Release Notes Robotstudio
Release Notes Robotstudio
Release Notes Robotstudio
RobotStudio
2019.1
Revision:-
The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and should not be
construed as a commitment by ABB. ABB assumes no responsibility for any errors that
may appear in this manual.
Except as may be expressly stated anywhere in this manual, nothing herein shall be
construed as any kind of guarantee or warranty by ABB for losses, damages to persons
or property, fitness for a specific purpose or the like.
In no event shall ABB be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from
use of this manual and products described herein.
This manual and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without ABB's written
permission.
The original language for this publication is English. Any other languages that are
supplied have been translated from English.
1 Release Information 5
1.1 General 5
4 Corrections 10
5 Known Limitations 11
5.2 Online 11
5.2.1 Online – Paint 11
5.2.2 Online – Integrated Vision 12
5.3 Offline 14
5.3.1 Conveyor Tracking 16
5.3.2 MultiMove 17
5.3.3 External Axis 17
5.3.4 Network Drives and UNC Paths 17
5.3.5 RAPID 18
5.3.6 Paint 19
5.3.7 Graphics and Geometry 19
6 RobotWare Compatibility 21
6.1 General 21
1 Release Information
1.1 General
Release Name
The release name is RobotStudio 2019.1 and the build number is 7.00.8460.0151. Note that
non-English manuals are of the 6.08 version. The 6.09/2019.1 manuals are not translated
from English.
Release Date
The release date is May 29th, 2019.
Demo stations
The following demo stations are included in this version.
• Demo AW Station
• Demo Solar Simulation
• Demo Exhaust Pipe
• Demo FlexLoader
• SC demo station finished.rspag
• SC demo station start.rspag
They are stored in the Pack & Go format (.rspag) and can be opened with the command
Unpack & Work on the Share section of the RobotStudio menu.
Tutorials
Tutorials are available at the RobotStudio product pages at
http://www.abb.com/roboticssoftware
Documentation
User documentation for RobotStudio is available from the Help button ( ) in the upper-
right corner of RobotStudio.
The complete documentation in PDF for RobotWare including RobotStudio is available from
the Help menu in RobotStudio for Premium users. Internet connection is required.
Recommended Software
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 64-bit edition
Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary update 64-bit edition
or later
ABB RobotWare 6.x
It is recommended to run Windows Update to get the latest updates to Windows prior to
installing and running RobotStudio. This applies to any of the operating systems above.
Note
The Windows Firewall will try to block features necessary to run RobotStudio. Make sure
to unblock these features when asked (Industrial Robot Discovery Server, RobotStudio
StudioAppFramework module, Virtual RobotController (all published by ABB)). The
blocking state of a certain program can be viewed and changed at Start/Control
Panel/Windows Security Center/Windows Firewall. Read more on
http://www.microsoft.com.
Recommended Hardware
Item Requirement
CPU 2.0 GHz or faster processor, multiple cores recommended
Memory 8 GB minimium
16 GB or more if working with large CAD models
Disk 10+ GB free space, solid state drive (SSD)
Graphics card1 High-performance, DirectX 11 compatible, gaming graphics card from
any of the leading vendors. For the Advanced lightning mode Direct3D
feature level 10_1 or higher is required.
Screen resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels or higher is recommended
DPI Normal size (100% / 96 dpi) up to Large size (150% / 144 dpi)
Only Normal size supported for Integrated Vision.
Mouse Three-button mouse
3D Mouse [optional] Any 3D mouse from 3DConnexion, see http://www.3dconnexion.com.
Virtual Reality Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or any Windows Mixed Reality Headset. Note
Headset that special PC hardware requirements apply when using RobotStudio
with VR, see https://www.oculus.com/oculus-ready-pcs/,
https://www.vive.com/us/ready/, or, https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/windows/windows-mixed-reality-devices, respectively.
1
A note on graphics cards and PC hardware. RobotStudio will not benefit from the
additional features of so-called ‘Professional’ or ‘Workstation’ graphics cards. The price level
of these are at a much higher range than gaming graphics cards with comparable
performance. High-end gaming PCs are very suitable for offline programming with
RobotStudio. Such a PC will provide good performance for a limited budget.
