Hello my name is Maw, I’m a student. For a project at the university I would like to connect a linear axis to a UR10 (CB3.1 controller). The mechanical part of the liner axle is already in place. But I still need a suitable drive. A drive that I can connect to the robot and control it from the robot program. Since the motor requires very little power (appr. 1Nm), it can be a stepper motor or a servo motor. I know that there are already ready-made packages available that contain the linear axis and a suitable URCap. However, these are very expensive (>10K). I already have stepper motors from previous projects (Leadshine, Rtelligent, Festo). Is there a possibility that I can control the drives myself without the URCap from the robot? Or is there a cheap URCap where I can use the existing drives? I am thankful for every hint. Thanks in advance.
Basically the robot can send/receive commands to external devices through at least the following interfaces:
Modbus TCP
Ethernet/IP
TCP Socket
Analog IO 0-10V or 4-20mA
Digital IO 0V/24V
If you can find a stepper driver that lets you command it with those then you might be in luck
Does the linear axis system you have look like this from Leadshine: iCS-1703 Integrated Closed Loop Stepper Motor (leadshine.com)? or is it just a stepper motor like this: 86CM120-FS Stepper Motor (leadshine.com)?
For the former one, you can easily connect the PUL/DIR terminals to Digital Outputs on UR and control the motor. For the later one, you at least need a stepper drive like this EM Series (leadshine.com), or some cheaper ones on Amazon, to get you drive the stepper motor.
Some stepper drive might also have Modbus on it so you can simply control the motor through ethernet cable and Modbus: Modbus RS485 Closed Loop Stepper Motor Driver 0.5-7.0A 24-48VDC - CL57RS|STEPPERONLINE (omc-stepperonline.com).
Hope this answered your question.
Best,
Michael
Maw,
Here is something that we have used to connect a stepper motor to our UR10e to drive a rotary table.
Hope this helps you.
If you already have a FESTO drive that supports Modbus TCP, then you can control the drive with this URCap (following video). The URCap can be tested free of charge without a license.
how about these driver from leadshine brand:
Hi Maw,
Connecting a linear axis to a UR10 robot controller is feasible. Since you have stepper motors, you can integrate them with the UR10 controller using external motor controllers. Alternatively, consider using servo motors with URCap support for easier integration. Research budget-friendly URCap options to fit your project needs. Good luck!