How to setup your PC to communicate with robot

This section describes how to connect your PC to the robot controller.

You can either connect the PC to the controller through an Ethernet network or directly to the controller service port. When using the controller service port, you can either obtain an IP address for the PC automatically, or you can specify a fixed IP address.

When the PC and the controller are connected correctly, the controller is automatically detected by RobotStudio.

Connecting the PC to the controller is necessary for all online tasks performed in RobotStudio. For example, downloading a robot system or files to the controller, editing configuration files, programming and so on.

The connection is also used for downloading a FlexPendant application to the controller file system and test it on the real FlexPendant device.

It also enables you to communicate with the controller by means of a console window on the PC and get valuable information about controller status, FlexPendant memory consumption and so on.

If the controller is connected to an Ethernet network, you can connect the PC to that network as well. The settings to use on the PC depends on the network configuration. To find out how to set up your PC, contact the network administrator.

An alternative to network connection is using the controller service port. It has a DHCP server that automatically gives your PC an IP address if it is configured for this. For more information about configuring the PC to obtain an IP address automatically, see Windows Help on Configure TCP/IP settings .

Note

Obtaining an IP address automatically might fail if the PC already has an IP address from another controller or Ethernet device. To make sure that you get a correct IP address if the PC has already been connected to an Ethernet device, do one of the following: Restart the PC before connecting to the controller. Run the command ipconfig/renew from the command prompt after connecting the PC to the controller.

In order to use the console window of the IRC5 controller you can connect your PC with a serial null-modem cable to the console port of the controller.

Note
The cable must be a twisted cable with a female DB-9 connector in each end.

Instead of obtaining an IP address automatically, you can specify a fixed IP address on the PC you connect to the controller.

Use the following settings for connecting with a fixed IP address: