AL5B Robotic arm control by a PLC Siemens S7-300

Lynxmotion Robot Arms
1

Hi,

I have an AL5B robotic arm. I succes to pilot it with Lynxterm, and create small program with macros.
But now I would like to control it by a Siemens PLC S7-300. How can I do this?

Thank you,
Have a good day :smiley:

2

Do you have a link to the manual?

What do you already know about the S7-300? (I know nothing).

To control an arm (or legs!) you need to solve forward and inverse kinematic problems. Assuming you’ve used the SSC-32 in your arm, you will need to be able to compose and transmit serial ASCII data over a RS-232 interface (232 levels or TTL) in order to command the servos. I don’t think too many ladder-logic controllers can do that.

Rather, use a BB II to communicate with the SSC-32, and develop a simple handshake interface with the PLC. For an industrial application (and the AL5B is not rated for industrial applications), you’d probably have a set of positions you wish to drive the arm to. These “waypoints” could be stored in the BB II, and the PLC could send an encoded (5 wires) command to the BB II.

Alan KM6VV

3

Sorry, I don’t understand what is a BB II.

A solution can be when the arm receives a pulse it performs the movement records.
Can I record a movement in the SSC-32? Are there any inputs in the SSC-32 which can correspond?
Do you think it’s possible?

Thank you for your answer

4

Bot Board II. Available on the LM website. BotBoarduino (new) is also a good choice.

You can make commands to move the arm, and save the commands. the SSC-32 won’t do any of that for you. It only positions the servos.

Trick is to develop canned sequences.

Alan KM6VV

5

Thank you for your answer!

And what do you think about an arduino uno?
Can it be a good solution?

6

The Botboarduino was designed to be easier to interface with standard servos and sensors. It’s the same thing as an official Arduino Duemilanove just with added features that make it great for robotic applications. An Uno would work but you’ll have to use a breadboard or another board for the wiring. The Botboarduino doesn’t require anything extra as you can plug servos right into it with no modifications. As for the PLD
 Probably won’t cut it as you have to solve some trigonometry and output Pulse widths. As far as I know PLD’s can only output digital logic nor can they do complex math functions. I’ve personally used a regular Arduino and a BotBoarduino for controlling an arm, the BotBoarduino just works and is much easier. It’s definitely worth getting one.

7

As dev (?) has stated, the Botboarduino is designed to be easier to use then the UNO. I have both now, and I moved my servo board over to the BBD.

Just use the proper driver!

Alan KM6VV

8

Than you for your answer :slight_smile: !
I will buy a Botboarduino to control my arm an make it autonomous.
For example, my arm execute the same movement when it reiceve a pulse?
It’s possible?

9

That’s a very possible goal.

10

Ok!

Thank you a lot for all this answers! :smiley: