Seeking Advice on Remote Power Management for UR Robot

Technical Questions
1

Hello,

I am using a UR robot in a coffee shop, and as operating hours increase, I am becoming concerned about the robot’s lifespan. I am currently considering methods for periodically shutting down the robot to extend its longevity.

While it is possible to turn the power on and off using an IO pin and a button, this requires a physical visit to the site, which is impractical. Additionally, while remote control via RTDE or SSH allows me to turn off the power, turning it back on remotely is impossible.

I am seeking advice on remote management strategies that could help extend the robot’s lifespan. I am considering the following two methods and would like to know if they would be effective. If there are better alternatives, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions:

  1. Managing the robot controller’s memory by rebooting via SSH.
  2. Turning off only the robot’s power, while keeping the controller running.

Thank you in advance for your insights!

2

After working with UR robots for about 7 years as a service and support technician (not associated with UR), I believe what typically fails is a joint and rarely the controller.
In my opinion, this is most often due to improper programming of the robot, where the arm is accelerating or decelerating too fast.

We often advise our customers to turn off the robots, if they are to idle for more than 12 hours, but I honestly don’t believe this is necessary - only to lower your energy bill.

I do not believe you have to reboot the controller to free up memory. I haven’t tried it myself, either, but it should work via SSH, as you say yourself.

You can power off and on the robot arm through the Dashboard Server:

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Also, if you were to shut down the robot completely, you can use a smart relay (WiFi connected) or something to turn on the robot again through the IO remote on.

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