Iconics Genesis V11 - MELFA connection + Asset Builder - gathering data from an iQ-R integrated robot (R16RTCPU)

Iconics Genesis V11 - MELFA connection + Asset Builder - gathering data from an iQ-R integrated robot (R16RTCPU)

Info
This article shows how to directly connect Genesis V11 with MELFA robots running on iQ-R integrated R16RTCPU controllers. It also describes how to automatically generate assets and displays with robot data using the Asset Builder.

Robot configuration

RT Toolbox3

Using a Teaching Box or RT Toolbox3, check if Use the CPU buffer memory extended function bit in IQMEM parameter is enabled. If it is not, turn on bit 0 of the parameter to 1:

GX Works3

Procedures for configuring buffer memory extended functions is described in detail in iQ Platform Supporting Extended Function Instruction Manual, which is attached to this article as a PDF file. The Reference column below shows which chapter of this manual can provide more context on the required settings.



MELFA connection configuration

To add a connection to your robot, right-click on Mitsubishi Electric FA in the Data Connectivity section of your project in Workbench and select Add MELFA:


Set the name to easily identify the device, select R16RTCPU as the controller type and put in the IP addresses of your server's Ethernet port and of your robot controler. If your settings are correct and your robot is available on the network, you should receive a success message after clicking on Click to test the communication. You can also set and check the device offset in case your project includes multiple CPUs:



After saving your settings right-click on your robot and select Activate Device to start the cyclic communication:


You now have acccess to robot data in your Genesis application. A predefined set of variables should be visible in the project tree under your robot organized in a few categories.

Asset Builder


Generating assets and displays

Right-click on your robot under Data Connectivity in Workbench, then select Asset Builder:



In the popup window select the location of your robot asset and directory where your display files will be created. You can also choose to overwrite existing assets and displays if necessary:


After clicking Create Instances, the Asset Builder will work in background to generate assets and displays in the locations you configured. You can check the status of this task in the Recent Tasks tab:


Wait until the task is successfully completed. Right-click on the task to view its log in case of an error.

After the Asset Builder task is finished, you should see an asset in your configured location with all of your robot data. The GraphWorX displays generated in the configured directory are prepared to present it.


Using the template displays

After opening the template displays in GraphWorX or a web browser, navigate the asset tree to see the list of all robots in selected locations:


Clicking on a robot will open a detailed view with more information:


Notes
The information in greyed-out parts of the displays is only available for robots using the Melfa Smart Plus card with Preventive Maintenance function enabled.

Switch between tabs to see different sets of data:










Template customization


The template displays use global colors with MelcoDSB prefix that are added to your project after running the Asset Builder (Platform Services -> Global Aliasing -> Global Colors in Workbench). In case your displays are missing some colors from the screenshots above, make sure your visualization uses a theme which has those colors configured. You can also modify them to adjust the color scheme.



The displays and assets are fully open for customization. You can also adjust the Equipment Class templates in Workbench before running the Asset Builder so that all your generated robot assets are already adjusted to your needs. For example, some graph settings can be changed in the User configurable items section of the Equipment Class.

The Icon Path property defines what images are shown next to your robots. The files are stored in the same directory as your displays. If you modify the expression, you can add more robot models to the visualization or generate individual images for each robot based on the Display Name instead of the robot type if desired.



Notes
More information about Asset Builder templates can be found in the official GENESIS documentation:
https://documentation.iconics.com/v11/Content/Asset-Builder/about-asset-builder.htm