FAQ

Frequently asked questions and Response.

Selecting a hand and hand peripheral equipment

Do you have a recommended hand or hand peripheral equipment?
Epson does not recommend specific manufacturers, or specific hand products or hand peripheral equipment.

Can I use an electric servo hand, or a hand capable of precise finger space control?
The Epson RC+ Hand function does not support these hands.
However, these hands can be controlled in combination with I/O control commands, such as the On command and the Off command.
Please inquire with your distributor for more information.

I use a T series robot. Should I use the hand I/O or the standard I/O?
On a T series robot, the hand can be controlled through either the hand I/O or the standard I/O. These share the same electrical specifications for each I/O bit.

*Allowable output current from the hand I/O

• T3: 500 [mA] or less
• T6: 700 [mA] or less

Use an I/O port suitable for your operating environment considering the wiring and piping arrangements necessary, and your power supply capacity.

Is a tool adapter required?
Please prepare an adapter (tool adapter) to attach the hand.
For 6-axis robots, there are tool adapters available to convert the flange face of the manipulator to an ISO flange (option add-on sold separately).
Refer to the following, or inquire with your distributor.
Option

Installing, setup

Where can I configure hand settings?
Configure hand settings in the [Hands] panel.
The [Hands] panel can be accessed from the Epson RC+ menu by selecting the [Tools] - [Robot Manager] - [Hands] tab.

An error message “Error 2612: Incorrect hand settings detected.” appears when clicking the [Apply] button in the Hands screen.

• If a gripper is selected:
  Failing to specify all [Controller I/O Bits] for [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] on the [Configure Robot Hand *] screen will cause error 2612 to occur.
  If there are unused I/O bits, change the [Type] settings to match the actual number of I/O bits in use.

• If an electric screwdriver is selected:
  Bits other than the Start bit and the Complete bit can also be set to “Unused”.

The [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons on the [Configure Robot Hand*] screen are grayed out.
Click the[Apply] button to apply settings and make the [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons available.

The hand does not move even when clicking the [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons on the [Configure Robot Hand*] screen.
Check the following.

1. Is the wiring correct? When you use a model with valve or sensor which has LED for checking the operation, do the LED light up correctly?

2. Is compressed air being supplied? If a slight click sound is heard from the valve when you clicked the buttons, compressed air may not be supplied correctly even when the valve is functioning.

3. Is I/O outputting how it has been set? You can check the controller I/O state in the [I/O Monitor].

What happens if the wrong weight setting is set?
If a smaller value than the total actual weight of the hand and the workpiece is set:
Excessive force will be applied to the manipulator, which may cause a malfunction.

If a larger value than the total actual weight of the hand and the workpiece is set:
Particularly in the case of 6-axis robots, the wrong gravity correction setting will be applied, which may cause a malfunction. Please set the weight as accurately as possible.

What happens if the wrong inertia setting is set?
If a smaller value than the actual total moment of inertia of the hand and the workpiece is set:
Excessive force will be applied to the manipulator, which may cause a malfunction.

If a larger value than the actual total moment of inertia of the hand and the workpiece is set:
This will not cause an immediate malfunction. However, this will reduce motion speeds, limiting performance.

Operation

The [Hands] tab does not appear at the bottom of the [Jog & Teach] screen.
Please register a hand.
The [Hands] tab will not appear in the [Jog & Teach] screen if a hand has not been registered.

The hand does not move even when clicking the [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons on the [Jog & Teach] screen.
Please see the following.
"FAQ" - "Installing, setup" - "The hand does not move even when clicking the [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons on the [Configure Robot Hand*] screen."

The hand moves in the opposite direction when clicking the [Hand_On] and [Hand_Off] buttons.

1. When using a double solenoid valve, switch the wiring of the two solenoid valves. Alternatively, switch the piping between the valves and the hand.

2. Set the On/Off settings for the input bit set for [Hand_On] or [Hand_Off] in the [Hands] screen in reverse.
   For more information, refer to the following.
   Configure Robot Hand Screen

When selecting a suction hand with two outputs:
Even though the second output for [Hand_Off] is set to “On”, it is “Off” after the Hand_Off command is executed.
When selecting a suction hand with two output points, the second output is assigned to the vacuum break signal.
To prevent the continued blowout of destructing air after a vacuum break, the vacuum break signal is automatically set to turn off if the input from the hand (workpiece detection signal) turns off.
This is functioning as intended and is not a sign of a malfunction.

I want to copy hand settings to a PC, or another controller.
There is no way to export individual hand setting configurations.

What are some basic SPEL program functions?
Turn hand 1 into the grip state (close, vacuum):

Hand_On 1  

Turn hand 1 into the release state (open, vacuum break):

Hand_Off 1  

Check whether hand 1 is in the grip state:

If Hand_On (1) = True Then  
  ' Process when gripping
Else  
  ' Process when not gripping
Endif  

For more information, refer to the following.
Command Examples