PickMaster 5.02 Released [PickMaster 5]

PickMaster
1

Dear PickMaster User,

The new release of PickMaster 5.02 is now available. The new functions, error corrections as well as known issues are listed in the release notes below.

Release Notes PickMaster 5.02

This version of the PickMaster application is compatible with:

  • IRC5 M2004
  • RobotWare 5.09.02 or later
    (PickMaster 5.02 still works with RobotWare 5.09.00, but the new
    functionality like Online Tuning and Flow/Error Recovery is not available)
  1. GENERAL NOTES

1.1 - Tested on English Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000

The recommended operating system is US English Windows XP Professional SP 2.

The application is tested on a US English Windows XP Professional SP 2.
The application should work on Windows 2000 but it has not been verified.
Please feel free to report any difference in behavior between Windows XP SP2
and Windows 2000 SP4.
The application is not expected to work with Windows Vista.

  1. FUNCTION RELATED NOTES

2.1 - PickMaster 5.02 only supports palletizing, picking functionality disabled

PickMaster 5.02 only supports palletizing. Picking will be included in a later
release. Until then picking applications are directed to use PickMaster 3.xx.
Many of the menu options for picking are included in the GUI to give a glimpse
of the future, but they are disabled since the functionality is not included.
The disabled options in the line are: Create new camera, Create new external
sensor and Create new conveyer. In the project are Edit RIS, as well as the
Start and Stop Production disabled.

2.2 - Only IRC5 supported

PickMaster 5.02 only supports the IRC5 controller. The S4CPlus controller is no
longer supported.

2.3 - Multiple robots

The software is designed to handle 32 controllers. This PickMaster 5.02 release
now supports MultiMove on the IRC5.

2.4 - Upgrade of RobotWare may require upgrade of Communication Runtime on the PC

An upgrade of RobotWare to a new version may require an upgrade of the ABB
Industrial Robot Communication Runtime on the PC. The installation can be found
in the Utility folder on the RobotWare CD.
Please note that when upgrading the baseware on the IRC5, the robot controller
will change its system identification. The robot controller must therefore be
reselected in the PickMaster line. Please refer to the configuration of the line
in the PickMaster application manual.

2.5 - Upgrading from previous versions of PickMaster

Lines and projects from any old PickMaster version (1.xx, 2.xx and 3.xx) are not
compatible with PickMaster 5.02. It is not possible to open lines and projects
from PickMaster 1.xx, 2.xx or 3.xx in PickMaster 5.02 and there is no converter
of old projects.
Any old versions of PickMaster should be uninstalled before installing the new
version of PickMaster. Otherwise they will be automatically uninstalled when
installing PickMaster 5.02.

PickMaster 5.00 projects can be loaded with PickMaster 5.02. The parameters that
were not present in PickMaster 5.00 will be filled with default values, e.g. for
tuning. PickMaster 5.01 projects work with PickMaster 5.02 unchanged.

2.6 - Using both PickMaster 3 and 5 on the same computer

It is not possible to install both PickMaster 5 and PickMaster 3 on the same
computer at the same time. However, it is possible to use both from the same
computer through the following work around.
To use both PickMaster 3 and 5 on the same computer is only recommended for
support purpose. It should not be performed on a production site.

  1. Uninstall all versions of PickMaster.
  2. Install PickMaster 3.xx.
  3. Make a license request and install the PickMaster 3 license if needed.
    (Only needed if you are going to actually run robots. If you already have a
    valid PickMaster 3 license on the computer you don’t need to apply for
    another.)
  4. Make a copy of the entire PickMaster folder. The default path where PickMaster
    is installed is C:Program FilesABB Industrial ITRobotics ITPickMaster.
    This copy of PickMaster 3.xx will be your PickMaster 3 version.
  5. Install PickMaster 5.
  6. Make a license request and install the license for PickMaster 5.

2.7 - Content of PickMaster distribution changed since PickMaster 5.01

The PickMaster distribution no longer contains 3rd party software except
Adobe Reader which is required for reading the user documentation. We
recommend to download the latest versions of the removed or similar
applications. More specifically, these applications have been removed:

In order to avoid confusion, documentation, code examples, and executables
related to functionality in future PickMaster 5 releases has been removed also.
This includes the PickMaster SDK documentation and code examples, Cognex
documentation and drivers, and the VisionAnalyzer.

  1. CHANGES IN 5.02

3.1 License Key Request Wizard problem

The PickMaster 5.02 release solves one single issue in PickMaster 5.01: The
installation of PickMaster 5.01 fails to provide information for the License
Key Request Wizard. Therefore, PickMaster is not in the list of products you
can request a license for. This problem has been fixed in PickMaster 5.02.

Please notice that when requesting a license for PickMaster, you will still
request a license for PickMaster 5.00. The PickMaster 5.00 license is also
valid for any PickMaster 5.0x.

  1. FEATURES ADDED IN 5.01

4.1 - Native Language Support

PickMaster 5.01 now provides native language support for English, German, and
French. The localized messages display in the PickMaster 5 PC application, in
IRC5 controller messages, and on the PickMaster 5 FlexPendant application.

4.2 - Online Tuning

PickMaster 5.01 adds online tuning functionality in the PickMaster FlexPendant
application. The user can adjust the parameters of items and work areas in the
running project, e.g. item speed or work area displacement. For more
information, please refer to the PickMaster application manual, section
Runtime Operation: Tune.

4.3 - Flow/Error Recovery

PickMaster 5.01 adds flow/error recovery functionality in the PickMaster
FlexPendant application. The user can selectively stop running flows as well
as restart them. The restart behavior is available after manual user stops
and after production errors. For more information, please refer to the
PickMaster application manual, section Runtime Operation: Start/Stop
production + Flow recovery.

4.4 MultiMove Support

PickMaster 5.01 introduces support for MultiMove systems. It is possible to
configure up to four robots on the same controller. In addition, it is
possible to select a different tool for each of these robots.

  1. PROBLEMS SOLVED IN 5.01

5.1 - Motion performance

The motion performance of PickMaster 5 has been increased. The fine points
within a cycle have been removed. However, at the end of a cycle, a fine point
can still be present. A significant improvement becomes available with
RobotWare 5.09.03 and 5.10.01, excluding the specific release of RobotWare
5.10.00. The intention is to resolve this problem altogether in future
releases.

5.2 - Weight in Operation Set Configuration dialog

The Operation Set Configuration dialog now displays the total weight for the
operation set.

5.3 - RobotWare version check

PickMaster 5 now checks the RobotWare version that is installed on the
controller. The PC application emits a warning when the version of RobotWare
on the controller is too old and stops the project transfer.

5.4 - Check for overwriting running project with transfer

Since RobotWare 5.09.02, transfers of PickMaster 5 projects are only possible
if the project is not currently running on the controller.

5.5 - Not possible to start FlexPendant application after errors in RAPID

It is now possible to start the PickMaster FlexPendant application or transfer
a project from PickMaster PC application after a warm start with RAPID errors.
This was not possible previously due to internal problems.

5.6 - Wrong IO response from PLC

A new error message “Failed to generate new operation set”, nr 112152, has been
introduced to indicate incorrect IO values returned by a PLC.

5.7 - Not possible to specify item’s moment of inertia

PickMaster 5.01 now correctly calculates the z component for moment of inertia
of an item. This improves motion performance and reduces motion supervision
errors.

5.8 - PickMaster handles larger projects

The internal communication performance of PickMaster 5.01 on the IRC5
controller has been improved. This allows handling larger projects, i.e. more
work areas and flows can be handled.

5.9 - Incorrect value of z angle in displacement frame

PickMaster 5.01 corrects values for the z angel rotation to valid values if
they are outside the valid range. In the settings of the displacement frame in
the Format Operation Set Configuration dialog and the Pallet Pattern Operation
Set Configuration window, the valid value for z angle rotation is between -180
degree and 180 degree.

5.10 - Tool events using “Check input” only

In the event settings section of the Format Configuration dialog, if only “Check
input” was selected for a certain action that action would cause a RAPID error
during production. This problem is now fixed.

5.11 - Intermediate movement with suboptimal tool rotation

The robot movement in PickMaster 5.00 can generate switching directions of the
tool rotation around intermediate positions. The PickMaster 5.01 RAPID template
has been updated to avoid this situation.

5.12 - Tool offset on safe position

The robot no longer fails to go exactly through safe positions due to an
incorrectly added offset.

5.13 - Stack search and displacement frame

Changes to the displacement frame no longer affect the stack search movement.

5.14 - Layout with negative margin

The Layout Configuration dialog now supports entering negative values for
margins.

5.15 - PickMaster can not handle long line paths

PickMaster 5 now handles paths to line and project files up to 1024 characters
long.

5.16 - Invalid layouts when changing the shape size by a fraction

The layout in a pallet pattern can become invalid if the user changes the shape
size to a larger one (i.e. the shapes are overlapping each other). PickMaster 5
now checks for this condition and avoids hanging when entering the Pallet
Pattern Operation Set Configuration dialog.

5.17 - New project tree element launches dialog

The project tree now launches the edit dialog when adding new elements. When
pressing OK, the new element is added to the project tree. When clicking Cancel,
the element is discarded.

5.18 - General robot speed gets overridden by item speed

PickMaster 5.01 now correctly handles different item and robot speeds. The lowest
value always has precedence.

5.19 - Start of PickMaster 5.00 projects fails

Starting old PickMaster 5.00 projects works with RobotWare 5.09.03 and later
releases, but the new functionality in PickMaster 5.01 is not available (online
tuning and flow/error recovery). However, they will not work with RobotWare
5.09.02.

5.20 - Confusing error message after restart layer

When running PickMaster 5.01 with RobotWare 5.09.02, an error message
originating from RAPID is displayed after restarting a stopped flow with
“restart layer”. This message has been removed in RobotWare 5.09.03 and
later releases.

5.21 - Wrong coverage in layout calculation

The Layout Configuration dialog now displays the correct coverage number when
no palletizing area shape is selected.

5.22 - PickMaster 5 terminated when opening Pallet Pattern Operation Set dialog

The PickMaster PC application now performs dependency checks before opening
the Pallet Pattern Operation Set dialog. Before, it was possible to terminate the
PickMaster PC application by changing the configuration such that some
dependencies where no longer fulfilled.

5.23 - Check for valid quaternion values

The Positions and Robot Configurations dialog now checks for invalid quaternion
values in the work object safe position dialog. Previously, it was possible to
enter values (e.g. 0, 0, 0, 0) that would create a project configuration that
is not possible to start for the FlexPendant PickMaster application.

5.24 - Line changes not reflected in application state

Changes to the line configuration are now always indicated by adding an
asterisk to the line name in the application title bar. Previously, a few
changes were not reflected and could therefore lead to a potential loss of
changes.

5.25 - ix and iy values not read for tool configuration dialog

The Tool Configuration dialog now displays the iy and ix values
correctly. Previously, these values have not been read from the tool data.

5.26 - Problem with error events in slave work areas

If an error event is triggered in a slave work area, the dependent flows can be
put into an error state from which it can not recover. This problem was only
present in RobotWare 5.09.02, it has been fixed in 5.09.03 and later releases.

5.27 - Idle state of activators not correctly used

When using activators controlled by two signal bits (i.e. three states), the
activators were not correctly handled after pick and in-between multidrops.
This problem is now fixed.

  1. KNOWN ISSUES IN 5.01

6.1 - Not possible to use one shape for several products in different layers

In Pallet Pattern Operation Set Configuration window, it is not possible to use
different products of the same shape for different layers in the same pallet
pattern. Except pallet and slipsheet, the user has to configure the pallet
pattern with the same product.

6.2 - PickMaster 5 controlled robot performs movements that are not smooth

When a PickMaster 5 configured robot is running production it might jerk around
the intermediate position that is dynamically calculated between two work areas.
The problem resides within the motion controller of the robot controller when
changing from a MoveJ interpolation to a MoveL interpolation through a zone. To
work around this problem, perform yet another intermediate movement that has no
offset from the final approach position to the destination work area.

