What Is a Robot Teach Pendant?
Anyone who has worked in a factory for a period of time has basically seen a picture: the operator is holding a device that looks like a “remote control” in his hand, staring at the robot while moving its position a little bit. This thing, in fact, is the robot's most central “interaction portal” - teach pendant.
Many people just contact with industrial robots, will ask what this thing in the end? Why can't we do many operations without it? We usually do FANUC, ABB, KUKA, these brands of parts, teach pendant is considered the most common, but also one of the most easily broken parts. After using it for a long time, you will realize that it looks simple, but actually quite critical.
What is a robot teach pendant?
To put it simply, a teach pendant is a tool for you to talk to your robot.
You can think of it as a 3-in-1 device:
* Remote control (to control the robot's movements)
* Programming tool (to write programs)
* Fault Viewer (to see the alarm)
Basically, as long as it involves new equipment debugging, path adjustment, routine maintenance, alarm troubleshooting. You can't get away from it. Some customers have broken machine trainers, the first reaction is “can still run first?” The reality is that in many cases directly paralyzed, especially when you need to change the program.
What can it do in practice?
It's too abstract to theorize, so let's get right down to the most common uses in the field.
1. The most commonly used action: Jog
When you first start tuning a robot, the first step is always to move it slowly.
You will use the teach pendant to move a single axis (for example, only move J1, J2), a little bit of position to find the reference point. This step is very critical, especially when doing fixture alignment, weld paths, and loading/unloading points. A lot of precision problems, in fact, this step is not adjusted.
2. Writing program, in fact, many people are taught
Theoretically, you can directly write the code, but the reality is that many programs are recorded while moving the robot.
The process is probably to move the robot to a point, then record the position, then move to the next point, and finally put together a path. That's why it's called “teach pendant”. Like FANUC's teach pendant, many operators can directly use TP programming can be done, do not necessarily need complex software.
3. Look at the alarm, basically the first look at it!
Once the equipment stops, the first thing the field engineer is not to look at the electrical cabinet, but to look up at the teach pendant screen. Above will display the alarm code, fault information, current status, I / O signal. A lot of problems, in fact, can be judged from here.
Safety Controls: This is something that is easily overlooked!
There are usually two key things on the demonstrator, the red emergency stop button (E-stop) and the three-stage enable switch (Deadman) on the back. The “Enable Switch” in particular is something that many newbies are not used to.
It must be pressed in the center position for the robot to move:
* Let go → stop
* Squeeze hard → also stop
This is actually a very clever design to prevent misuse.
When you take it apart, it's really just a few pieces
Different brands look different, but the structure is pretty much the same.
- Screen
The newer ones are basically touch screens now, but the older devices still have a lot of buttons + a small screen. You can see programs, coordinates, alarms, system status.
- Button area
This is one of the easiest places to break. Because every day you press the arrow keys, function keys and numeric inputs. It's common for the buttons to not work over time.
- Emergency Stop Button
Needless to say, safety first.
- Enabling switch on the back
This is often overlooked, but if it breaks, the robot won't move.
- The wire (many people ignore its importance)
To be honest, in our maintenance experience, the most likely to break the teach pendant is not the screen, but the cable. The reason is very simple, it is dragged, bent back and forth, pressed and pinched every day. After a long time, the internal broken wires and poor contact will come.
How does it communicate with the robot?
It's a very simple process:
1. You press an action on the teach pendant.
2. The signal is transmitted to the controller.
3. The controller calculates.
4. The robot executes it.
5. And then you get the results back.
This is all happening in real time. So if there's a communication problem, it's basically an error.
Different brands, they don't all look the same
Each manufacturer has its own design, like:
* ABB's FlexPendant
* FANUC's Teach Pendant
* KUKA's smartPAD
If you use it for a long time, you will find that the operating logic is quite different, especially the menu structure and programming method.
A lot of people get confused: Teach Pendant vs Controller vs Operator Panel
Let's briefly explain the differences:
* Instructor: held in the hand (programming + control)
* Controller: the brain of the machine (in the electrical cabinet)
* HMI panel: fixed on the machine tool operator interface
The characteristics of the demonstrator are flexibility, ready to take with you, and direct control of the robot.
When selecting or replacing, there are several pitfalls to pay attention to
This is where we often encounter customers stepping on the pit:
* The model must match (can not just change)
* Controller version to correspond
* Interface type should be the same
* The cable length should be appropriate
Some customers buy the wrong model, plugged directly into the non-communication.
