Fanuc Robot Communication SDK for LabVIEW

UnderAutomation.Fanuc for LabVIEW is a library of VIs that communicates with Fanuc robot controllers (R-J3iB, R-30iA, R-30iB, R-50iA) and with ROBOGUIDE. It wraps the .NET SDK UnderAutomation.Fanuc.dll. Nothing is installed on the robot. No PCDK and no Robot Interface are needed on the PC.

Use it to read and write variables and registers, run and stop programs, reset alarms, set and simulate I/O, and read the position, the I/O states and the safety status of the robot.

• Product page: underautomation.com/fanuc
• Documentation: underautomation.com/fanuc/documentation
• Also available for .NET: Fanuc.NET, and for Python: Fanuc.py

Overview.of.LabVIEW.Library.for.Fanuc.mp4

What you can do

Feature	Protocol	Controller option
Run, pause, hold, abort programs, read and write variables, reset alarms, set and simulate ports	Telnet KCL	none
Read variable files, registers, I/O states, safety status, alarm history, current position, transfer files	FTP	none
Fast read and write of registers, current position	SNPX	R553 "HMI Device SNPX" on FANUC America controllers (R650 FRA), none on FANUC Ltd. controllers (R651 FRL)
Run, pause and abort programs, read and write variables	CGTP (web server of the controller)	none

Installation

Each release of this repository has one zip per LabVIEW version, from 2010 to 2024: releases page. You can also clone this repository and open the folder LabVIEW_<version> of your version.

Each folder contains:

• UnderAutomation.Fanuc/UnderAutomation.Fanuc.lvlib: the library of VIs, with the DLL;
• Examples/1.Main demo.vi: a demo application that uses every protocol;
• UnderAutomation.Fanuc.lvproj: the LabVIEW project that contains both.

Getting started

Register the license

The library runs in trial mode for 30 days. After the trial, give your license key to RegisterLicense.vi. Call it each time the application starts, before ConnectToRobot.vi.

Connect to the robot

ConnectToRobot.vi connects to the robot with its IP address. Booleans enable or disable each protocol (Telnet, FTP, SNPX). Telnet needs its password, FTP needs a user and a password. The VI returns the robot and one reference per protocol: give them to the VIs below. DisconnectFromRobot.vi closes the connection.

Features

Telnet KCL

Telnet KCL sends commands to the controller: reset the alarms, write variables, set an I/O... It needs no option on the controller. To enable Telnet on the robot or in ROBOGUIDE, follow this tutorial.

To run a program:

• set $RMT_MASTER = 1 and $REMOTE_CFG.$REMOTE_TYPE = 1 (with SetVariableValue.vi);
• turn the switch of the teach pendant off;
• reset the alarms.

The other VIs of the Telnet folder:

VI	Diagram
Pause.vi
Continue.vi
Hold.vi
Abort.vi
AbortAllPrograms.vi
ClearProgram.vi
GetCurrentPosition.vi
GetVariableValue.vi
SetVariableValue.vi
ClearVariables.vi
ResetAlarms.vi
SetPort.vi
Simulate.vi
Unsimulate.vi
UnsimulateAll.vi
TelnetIsConnected.vi

GetTaskInfo.vi reads the state of a task.

FTP

FTP gives access to the files of the controller, and reads and decodes the variable files (.va) and the diagnostic files (.dg).

VI	Diagram
GetFtpCurrentPosition.vi
GetIoState.vi
GetSafetyStatus.vi
GetAllErrorsList.vi
Numeric registers (KnownVariableFiles)
Position registers (KnownVariableFiles)
String registers (KnownVariableFiles)

Front panel of the I/O states:

GetAllVariables.vi, GetVariableFiles.vi and GetVariableFromFile.vi read the variables, and the VIs of DirectFileHandling transfer files.

SNPX

SNPX (also known as SRTP, RobotIF or Robot Interface) reads and writes data on the robot quickly. The TCP port of the Robot IF server (60008 by default) must be reachable on the controller. In ROBOGUIDE, the parameters are chosen in the "Advanced" tab of step 7 "Robot options" of the workcell creation wizard: "FANUC America Corp." (R650 FRA) needs option R553 "HMI Device SNPX", "FANUC Ltd." (R651 FRL) needs no option.

VI	Diagram
GetWorldPosition.vi
GetUserFramePosition.vi
Read a position register
Write a Cartesian position register
Write a joint position register
Read a numeric register
Write a numeric register
Read a string register
Write a string register
SnpxIsConnected.vi

CGTP (web server of the controller)

The VIs of the Cgtp folder use the web server of the controller: CgtpRunProgram.vi, CgtpPauseAllPrograms.vi, CgtpAbortTask.vi, CgtpReadVariableAsString.vi, CgtpWriteVariableAsInteger.vi, CgtpWriteVariableAsReal.vi, CgtpWriteVariableAsString.vi and CgtpIsEnabled.vi.

Compatibility

• LabVIEW: 2010 to 2024, one folder per version.
• Operating system: Windows.
• Controllers: R-J3iB, R-30iA, R-30iB, R-50iA, and ROBOGUIDE.

License

This SDK needs a commercial license. A 30-day trial starts at the first use, no key needed.

• License agreement: underautomation.com/fanuc/eula and License.md
• Trial, license key and source license: underautomation.com/fanuc/documentation/license
• Prices and quote: underautomation.com/fanuc

Support

• Documentation: underautomation.com/fanuc/documentation
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Contact: underautomation.com/contact