6.3 - Can not complete layout in Pallet Pattern Operation Set

In the Pallet Pattern Operation Set the status for an individual layer might be
either “Can not complete layout” or “OK”.
The message “Can not complete layout” is displayed for different problems. The
reasons may be:

  • Shape has no item
  • Item has no formats
  • The formats can not add up to a complete layer

6.4 - One format for pick and place

It is not possible to use same format for pick and place in the same position
source. The work around for this problem is to create two identical formats and
assign one of them for pick and the other for place.

6.5 - Production stop after flow/error recovery

When using the new flow/error recovery with “restart pallet”, sometimes flows
may stop without indicating the cause. Usually “PP to Main” recovers from this.
However, in a few situations it might be required to restart the project.

6.6 - Defining format selection signal for master work area causes startup errors

The format selection signal is only used with slave work areas. If defining the
format selection signal for a master work area, project startup errors will occur:
“112150 Failed to request new target set”. This situation can be avoided by leaving
the Format Selection group signal blank for both the Position Request and Target
Generation fields.

6.7 - Start of PickMaster 5.00 projects fails with RobotWare 5.09.02

Starting old PickMaster 5.00 projects works with RobotWare 5.09.03 and later
releases, but the new functionality in PickMaster 5.01 is not available (online
tuning and flow/error recovery). However, they will not work with
RobotWare 5.09.02.

6.8 - Wrong 3D position in format operation set using pallet item format

The displayed 3D position of a pallet item format relative the work object in
the Format Operation Set Configuration becomes wrong if the format orientation
is Left or Right.
However, the displayed 2D position of the format is correct.

6.9 - Line settings of work area rotation affect stack search movement

The stack search movement will rotate if the line settings of work area
rotation not is set to zero degrees. This problem can be worked around
as follows: Set the work area rotation to zero degrees and adjust the
displacement frame to compensate the changes of the work area orientation.

  1. FEATURES ADDED IN 5.00

7.1 - Digital Signing of PickMaster

The PickMaster executables and installation (PickMasteru.exe,
VisionAnalyzeru.exe, PMTimeSyncu.exe and setup.exe) are now digitally signed.
The digital signature assures that the binary really comes from ABB and has not
been altered or corrupted since it was created and signed.
To check the digital signature right click the file and select Properties.
Select the Digital Signatures tab. Select the ABB Automation Technologies AB
signature in the list and click Details. Make sure that the Digital Signature
Information states “This digital signature is OK” and not “This digital
signature is not valid”.

7.2 - RAPID in PickMaster

PickMaster related RAPID code is now placed in module files (.mod) instead of
program files (.prg, .pgf). There are a few RAPID code templates provided with
the PickMaster software that should be used and adjusted.
It is possible to assign several RAPID module files to each robot in the
PickMaster PC application. All these modules will be transferred to the
controller together with a generated RAPID program file (.pgf) that loads all
the given modules.

7.3 - Project and line tabs in the workspace area

The functionality of the project and line tab in the workspace area has been
extended. Now the same menu opens when right clicking the object in the tree
view as when right clicking the object on the project and line view.

7.4 - The PickMaster trial license is copied to the computer at installation

The PickMaster trial licenses is now copied to the computer at installation. It
is copied to the same folder as the PickMasteru.exe is installed in.

  1. PROBLEMS SOLVED IN 5.00

8.1 - PickMaster log not saved correctly for non-English languages

Saving the PickMaster log to text file now works for non-English languages. In
previous releases of PickMaster, the log was correctly saved only when using
English as user interface language.

  1. KNOWN ISSUES IN 5.00

9.1 - 3D view does not function properly after screen saver is activated

The 3D view used to present shapes, products and pallet patterns do not function
correctly after a screen saver has been active. Exiting the window and opening
it up again will resolve this problem.