Changes in licensing
With RobotStudio 2019 we need to upgrade a vital part of our licensing system in order to:
• Reduce illegal use of our trial licenses
• Prepare our systems for new features
• Ensure a modern and maintainable architecture
Current licenses will continue to run as usual on RobotStudio up to version 6.08 until their
expiry. Any future licenses purchased will only be compatible with RobotStudio 2019 and
up. On renewal we will ask you to update RobotStudio to its latest version. Finally, current
users will be receiving an email in the next few days with new license keys compatible with
RobotStudio 2019. If you wish to work immediately on the latest version of RobotStudio
2019, you can! Once again, these new license keys will not affect your current work or
existing licenses that will continue to run as usual.
You can always contact ABB Robotics software licensing support via e-mail:
softwarefactory_support@se.abb.com, or, your local ABB Robotics Service representative
for assistance with this transition process.
Overview
In previous versions of RobotStudio, the term System was used to denote the set of
RobotWare files that defined the virtual controller setup for the currently used robot and its
RobotWare options. This term has been replaced by Virtual Controller whenever possible.
The function as such is the same.
This applies to several places in the user interface and the user documentation. Also the
folders named System in the user documents location and in Solution folders have been
renamed.
Overview
RobotWare is no longer installed with RobotStudio, but have to be installed separately.
RobotWare can be downloaded and installed from the RobotApps page in RobotStudio, see
screenshot below.
Overview
The linked document describes all new features and changes to RobotStudio 2019.1
https://robotstudiocdn.azureedge.net/documentation/RobotStudio_2019.1_News.pdf
CAD formats
The table below lists all formats and versions supported by RobotStudio
CATIA V4, reads versions 4.1.9 to 4.2.4* .model, .exp, .session CATIA
CATIA V5/V6, .CATPart, .CATProduct, CATIA
reads versions V5R8 – V5/V6R2019 .CGR, .3DXML
writes V5R15 – V5/V6R2019*
COLLADA 1.4.1 .dae -
DirectX writes 2.0 .x -
*
DXF/DWG, reads versions 2.5 - 2019 .dxf, .dwg AutoCAD
FBX writes version 7.5 .fbx -
IGES, reads up to version 5.3, writes version .igs, .iges IGES
5.3*
Inventor, reads V6 – V2019* .ipt, .iam Inventor
JT, reads versions 8.x, 9.x and 10 and 10,2* .jt JT
LDraw, reads version 1.0.2 .ldr, .ldraw, .mpd -
NX, reads versions NX 11 – NX 12.0.0* .prt NX
OBJ .obj -
Parasolid, reads versions 9.0.* – 31.0.x. *
.x_t, .xmt_txt, .x_b, Parasolid
.xmt_bin
Pro/E / Creo, reads versions 16 – Creo 5.0* .prt, .prt.*, .asm, .asm.* Creo
Solid Edge, reads versions V18 – ST11 *
.par, .asm, .psm SolidEdge
SolidWorks, reads versions 2003 – 2019 *
.sldprt, .sldasm SolidWorks
STEP, reads versions AP203, AP214, stp, step, p21 STEP
AP242, writes version AP214 *
STL stl -
*
VDA-FS, reads 1.0 and 2.0, writes 2.0 vda, vdafs VDA-FS
VRML, reads VRML2 (VRML1 not supported) wrl, vrml, vrml2 -
* Supported only in the 64-bit version of RobotStudio.
4 Corrections
Overview
This section lists the corrections made.
PDDs
ID Title
9276 Visual SafeMove: The function to automatically generate a zone fails if two
geometries are used for the upper arm.
9671 Signal Analyzer: Cannot distinguish joint “J1” from different mechanical units in
Excel report.
9672 Signal Analyzer Online: Initial values of motion signas not visualized in beginning of
recording.
9824 The function Move Along Path fails for paths defined as LOCAL
10147 Online Monitor: Zoom in / Zoom out commands does not work in Online Monitor.
10192 Failed to save station, when saving to StationBackups folder.
10360 Unable to open HOME folder for virtual controllers
10719 Station Viewer: Unable move forward in simulation with arrow keys
10736 Physics cable creation not working
10913 3D attachment jumps when simulations stopped manually
11021 Mirror Path: Exception if “Receiveing Robot” is not set.
11093 RAPID Editor / Modify Position: External axis value are deleted
11094 Joint jog: Lock TCP not using correct tooldata for IRB 5350
11133 Create backup: Fails for long file paths
11141 Problems when using RobotWare 5.13 or lower.
11204 Physics cable is getting longer instead of shorter by using the “Shorter” function
11215 Smart Components / Station Logic: Fatal error when connecting output of LogicGate
11228 to I/O input
11219 Pack & Go / Unpack & Work: File size very large if RobotWare Add-In
MotorsAndGearUnits added to virtual controller
11226 Jobs / Backup: Fails if white-space included if white space added to beginning or
end of name string
11270 RAPID Path Editor: Unable to edit SpotL instructions
11322 Visual SafeMove: Unable to restore safety configuration if LockInfo and
ValidationInfo was in wrong order in safety configuration file.
11332 Smart Component Design View / Signals and Connection: Missing child Signals in
Expose Child Signal dialog
11335 YuMi AbsAcc Recovery routine is missing in RW6.08.01
11385 Visual SafeMove: SafeMove Report shows internal Function Mappings which are not
configured by the user
11391 Physics: Exception when opening station if physics joints are configured between
parts of a component group.
11411 Collision avoidance configuration tool: Bad performance when adding many large
objects
5 Known Limitations
Overview
This section describes known limitations in RobotStudio.
Protected checksum may change when upgrading RW from 6.04.0x to 6.05 or 6.06
The protected checksum will change if the input and output modules of the internal device is
protected. The reason is that two attributes change order.
No visualization of Safe Range for external axes in Visual SafeMove for SafeMove Basic or Pro
When Safe Range is used to limit the axis range of an external axis such as a track motion,
there will be no visual indication of the actual range in the graphic view.
Visual SafeMove windows can be re-opened from the Quick Access Toolbar menu
Any windows that are closed can be re-opened using the Quick Access Toolbar menu, as
the command Default Layout does not recover these windows.
SafeMove Tool Zone visualization in Online Monitor for robots with external axes
Only TCP robots and track mounted robots will be visualized in the Online Monitor, no other
external axes or positioners.
As a consequence, the Online Monitor may show the robot in a non-violating position, even
though the safety controller has detected a safety violation and stopped the robot.
5.2 Online
Individual RAPID tasks cannot be stopped for RobotWare 5.60 and later
When running multitasking systems, it is not possible to start and stop individual tasks with
the dropdown menu of the task node in the Controller browser. This is due a restriction
introduced with RobotWare 5.60 and later.
However, from RobotWare 6.03 onwards, then RAPID tasks to execute or to stop can be
selected from RobotStudio RAPID tab.
Backup for Paint systems does not create backup of the PIB for IRC5P with RobotWare 5.xx
The Backup function of RobotStudio does not create a backup of the PIB board of the
IRC5P system when running RobotWare 5.xx.
Workaround: Create the backup of the PIB board with the FlexPaint Pendant using an
USB-stick.
*RobotStudio may hang for up to 60 seconds when configuring jobs with PatMax 1-50
The user interface of RobotStudio may freeze for up to 60 seconds when configuration
Integrated Vision jobs with the tool PatMax 1-50.
Workaround: Use PatMax 1-10 instead.
Remaining error – VC started from Controller->Add controller does not detect cameras
A VC that is started from Controller->Add controller does not detect cameras on the
network, even if the VC_network_definition.xml is correctly configured and the firewall is
turned off. The reason is that the controller is not able to detect new cameras on the
network when it is in “Motors On” state. When the VC is started stand-alone in RobotStudio
it is automatically set to “Motors On“ when started.
Workaround: To allow it to discover cameras, turn the control panel key to manual mode or
launch the VC as part of a station.
User tip – Warm start the controller after changing network settings
Whenever changing the network settings of the camera, either from Connect->Add Sensor
or Connect->Network settings, it is important to warm start the controller. If this is not done,
RAPID instructions will give the error “Communication Error” and the FTP-mounted camera
disk is not accessible. If DHCP address is used and persist, please try a static address
instead.
