qbrobotics Fanuc SoftHand Research User Guide

qbrobotics Fanuc SoftHand Research

Dear customer,

Thank you for purchasing our product.

The present document provides information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. This document could present differences from the product and it is subject to changes without notice: the latest version is available on our webpage  www.qbrobotics.com. qbrobotics s.r.l. does not assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. In no case qbrobotics s.r.l. will be responsible for any loss, problems, or damages to persons or property arising from the use of this document. The qb® logo and qbrobotics® are registered trademarks of qbrobotics s.r.l. In the following, the indications of (R) are omitted.

Using this document
Please, check that the document release date is before the product purchase date. The documentation must always be complete and in a perfectly readable state. Keep the document accessible to the operating and, if necessary, maintenance personnel at all times. Pass the document to any subsequent owner or user of the product. Using this document Please, check that the document release date is before the product purchase date.

The documentation must always be complete and in a perfectly readable state. Keep the document accessible to the operating and, if necessary, maintenance personnel at all times. Pass the document to any subsequent owner or user of the product.

Symbols and conventions 

Kit content

The kit consists of:

• N.1 qb SoftClaw;
• N.1 ISO 9409-1-50-4-M6 tool flange adapter;
• N. 1 0.3m direct wrist connection cable for compatible robots only;
• N.1 main cable of 3m;
• N.1 USB to RS485 converter with extension cord;
• N.1 USB flash drive with user documents and applications;
• N.1 cylindrical pin EN ISO 8734 A d6x14 h6;
• N.4 metrical screws EN ISO 4762 M6x10;
• N.8 metrical screws EN ISO 10642 M3x8;
• N.1 2 mm Allen hex key;
• N.1 5 mm Allen hex key.

Options:

• 24 VDC power supply unit with cables;
• ISO 9409-1-40-4-M6 tool flange adapter;
• ISO 9409-1-31.5-4-M5 tool flange adapter;
• Kinova Gen3 tool flange adapter.

Intended use
The product design is intended for grasping objects up to 3700 g. Fragile, sharp, or sharp-edged objects shall not be grasped. Objects having a main dimension greater than 200 mm shall not be grasped. The product is intended for installation on robotic arms: the safety features are established only for use as described in this document. The safety of the product cannot be guaranteed in case of inappropriate use. One, single, inappropriate use can result in permanent damage to the safety of the product.

Safety instructions

• Check that all the content is intact after removing it from the packaging.
• The device can be used only by specially trained staff.
• Disconnect the power supply before installation, cleaning, or maintenance operations.
• Make sure that no residual energy remains in the system.
• Always operate the product within the specifications defined.
• Keep away from children and pets. Always set off or unplug when not in use.
• Never use aerosol products, petroleum-based lubricants, or other flammable products on or near the end-effectors.
• Do not use any damaged power cable, plug, or loose outlet. It may cause damage to the product or injury to people.
• Do not touch electrical components to avoid damage due to electrostatic charges.
• Make sure the end-effector is properly and securely bolted in place and cabled.
• Do not use if damaged or defective. Do not disassemble.
• Do not insert any objects between moving parts of the fingers.
• Keep head and face outside the reach of the end-effector.
• Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry when working with the end-effector.
• Disrespect of these precautions can affect the safety of the device.

Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC)
Because of their small size, no serious threats to life or physical condition can normally be expected from electric miniature drivers. Therefore, the Machinery Directive does not apply to our products. The products described here are not “incomplete machines”, so installation instructions are not normally issued by qbrobotics.

Low Voltage Directive (2014/35/EU)
The Low Voltage Directive applies to all electrical equipment with a nominal voltage of 75 to 1500 V DC and 50 to 1000 V AC. The products described in this device manual do not fall within the scope of this directive, since they are intended for lower voltages.

Environmental conditions
Wrong environmental and operating conditions can lead to injuries, product damages, and/or significant reduction in the product’s life.

Any use or application deviating from intended use is deemed to be impermissible misuse. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Use before performing a risk assessment;
• Use outside the permissible operational conditions and specifications;
• Use in not low-dust environment;
• Use in places with high temperature or humidity;
• Use in wet places;
• Use in potentially explosive atmospheres;
• Use in medical and life-critical applications;
• Use close to a human’s head, face, and eye area;
• Use as a climbing aid;
• Use in outdoor applications.

