled to use basic commands and libraries. These cover the majority
of standard programming needs, but they do not allow for performing advanced
calculations and elaborate complex control strategies. Generalized offline programming
tools (e.g., RoboDK, Siemens Process Simulate) use specific postprocessors to translate the
3D modeling commands and features into ready-to-use robot codes containing vendor-
specific instructions. However, they still do not cover the entire function libraries of each
commercial IR language and cannot replace a skilled user when more complex
programming routines are needed. It should also be noted that the development of a
standardized programming language is not supported by IR vendors, which typically do not
provide detailed info on their low-level control schemas.
Industrial Robot Control System
Limited motion control: Complex robot paths (e.g., the ones required for robot machining,
gluing, or precision assembly) cannot be efficiently applied via traditional programming, where
the available motion instructions are in most cases limited to pointto-point (programmed in
the joint space) or linear/circular movements of the robot endeffector. In principle, one could
discretize the desired non-trivial path into a set of smaller segments and proceed with the
standard motion functions, although this would increment the controller’s computational load
and slow down the robot velocity due to the increased number of path corners. Indeed, with
path cornering, the only settings available to the programmer are the maximum velocity and
acceleration, while the profile type is elaborated by the controller and cannot be modified. In
general, the user has no access to any motion law (position vs. time and its derivatives)
generated from the coded instructions.

No disturbs compensation: Undesired dynamic effects, which seriously affect the IRs’ position
accuracy and, thus, preclude their use in precision manufacturing tasks, cannot be
compensated utilizing the standard control and programming approaches. This is primarily due
to the limited user access to any low-level motion control algorithm running in the trajectory
generator (see point 4). As for the hardware, it should be noted that the use of servomotor-
side angular encoders does not allow for capturing the nonlinearities introduced by the speed
reducers (e.g., hysteresis and dynamic lost motion) and, therefore, to provide rich feedback
information to the controller. At last, the update time of the controller’s real-time module is
usually too high (in the order of a few milliseconds) for the correction of high-frequency
disturbances originating in the reducers
Industrial Robot Control System
Outdated parts: IR controllers comprise many obsolete electronic parts, starting from the main
CPU (e.g., Pentium 4 single‐core processor) and its related operating system (e.g., Windows
XP). Moreover, the available space for data storage on the controller is quite limited (several
times even 25 MB), and, therefor, the dimensions of newly downloaded items (programs and
data files) must always be checked
Innovative Control Approaches
External coordinator: This option makes it possible to send commands to the robot using an
external device (PC or PLC), where the robot program is written in a generic language.
On the robot controller, interpreter software runs cyclically to convert the received
commands into robot-specific language. The translated commands are then processed, and
the trajectory planning is performed on the robot controller as in the traditional approach.
Innovative Control Approaches
The main benefit is that all programming tasks can now be performed through an external
PLC, allowing robots and other devices installed in the production plant to be managed from
one centralized location (i.e., using the PLC as the external coordinator).
 Innovative Control Approaches

These technologies essentially consist of two main parts:

(i) a server program that runs on the robot controller and waits for commands coming from
the external PLC,
(ii) a coordinator program that runs on the PLC.

By employing such PLC libraries provided by the robot vendors, all the original robot commands
and parameters are packed into the corresponding data format and subsequently streamed via
fieldbus, UDP, or TCP/IP to the server.
Here, the received packets are interpreted and then executed, and specific parameters and
messages are sent back to the PLC. The use of a single, centralized, robust programming
environment extends manufacturing flexibility, facilitates the commissioning of big plants, and
reduces their installation and maintenance costs as it lowers the number of interventions and
specialized personnel.
Innovative Control Approaches
External trajectory generator : The trajectory planning is performed with an external device
which can be either an industrial PC equipped with a real-time board or a PLC. By
implementing fast-cyclic communication, the computed motion profile and the robot
feedback are, respectively, sent and received in a timely manner through the robot’s I/O
module. As can be noted in the figure, the non-real-time module of the robot controller is no
longer involved in motion planning, although it can still be used to process other types of
instructions and logical events.
Innovative Control Approaches
Open controller: Since access to the lowest control levels is restricted for most IR controllers,
some of the previously discussed issues may lead to the partial/complete replacement of the
original system with a new open system, offering the possibility of a complete tailored control
design that extends the robot’s operational flexibility and, thus, meets the I4.0 requirements.
In particular, in addition to the original robot controller and related electronic boards, one may
decide to replace drive units and servomotors to potentially achieve the best motion control
performance (e.g., by employing encoders with higher resolutions).
SIMATIC Robot Library
The SIMATIC Robot Library enables users to program robots from different manufacturers
directly in the TIA Portal and to control them with a SIMATIC S7-1500 controller.
The robot with the robot controller is incorporated as remote IO into the hardware
configuration of the SIMATIC controller via PROFINET by means of a GSDML file. This permits
you to use all the advantages of the PROFINET standard for data exchange between robot and
SIMATIC controller.
SIMATIC Robot Library
The robot is addressed in the PLC program through function blocks which are provided as a
block library. The function blocks correspond in behavior to the generally applied PLCopen
standard, which is also found in the motion functions integrated in the SIMATIC CPU. The robot
can be switched on and monitored via the function blocks of the block library and motion
commands, like point-to-point movements and linear movements, can be transmitted to the
robot.
SIMATIC Robot Library
For the robot controller which handles the control of the robot kinematics a command
interpreter is used, which is installed on the robot controller and forwards the robot
commands from the PLC program to the path planning of the robot. This therefore makes all
the kinematic and safety-related functions of the robot controller are available and the robot
movements are executed by the robot with the usual precision and independent of the load of
the SIMATIC CPU.
SIMATIC Robot Library
The user has the following advantages when using SIMATIC Robot Library:

• Connection of all function components like SIMATIC CPU and robot controller via PROFINET.
• Robot programming requires knowledge in PLC programming and fundamentals in robotics.
The programming can be done via the SIMATIC Robot Library.
• Machine and robot control melt into one unit so that the robot can be completely
integrated into the machine operating concept. Even teaching the robot, which is the
manual travelling to robot positions and storing of target points in the SIMATIC controller,
can be done via the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of the SIMATIC controller (Single Point
of Operation).
• Robot arms from different manufacturers can be programmed and operated uniformly.
Changing the robot manufacturer does not require extensive changes to the existing PLC
program or the retraining of employees.