5.3 Offline
The robot IRB 1600ID 1.55 m / 6kg replaced by IRB 1660ID1.55 m / 6 kg in RobotWare 6.04
The robot IRB 1600ID 1.55 m / 6 kg is not available in RobotWare 6.04 and later. It has
been renamed to IRB 1660ID 1.55 m / 6 kg. Virtual controller systems for IRB 1600ID 1.55
m / 6 kg based on RobotWare 6.03 cannot upgraded to RobotWare 6.04 and later. This
means that Pack&Go files for this robot based on RobotWare 6.03 cannot be upgraded to
RobotWare 6.04 automatically
Workaround: Re-build or modify the virtual controller system to use IRB 1660ID 1.55 m / 6
kg instead when using RobotWare 6.04 or later.
Backup fails for RobotStudio solutions with SafeMove or Electronic Position Switches
Backups are automatically created for virtual controller systems that are part of a
RobotStudio solution when saving the station. For virtual controller systems with the
RobotWare options SafeMove or Electronic Positioning Switches the backup will fail since
these systems contain files that are read-only. As a result, an error message is presented in
the output window: “<System name>: Backup failed”. The station will be successfully saved
but there will be no backup created.
Workaround: Ignore the error message “<System name>: Backup failed” and create a
manual backup whenever needed. The RobotStudio Option “Enable automatic backup of
controllers in solution” that is available in” RobotStudio Options -> Robotics -> Virtual
Controller” can be de-selected to disable the backup function.
VC does not start with RRI option and GSI folder structure missing.
The VC will hang when started with a system containing the RobotWare option RRI (Robot
Reference Interface) if the GSI folder structure is missing.
Workaround: create GSI Folder before starting the VC inside the HOME directory of the
system. See the Application Manual for Robot Reference interface for more information.
Incorrect default values for c1Position and c1Speed for RobotWare 5 with the PaintWare option
The default values for the parameters c1Position and c1Speed may become incorrect for a
virtual controller system. The symptom is that its attribute values are all zero, see snapshot
below.
Incorrect values
Workaround: Save the following lines to a CFG file named ‘TEMP.CFG’ or similar and load
in the virtual controller followed by a restart.
EIO:CFG_1.0:5:0::
#
EIO_SIGNAL:
5.3.2 MultiMove
Error 50091: ‘Restart not possible’ after warm start of a system with external axis
When restarting a system with activated mechanical units the activation state is lost. Then
the program can no longer be started from the Virtual FlexPendant, the RAPID Editor or the
RAPID Tasks window.
Workaround: Reset the program pointer (‘Program Pointer to Main’) before starting the
program from the Virtual FlexPendant, the RAPID Editor or the RAPID Tasks window, or,
start the program from the Simulation Play button.
Workaround: To resolve this, the user must explicitly grant the required permissions:
1. Open the file Virtual FlexPendant.exe.config located in
C:\Program Files (x86)\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\RobotStudio 5.61\Bin
2. Add the following lines
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
<startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
<supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.0"/></startup>
<runtime> <!-- THIS IS ONE OF THE NEW LINES!!! -->
<loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/> <!-- THIS IS ONE OF THE NEW LINES!!! -->
</runtime> <!-- THIS IS ONE OF THE NEW LINES!!! -->
</configuration>
The Virtual FlexPendant must be restarted for the changes to take effect.
For further information, see
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd409252(v=vs.100).aspx
Note
Windows security settings may prevent the file from being directly edited in the default
location. Copy the file to your local Documents folder to edit it. Upon completion, you
need to manual copy the file back to its original location.
5.3.5 RAPID
3. Sync back to controller, and remember to change the data declarations back to what you
want.
5.3.6 Paint
The new conveyor tracking module DSQC2000 is not supported for paint robots.
The new conveyor tracking module DSQC2000 is not supported for paint robots.
*First character of part name incorrect when importing assemblies or converting files
The first character of part or assembly names may become incorrect when importing CAD
parts or assemblies into a RobotStudio station. The error only occurs on Windows 7.
Enforce selected graphics device for PCs with multiple graphics cards
For best performance when running RobotStudio on a PC with multiple graphics cards,
RobotStudio can be configured to use a specified device. By this option you can ensure
maximum performance. This is useful for e.g. Lenovo W540 that has both an integrated Intel
graphics device and a discrete NVIDIA card.
Open the file RobotStudio.exe.config that is located in the folders
C:\Program Files (x86)\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\RobotStudio x.y\Bin64
and
C:\Program Files (x86)\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\RobotStudio x.y\Bin
and uncomment the line
<add key="GraphicsDeviceType" value="Discrete"/>
Valid values are 'Discrete', 'Integrated' and 'Warp' (software renderer).
Note that there are two different files, one for the 32-bit version, and another for the 64-bit
version.
A ScreenMaker application may fail to build if the DPI setting is not set to 100%
Certain UI controls in ScreenMaker may fail to build correctly if the DPI setting is not set to
‘Smaller – 100%’.
Symptom: The error message caused by this problem will read ‘System.Drawing.Font’
does not contain a constructor that takes 2 arguments.
Workaround: Set DPI to 100% on your PC.
File changes to FlexPendant applications does not load the changes until a FlexPendant reset
With RobotWare 6.0x the controller's restart will no longer reset the FlexPendant memory.
This was part of an effort to improve the restart time of the controller.
This means that after placing a new FlexPendant application file(s) on the FlexPendant unit,
you need to manually reset the FlexPendant for it to reload its assets.
To manually reset the FlexPendant you need to use the reset button on the FlexPendant's
backside. (See Operating Manual – IRC5 with FlexPendant, 3HAC16590)
6 RobotWare Compatibility
6.1 General
General
The location of the program pointer is not updated in the RAPID Editor during program
execution.
Offline
A limitation in the versions 5.07.02, 5.07.03, and, 5.07.04 of RobotWare may cause the
Virtual Controller to System Failure state during I-start on certain computers. The problem is
due to the ctrl.bin-file not being correctly created.
Workaround: Create an empty ctrl.bin file in the INTERNAL folder of the controller system,
and then perform a warm start.
Note
The virtual controller does not support RobotWare 5.07.08 and RobotWare 5.07.07.
Online
FlexPendant Viewer does not work RobotWare 5.07
Offline
RobotWare 5.08 is not supported.
Workaround: Use RobotWare 5.08.01 or later.
Offline
Starting a controller will generate internal UAS error in controller error log.
Offline
Linear jogging of a robot across joint values that will cause a change of confdata may fail.
For example, if the robot is jogged linearly when joint values is passing 90 degrees for axis
1 may cause the robot to stop or to change configuration.
-Access "ALL"
-Access "ALL"
EIO_CROSS:
SYS.CFG:
CAB_TASK_MODULES:
-Task "T_ROB1"
-Hidden
Overview
RobotWare 6.00 and 6.00.01 systems cannot be directly upgraded to RobotWare 6.01. To
upgrade a system, you need to create backup and migrate it using the tool ‘Migrate Backup
or Folder’, then recreate the system and finally, restore the backup.
For this reason, the functions ‘Unpack&Work’, ‘Go Offline’ and ‘New Solution with Station
and Robot Controller – From backup’ are blocked to prevent upgrade from RobotWare 6.00
or 6.00.01 to RobotWare 6.01.
RobotStudio, however, is compatible with both RobotWare 6.00 / 6.00.01 and 6.01.
Safety Configuration
Safety configuration of a track motion IRC5 system equipped with a safety controller of type
EPS or SafeMove can be done without the need to read track motion parameters manually
when using RobotWare 5.11.01 or later. Encrypted parameters needed by the safety
controller will be automatically read by EPS Wizard and SafeMove Configurator,
respectively.
Configurations
The feature Configurations for selecting the robot arm configuration (confdata) may fail,
or not present all solutions, in some specific circumstances even when the target is
reachable if RobotWare 5.14 or earlier is used.
Workaround: Upgrade to RW5.14.01 or later
RobotWare
It is possible to use previous RobotWare versions, but with some limitations.
• ActionTrigger will work only on RobotWare 5.12.02 or later.
• The controls Button, TpsLabel and PictureBox controls was modified in
RobotStudio 5.13. The property ‘Allow MultipleStates’ of these controls can be
accessed from RobotWare 5.13 and later.
• Variant Button will work only on RobotWare 5.14.01 or later
• Conditional Trigger will work only on RobotWare 5.14.01 or later
• Widgets will work only on RobotWare 5.60 or later.
FlexPendant SDK
ScreenMaker should be used with FlexPendant SDK 5.12.02 or later. ScreenMaker allows
selection of FlexPendant SDK version when it is launched. If only one version of
FlexPendant SDK is available in the system, it is loaded by default.