RS485 Test

1 Control Cabinet Interface Board Pass-through RS485 Test

Interface board pass-through RS485 means that RS485 is connected to the interface board and can be configured by software. It has a unified mapped port number: ttyIfaceBrd

Note: The interface board pass-through 485 function must be tested with ARCS: 0.31.0 branch together with firmware: v1.1.1 or later. Versions earlier than v1.1.1 do not have the interface board pass-through 485 function.

1.1 Preparing Tools

USB-to-RS485 serial cable, XCOM V2.3, Dupont wires (two)

XCOM V2.3: https://download.aubo-robotics.cn/3rd-party/XCOM_V2.3.zip

1.2 Connecting Cables

Connect a nine-pin USB-to-485 cable to the control cabinet through Dupont wires. For iS wiring, connect pin 1 to 485_A and pin 2 to 485_B. For the new C control cabinet, connect pin 1 to A2 and pin 2 to B2, as shown in the figure below.

Currently, only the iS control cabinet and new C control cabinet support the interface board pass-through RS485 function. Other models do not support it for the time being. If you need to use the RS485 function, use native RS485 (RS485 connected to the industrial PC) or USB-to-RS485.

	iS Control Cabinet	New C Control Cabinet
485 IO Silkscreen	485_A, 485_B	A2, B2
Mapped Port Number	ttyIfaceBrd	ttyIfaceBrd

1.3 Configuring Serial Port Information

The default parameters of interface board pass-through RS485 are baud rate: 115200, stop bits: 1, and no parity. To modify them, add configurations in the aubo_control.conf file or configure the parameters in real time through the host computer.

1.3.1 Configuration Method 1

Add the following configuration to the [RobotHw.options] item under [[RobotHw]] in /root/arcs_ws/aubo_control.conf. If it is not added, the defaults are baud rate 115200, stop bit 1, and no parity.

[RobotHw.options.ifacebrd_serial]  
		baudrate = "115200" # Baud rates supported by the control cabinet interface board pass-through RS485 serial port: "4800" "9600" "19200" "38400" "57600" "115200"
        stopbits = "1" # Stop bits supported by the control cabinet interface board RS485 serial port: "1" "0.5" "1.5" "2"
        parity = "none" # Parity bits supported by the control cabinet interface board pass-through RS485 serial port: "none" "even" "odd"

The configuration position in /root/arcs_ws/aubo_control.conf is shown below.

[[RobotHw]]
location = "extensions/hardware_interface/hardware_interface.so"  
bundle = "robot_driver"   
alias = "robot_driver1"  
[RobotHw.options]   
    friction_model_version = 3     
    port_mac = "01:01:01:01:01:01" 
    joints = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ]    
    slave_joints = [ 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ] 
    tool = 9 
    base = 8 
    master_board = 1 
    slave_board = 2 
    sync_period = 5000 
    can_port_mode = "DUAL_CAN_INV" 
    tool_bus_type = 1 # Tool-end serial port type: 0-modbus 1-485 serial port 2-force sensor 
    baudrate = "115200" # Baud rates supported by the tool-end serial port: "4800" "9600" "19200" "38400" "57600" "115200" 
    stopbits = "1" # Stop bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "1" "0.5" "1.5" "2" 
    parity = "none" # Parity bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "none" "even" "odd" 
     [RobotHw.options.ifacebrd_serial] 
			baudrate = "115200" # Baud rates supported by the control cabinet interface board pass-through RS485 serial port: "4800" "9600" "19200" "38400" "57600" "115200"
    	stopbits = "1" # Stop bits supported by the control cabinet interface board RS485 serial port: "1" "0.5" "1.5" "2" 
    	parity = "none" # Parity bits supported by the control cabinet interface board pass-through RS485 serial port: "none" "even" "odd"

After the configuration is complete, restart aubo_control.

systemctl restart aubo_control

1.3.2 Configuration Method 2

Configure in real time through the host computer. Use a browser and TCP debugging assistant to send scripts. For usage, refer to 27 Using a Browser and TCP Debugging Assistant to Send Scripts · AUBO Application Notes

Server address: ws://192.168.10.150:9012 Use this port to send scripts. 192.168.10.150 is the IP address of the current device.

{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": "ri1godwu", "method": "rob1.RobotConfig.setHardwareCustomParameters", "params":["[ifacebrd_serial]\nbaudrate = \"115200\"\nstopbits = \"1\"\nparity = \"none\"\n"]}

1.4 Performing the Test

1. Use the ls /dev/tty* command. One more item, ttyIfaceBrd, appears in the device list, as shown in the figure below.

   

2. Enter cutecom in the terminal and press Enter to open the cutecom tool. If it cannot be opened, enter the following command to install it and then open it again.

   You can also use the command echo "test" > /dev/ttyIfaceBrd to directly send data to the computer's XCOM V2.3 serial assistant, and use cat /dev/ttyIfaceBrd to view the data sent by the serial assistant. Note: The cutecom tool in the 16.04 system is consistent with this document and can be used for normal testing. If the system version is 22.04, the /dev/ttyIfaceBrd serial port cannot be selected in cutecom for testing, and only commands can be used for testing.

   sudo apt-get install cutecom

   

3. Double-click the serial assistant XCOM V2.3 on the laptop to open it. Select the serial port (if there is no serial port, communication is not established or the cable is connected incorrectly). Set the baud rate, stop bits, data bits, and parity bits as shown in the figure. Click Open Serial Port.

   

4. Use XCOM V2.3 on the laptop (Windows system) to send information, and the debugging assistant cutecom at the other end can print the corresponding information. Similarly, use the debugging assistant cutecom to send information, and XCOM V2.3 also prints the information.

   

2 Control Cabinet Native RS485 Test

Control cabinet native 485 means that the RS485 serial port is connected to the industrial PC. The RS485 serial port numbers differ for different control cabinets.

2.1 Preparing Tools

USB-to-RS485 serial cable, XCOM V2.3, Dupont wires (two).

XCOM V2.3: https://download.aubo-robotics.cn/3rd-party/XCOM_V2.3.zip

2.2 Connecting Cables

Using the iS control cabinet as an example, connect a nine-pin USB-to-RS485 cable to the control cabinet through Dupont wires. The wiring method is pin 1 to pin 1 and pin 2 to pin 2, as shown in the figure below.

The RS485 serial port information for other control cabinets is shown in the table below.

	IS	Improved Control Cabinet	New C	S/ES3/ES5	Mini Control Box
485 IO Silkscreen	RS485	Modbus RTU	A1 B1	485+ 485-	COM2
Port Number	ttyS2	ttyS2	ttyS0	ttyS7	ttyS2
UI Display	RS485	Modbus RTU	[I/O] A1, B1	[I/O] 485+, 485-	COM2

2.3 Configuring Parameters

1. Enter the terminal of the control cabinet and set the serial port baud rate, data bits, parity, and stop bits.

   Default settings: baud rate 115200, 8 data bits, no parity bit, and 1 stop bit.

stty -F /dev/ttyS2 115200 cs8 -parenb -cstopb

• /dev/ttyS2 indicates the path of the ttyS2 serial device file.
• 115200 indicates the baud rate.
• cs8 indicates 8 data bits.
• -parenb indicates no parity bit. # parenb-parodd is even parity, parodd parodd: odd parity.
• -cstopb indicates that the stop bit is 1 bit. # cstopb means the stop bit is 2.

2. Open the terminal of the control cabinet and query the serial port parameters.

stty -F /dev/ttyUSB0 -a

2.4 Performing the Test

1. Enter cutecom in the terminal and press Enter to open the cutecom tool. If it cannot be opened, enter the following command to install it and then open it again.

You can also use the command echo "test" > /dev/ttyS2 to directly send data to the computer's XCOM V2.3 serial assistant, and use cat /dev/ttyS2 to view the data sent by the serial assistant.

sudo apt-get install cutecom

2. Double-click the serial assistant XCOM V2.3 on the laptop to open it. Select the serial port (if there is no serial port, communication is not established or the cable is connected incorrectly). Set the baud rate, stop bits, data bits, and parity bits as shown in the figure. Click Open Serial Port.

