HC Series - Mounting Equipment to the Manipulator

Introduction

While it is possible to mount peripheral system equipment (J-boxes, valve-packs, wire feeders, etc.) to the outside structure of most Yaskawa robots, this should not be done on any HC-series robots that need to perform a Human Collaborative task or otherwise utilize PFL (Power Force Limiting) functions.

Explanation

The PFL functions of the HC-series robots require much more information than just the Forces being indicated by the Internal Torque Sensors.  One other critical piece of information is the Center of Gravity of the Manipulator at any given time.  The robot controller is able to calculate the Center of Gravity of the Manipulator based on the angles of the joints, mounting orientation, tool data, and the Mass and Center of Gravity values of each link as stored in parameters.  Adding any significant amount of weight by mounting additional equipment to the Manipulator will cause the actual Center of Gravity of the Manipulator to deviate from the calculated Center of Gravity.  This can result in the robot not being able to perform the Safety Functions required for performing Human Collaborative tasks to meet the requirements of ISO 10218-1.  Adding any significant amount of weight by mounting additional equipment to any HC-series robot is not allowed if PFL features are to be used.