Dear all,
We are building an auto-sampler using AL5D Robotic arm, the application requires arm to follow a sequence, for an example
(1) At time =0 , move x=50, move y=60 and move z= 100
(2)at time=10 , move x=70, move y=80 and move z= 0
like wise 50 to 100 commands lie above…
Can you suggest which software we should purchase for above requirement? The PLTW software claims it can create complex sequence in minutes. I am confused with PLTW, RIOS and Flowbotics software? Which one is best and will give full and easy control for Robotic Arm AL5D?
First, lets start with FlowArm PLTW. The FlowArm PLTW software in the newest arm software that we released over the summer. It has a nice graphical interface where you can drag an on-screen model of the arm with your mouse to move it to the positions you want it to go. At the bottom of the screen, there’s the Pattern Sequencer that can be used to make the movement patterns.
If your patterns have a lot of repetition in them, you can use sub-patterns to make the more complex sequences. It has the same pattern sequencer as the SSC-32 utility, which is described in more detail in this video:
Second, there’s FlowBotics Studio. FlowBotics Studio is the software development environment that was used to make FlowArm PLTW. It has a very powerful graphical language that can be used to make sophisticated robot programs. FlowBotics Studio comes with some sample projects, including the AL5 Arm project which is very similar to the FlowArm PLTW software.
Third, there’s RIOS. RIOS is a program that gives you expert-level control of the arm. It has many advanced features, such as configurable arm segments, an X-Y-Z coordinate system, configurable gravity compensate settings, remote networking support, etc. Since RIOS has many additional features, it isn’t as easy to use.
So, if you want easy control and don’t need the advanced features of RIOS, we would recommend the FlowArm PLTW software.
Hi Jarcand,
First of all, Thanks for the reply. From your description, I understand that RIOS is used for expert level control among three software. I have two doubts…
(1) Is there any limitation like using FlowArm PLTW you can not control something while it is possible to control with RIOS.
(2) Moreover, if I don’t use any of the software and I just connect Arm to the PC with serial communication like RS232 and use hyperterminal or Labview to control the Arm… Can I have each and every command available which can help to control arm… I mean I know Labview software and I can program the sequence in labview and send it to servo controller board via RS232… Is it possible?
I would like to purchase PLTW and also want to make my own software…
Glad to help! With FlowArm PLTW, you will have full control of the arm, but the level of control will be a little less sophisticated than with RIOS: with FlowArm, we gave priority to make the software as easy to use as possible, so we needed to simplify a few aspects but these aspects weren’t generally used by most people anyway. I think that FlowArm PLTW should meet your needs.
As for controlling with LabView, yes, the full protocol for the SSC-32 board is available here:
The main command that’s used is the Servo Move or Group Move command, that looks like #0 P1000 T400: this command tells the SSC-32 board to move servo #0 to position P1000 over a transition time of 400 ms (0.4 seconds). Some of the other commands that are used are Position Offset (PO), Register Write ® for initial PO, and the VERsion command to verify that the communications with the board are working well.
We hope this helps and please let us know if you have other questions.
