The reference frame (RefFrame) class and objects that are built into GPL provide the means for instructing the GPL motion system that it is to track a conveyor belt. For each conveyor belt, one or more RefFrame objects should be defined. Unlike basic or pallet reference frame objects, the value of a conveyor reference frame is dynamically computed to reflect the instantaneous position of the associated conveyor. So, Locations that reference a conveyor RefFrame object automatically move with their conveyor belts.
The following table describes the properties of a conveyor RefFrame object.
| RefFrame Property | Description |
|---|---|
|
Type |
Set to 2 to indicate a conveyor reference frame type. |
|
ConveyorRobot |
Set equal to the number of the conveyor robot module (1 to N) that defines the conveyor associated with the RefFrame object. For a simple conveyor tracking system where a robot is the first robot module and an Encoder Only module for the conveyor is the second robot, this value would be set to 2. |
|
ConveyorOffset |
Set equal to the conveyor offset that is subtracted from the encoder reading whenever the position of the conveyor is computed. This is used to select the region of the conveyor in which to operate. When the encoder offset is set equal to the instantaneous reading of the conveyor encoder, the position and orientation of the RefFrame is equal to the nominal transformation defined in the robot module. This parameter is in units of mm. |
|
Loc |
The Pos of a conveyor RefFrame is equal to the instantaneous position and orientation of the referenced conveyor belt. This property is computed from the instantaneous encoder reading, the ConveyorOffset and the conveyor’s nominal transformation defined in the ConveyorRobot robot module. Any value stored in the Loc property of a conveyor RefFrame is ignored except that an error is generated if the RefFrame property of the Loc is non-null. That is, conveyor reference frames cannot reference any other RefFrame object. |
|
Pos |
|
|
PosWrtRef |
As a convenience, the value of the PosWrtRef property of a conveyor RefFrame object is always equal to the nominal transformation of the specified conveyor’s robot module. |
To define a conveyor RefFrame object, only the Type, ConveyorRobot and ConveyorOffset properties need to be set.