3. Use XCOM V2.3 on the laptop (Windows system) to send information, and the debugging assistant cutecom at the other end can print the corresponding information. Similarly, use the debugging assistant cutecom to send information, and XCOM V2.3 also prints the information.

3 Tool-end RS485 Test

Tool-end 485 refers to the RS485 serial port on the end of the robotic arm. Robotic arms with tool-end RS485 generally have two I/O ports at the tool end, and the four-core one is the tool-end RS485 communication interface.

3.1 Preparing Tools

Four-core 485 tool-end cable, USB-to-RS485 serial cable, XCOM V2.3, cutecom

Serial assistant downloaded on the laptop (Windows system): XCOM V2.3 https://download.aubo-robotics.cn/3rd-party/XCOM_V2.3.zip

Download for the control cabinet (Ubuntu system): cutecom

sudo apt-get install cutecom

3.2 Connecting Cables

Four-core tool-end cable wire sequence description:

Network Definition	Cable Color
VCC	Brown
GND	Black
T/R+	White
T/R-	Blue

485-to-USB cables may come from different manufacturers, and the positive/negative silkscreen may be 485+/485-, A/B, TR+/TR-, or even D+/D-. Wire according to the actual situation.

3.3 Configuring Parameters

Modify /root/arcs_ws/aubo_control.conf as configured below: the tool end is 485, baud rate 115200, stop bit 1, and no parity.

tool_bus_type = 1 # Tool-end serial port type: 0-modbus 1-485 serial port 2-force sensor
baudrate = "115200" # Baud rates supported by the tool-end serial port: "4800" "9600" "19200" "38400" "57600" "115200"
stopbits = "1" # Stop bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "1" "0.5" "1.5" "2"
parity = "none" # Parity bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "none" "even" "odd"

Example:

[[RobotHw]]
location = "extensions/hardware_interface/hardware_interface.so"
bundle = "robot_driver"
alias = "robot_driver1"
[RobotHw.options]
    friction_model_version = 3
    bus_driver = "pcap:enp2s0"
    port_mac = "01:01:01:01:01:01"
    joints = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ]
    slave_joints = [ 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ]
    tool = 9
    base = 8
    master_board = 1
    slave_board = 2
    sync_period = 5000
    can_port_mode = "DUAL_CAN_INV"
        tool_bus_type = 1 # Tool-end serial port type: 0-modbus 1-485 serial port 2-force sensor
        baudrate = "115200" # Baud rates supported by the tool-end serial port: "4800" "9600" "19200" "38400" "57600" "115
        200" "230400" "460800"
        stopbits = "1" # Stop bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "1" "0.5" "1.5" "2"
        parity = "none" # Parity bits supported by the tool-end serial port: "none" "even" "odd"

3.4 Performing the Test

1. After the configuration is complete, restart aubo_control.

systemctl restart aubo_control

2. After power-on and brake release, one more item, ttyRobotTool, appears in the /dev device list.

ls /dev/tty*

3. After the communication cable is assembled, connect one end to the end of the robotic arm and the other end to the laptop.

4. Open cutecom on the control cabinet. Enter cutecom in the terminal and press Enter to open it. Note: The cutecom tool in the 16.04 system is consistent with this document and can be used for normal testing. If the system version is 22.04, the /dev/ttyRobotTool serial port cannot be selected in cutecom for testing, and only commands can be used for testing.

cutecom

5. Double-click the serial assistant XCOM V2.3 on the laptop to open it. Select the serial port (if there is no serial port, communication is not established or the cable is connected incorrectly). Set the baud rate, stop bits, data bits, and parity bits as shown in the figure. Click Open Serial Port.

6. Use XCOM V2.3 on the laptop (Windows system) to send information, and the debugging assistant cutecom at the other end can print the corresponding information. Similarly, use the debugging assistant cutecom to send information, and XCOM V2.3 also prints the information.