Environmental safety
The qb SoftClaw must be disposed of per the applicable national laws, regulations, and standards. All the components of this product have been chosen by the EU RoHS directive 2011/65/ EU: they are produced with restricted use of hazardous substances to protect the environment. Observe national registration requirements for importers according to EU WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU.

Mechanical dimensions
The figure below shows the overall dimensions of the qb SoftClaw; distances and tolerances in the drawing are noted in millimeters [mm] and degrees [°].

Center of Mass
The following table gives also the position of the Center of Mass of the SoftClaw and defines its Coordinate System, as depicted in the following schemes.

•  All coordinate systems here described follow the orthogonal right-hand rule.

On the left, it is represented the mechanical interface coordinate system ΣM (OM; XM, YM, ZM) of an articulated robot, as defined by ISO 9787:2013. In particular, the center of the coordinate system, OM, is on the interface surface of the robot tool flange and the ZM axis is coincident with the tool flange axis of symmetry. Ri is the i-th revolute joint of the robot and (O1; X1, Y1, Z1) is the base coordinate system of the robot. On the right, there is the Tool Coordinate System, ΣT (OT; XT, YT, ZT), of the qbSoftClaw, and the center, OT, coincides with the center of mass of the device, and its position is defined by the distance from OM. The ZT axis is normal to the palm, outgoing positive, and the YT axis follows the proximal-distal direction and orientation.

Mechanical characteristics

Electrical characteristics

Tool connector pinout
On the qb SoftClaw flange, there is a Phoenix Contact 8-position M8 connector, A-coded, with gold-plated copper alloy contacts — Part Number: 14242321. The main cable of the qb SoftClaw is a Phoenix Contact 3m free cable end with angled socket — Part Number: 14041922 The RS485 protocol characteristics are as follows: 8-bit;

• no parity;
• 1 stop bit;
• no flow control;
• 2M baud rate.

General
The qb SoftClaw is a compact, light, and versatile Variable Stiffness Gripper. It’s able to grasp objects of the most disparate nature, exploiting the intrinsic mechanical intelligence of its variable stiffness system, without the use of any type of sensors on the contact surfaces or specific algorithms on the absorbed current by the motors. The custom-made electronic board inside the qb SoftClaw is composed of a logic stage for communication and low-level computation and a power stage for motion control.

This, together with two DC motors and its encoders, establishes a simple position and current control feedback regulated by a properly tuned PID controller. The qb SoftClaw does not use Common Industrial Protocols (CIP) or other industrial standards for I/O communication due to historical design and technical reasons. I/O data refers to measurements from the device, commands to the device, and parameters from/to the device. These are handled in a custom package format as follows.

A custom-made single-master-multiple-slave (SMMS) serial communication protocol is implemented to:

• send commands to the connected devices;
• read measurements from the connected devices (motor position and/or current);
• get and set configuration parameters.

Control Modes
The qb SoftClaw can be controlled by two different modalities:

• Position: it is the control mode that most closely approaches the operation of a classic gripper. In this modality, the user can control both position and stiffness. The first parameter is used to set the angular position of the qb SoftClaw movable finger, the second one allows the elasticity of the finger itself to be adjusted. Higher values of stiffness indicate a greater stiffness of the gripper during the grasp; on the contrary lower values allow soft grips.
• Deflection: it is the control mode that allows the user to regulate the grip force during the grasp. This modality does not require any type of sensors on the contact surfaces or specific algorithms on the absorbed current by the motors but exploits the mechanical intelligence of the qb SoftClaw. In this modality, the movable arm is controlled to close completely towards the fixed part for each commanded value. Small values allow to grip of fragile and low-weight objects; on the contrary, higher values can be used for heavy and rigid objects.

Solution

The self-resetting fuse in the device may have tripped. The first steps to try to solve the issue are the following:

• Switch off the device’s power supply and wait a few minutes before switching it on again.
• Check whether the wiring is correct, cf. cable connections (see Page 13) .
• The device serial number;
• The type of control system (ROS, C++ API, GUI, etc.);
• The robot system type and software version;
• The power supply configuration;
• Any additional info regarding what you were doing before the first failure.

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