I have a UR10e that is used for a benching application. I want to add a Keyence LJ-V7000 laser profiler and the controller. Would I use an RJ45 cable to connect the Keyence controller to the robot controller? Or could I use one of the digital I/Os on either one? I’ve read in other posts that I would need a PLC to interface between the two. Is that still correct in this application? And if so, would a Click PLC from Automation Direct be sufficient? I’m new to both Universal Robots and Keyence systems. Thanks for any help!
You’ll have to look at the documentation for the profiler to know what it needs to communicate. You would also have to define what your application is for us to give better guidance. For example, do you just need a go/no go signal? Or do you need history of the profiler’s data? If you just need a “yeah that part is good, go run the program” then the profiler MIGHT have some discrete outputs you could wire directly to the robot.
If you need to actually read the profiler data and modulate a robot path for example, then yes you will likely need a PLC to interface between the two. Maybe the Keyence profiler can operate over Modbus, in which case you MAY be able to use just the UR.
In my experience, putting a PLC on it tends to make things a little simpler. Just make sure the profiler uses whatever protocol you want to use. In our case we prefer EthernetIP. And while I haven’t used the Click PLC, I have used the Productivity P1-540 from Automation Direct to interface with a Keyence profiler in the past and it was fine.
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Thanks eric! That’s good information! I’d like to use the profiler to modulate the robot path, maybe also try to adjust the force used in the program when the sander gets to a high spot. I’ll research more and see if the keyence controller can use Modbus.
The UR10e does use MODBUS, but the controller does not. I’ll look into the P1-540 and use EthernetIP.