ForgeOS 5.0 makes a major shift toward scalability. It is optimized to control a broad array of devices from different manufacturers.
READY PENDANT
Changes from 3.1:
Forge 5.0 runs on an industrial PC (IPC) attached to a new pendant that is made by KEBA. This pendant is the primary interface for interacting with the operating system. The pendant has a touch screen with a1280×800 resolution in the portrait orientation.
Based on your devices, the pendant can be wired to serve as the3-position enabling switch, the mode key (Teach <> Run), and the emergency stop (E-Stop).
The new READY pendant has buttons to the right of the screen that enable basic controls for robots and tasks:
- The +/- buttons are the jog controls. Use them to move the robot in the positive or negative directions of the selected frame.
- The up/down buttons control the robot's speed.
- The Start and Stop buttons control commands in the Device Controls app or control a flowchart in the Task Canvas app. The Step button only executes the selected Task Canvas block.
- The Reset button sends a Reset command to all enabled devices.
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen to view the READY button labels!
PLATFORM
Changes from 3.1:
- Like mobile operating systems, Forge 5.0 has “apps,” each with a dedicated purpose.
There are two accounts on the Forge system. Admin has full access; Operator has limited access to manually control devices and execute programmed tasks.
Home is the application launchpad. You can access the Home screen by pressing the App button in the bottom left. The toolbar across the bottom shows the common apps, the device status panel, the current user, and the notifications panel.
The Device Status Panel shows the current status and mode controls for all enabled devices. The mode readout on the button is a rolled-up status of all devices based on priority. For example, if one device is in error but all others are healthy, the button will show that there is an error.
For collaborative robots, the Reset button and mode switch buttons (Teach, Hand Guide, and Run) appear in the Device Status Panel. For non-collaborative robots, the Teach and Run mode switch is the key on top of the KEBA pendant.
DEVICE CONFIGURATION
Changes from 3.1:
- Choose from a larger selection of supported devices in the Device Library.
- Control more than one robot on a single instance of Forge/OS, even if they’re from different manufacturers! You can even use Forge/OS 5.0 without any robot at all.
The Device Configuration app is where users create and customize devices. Any physical device expected to work with the Forge/OS system must be set up here, including robots, grippers, and fieldbus devices.
Setting up a device in Device Configuration creates controls for that device in other apps, such as robot motion commands in the Device Controls app and gripper open/close blocks in the Task Canvas app.
For robots, you can set up the device name, IP address, input/output (I/O) ports, Tool Center Points (TCPs), and Payloads.
For grippers, you can set up the device name and the states of associated I/O ports for each gripper configuration (e.g., open, closed, and relaxed).
On the app landing screen, you can enable and disable devices. Enabled devices appear in the Device Status Panel, Device Controls app, and Task Canvas app. Disabled devices are still part of the Forge/OS system, but their controls are hidden.
Forge/OS remembers which devices are enabled when the system is shut down and restarted. Forge will automatically connect to and enable the controls for devices that are enabled when the system boots.
DEVICE CONTROLS
Changes from 3.1:
- All devices are controlled from the same app. They are separated by a dropdown at the top.
For robots, the available controls are Jog, Jump, Absolute Position, and Signals. In these tabs, you can move the robot, change the robot's speed, change the active TCP and Payload, snap the robot’s TCP axes to the Base frame or a custom frame, and view the states of the robot's I/O.
For grippers and other actuated devices (such as pedals or button pressers), there are buttons for simple controls, like “open gripper” and “press pedal”.
TASK CANVAS
Changes from 3.1:
- The block menu is organized by device. Each device’s blocks can use parameters from that device (such as waypoints or I/O signals).
- Instead of the minimap, you can now zoom the canvas to 5 preset zoom levels. There is also a search button for searching blocks and their internal parameters.
- Instead of containers, subtasks can be called parallel or inline (with the latter working just like containers did in 3.1).
- Waypoints, frames, and variables all have parameter managers accessible from the Data menu.
- Waypoints and frames are local to the task in which they were created, but both can be “promoted” to global, making them accessible in other tasks and apps.
- Blocks on the canvas display what device they belong to, what block type they are, what parameters they’re using, and any special modifiers to their behavior (such as whether they use a force sensor or are set to only run once). You can rename blocks, set their current state to resume execution, and skip blocks.
- The runtime controls menu lets you execute tasks from the beginning (Start Task), from a selected block (Start From Selected),or one block at a time (Step). Also within the menu. Follow Graph centers the view on the current block and the speed slider scales all speed across all devices within an executing task.
- You can put “tags” on task files, which are searchable labels that are displayed on the Load Task screen and Task Settings.
SETTINGS
Changes from 3.1:
System settings lets you configure basic settings on the Forge/OS system, such as:
- Set date/time/time zone
- Update system via USB
- Change administrator password
- View system info (such as the software and driver version)
- Enable SSH login on a local network