9.2 - IRC5 Configuration reports IRB660 as a 6-axis robot

In the IRC5 Configuration of PickMaster the number of axis for each mechanical
unit is presented. The IRB260 and IRB660 are incorrectly presented as 6-axis
robots instead of 4-axis robots. This does not affect any functionality.

9.3 - Production performance (Event 50024, Corner path failure for each target)

During production with PickMaster 5.00 the event message 50024 Corner Path
Failure will occur during production. This performance issue adds approximately
200ms for each cycle (single pick and single place).
The message will fill the robot log and it may be suppressed by setting the
“Remove Corner Path Warning” parameter to “Yes”. It can be found in the system
configuration of the controller (Configuration → Motion → Motion Planner).

9.4 - RAPID-function PmGetWaHeight() return wrong value

The RAPID-function PmGetWaHeight() is supposed to return the Work Area’s current
product height expressed in connected work object frame. Currently the
displacement frame (configured in Operation Set Configuration) and the Robot
position (configured in Position Source Configuration) are added to the returned
value. The returned value from an empty Work Area is however always zero.

9.5 - Project transferred without requesting mastership of controller

Whenever a project transfer from a PC to a robot controller is initiated, no
mastership of the robot controller is requested by the PC. Thus, if two PC:s
transfer one project with the same name to the same controller at the same time,
the outcome is not specified.

9.6 - Not possible to start PickMaster FlexPendant application after RAPID errors

It is not possible to start the PickMaster FlexPendant application or transfer a
project from PickMaster PC application after a warm start with RAPID errors. The
PickMaster POWERON routine can not be run and the PickMaster process is for that
reason not initialized in a correct way.
Solve the RAPID errors and perform a new warm start.

9.7 - Dependencies within line and projects are not automatically updated

Changing the tool or work area in a line might affect the formats that use this
line and the format might need to be updated. This update of the projects that
use the line must be done by the user since it is NOT done automatically. After
changing a tool, please open the Format Configuration dialog box and make sure
that the format is ok or make the necessary changes and click OK.
A warning will be displayed in the PickMaster log window that the tool has
changed and that the format might need to be updated when opening the project.
The warning will disappear when the project is saved.
Similar messages are presented to the user when a work area is changed
(affecting position sources) and when Formats are changed (affecting Pallet
Pattern Operation Set).

9.8 - Wrong coverage in layout calculation

In Layout Configuration window, if there is no Palletizing area shape selected,
when selecting Library in Layout selection group, incorrect coverage will be
presented in the Available layouts list.
In order to avoid the above mentioned problem, create a pallet shape in the
project.

9.9 - Project Configuration print out problem

When using print function in Project Configuration window, the printed version
contains columns that overlap.
A possible workaround is first to save the project configuration in a *.txt
file. Then open the saved text file, copy the text to an Excel sheet and modify
the layout there.

9.10 - A few configuration dialog boxes are too big for a small screen

It is not possible to resize the dialog boxes, therefore OK and Cancel buttons
are not always visible. Increase the screen resolution to at least 1280x960 to
avoid the above mentioned problem.

9.11 - Power Fail

The system is not keeping any information in memory if a power failure occurs.
The entire project must therefore be restarted from beginning after that robot
tool and work areas are cleared.

9.12 - Too long project names not handled

If the complete path to the project residing on the controller is too long (path
to “…HOME/PickMaster/RC-Mode//Setup.xml” is more than 99
characters on the controller or more than 255 on the Virtual Controller), the
project appears to be transferred successfully even though it is not completely
transferred. Opening such a project from the FlexPendant application will cause
a few internal event messages.
Use a shorter project name to avoid this problem.

9.13 - RobotExecution signal

The behavior of the signal RobotExecution is unclear when it goes low during an
operation sequence. The targets belonging to a format or a pallet pattern are
always removed. The problem is that the RAPID instructions PmGetTarget and
PmGetTgtAction report an error if no new targets are generated, but they
consider the removed operation as finished if new targets are already generated.

9.15 - Shapes do not always snap in place

When editing a layout in the Layout Editor, in some cases the shapes will not
automatically snap into the place next to another shape. Instead, the user must
make sure to drop the shape in the correct position.