Controlling the Screwdriver

This section covers the details of how to control the screwdriver, by running configurable actions mapped to the digital inputs.

The recommended pulse width for the digital inputs is 50 ms or more.

Activation

DI8 tells the Spin Bridge that a robot is connected to it. Setting it high activates the Spin Bridge in I/O mode, and the system is ready when DO1 is high. Setting it low is a disconnection: the Spin Bridge stops all operation and cuts power to the tool.

This is the I/O equivalent of a Universal Robots or Kassow robot connecting over ethernet. The Spin Bridge treats the two the same way, so a robot that stops driving DI8 is a robot that has gone away.

Selecting an Action

The actions are selected by setting the DI 1-5 to the desired value.

Starting the Action

The action is started on the rising edge of DI6, and runs until it is completed. Starting another action needs a new rising edge, so DI6 has to go low in between.

Signaling an External Event

The rising edge of DI7 signals an external event to the Spin Bridge. A step of a screw program can be configured to react to that event by proceeding to the next step, which is how the robot decides when the program moves on.