Adept PLC - Manual (Page 3)

The ePLC Connect solution allows end-users or integrators to program the robot quickly, easily, and
inexpensively. It allows customers to program a robot 100% from an Allen Bradley (AB) ControlLogix or
CompactLogix through Ethernet IP. The ePLC Connect Server client simply connects through an Ethernet
connection to communicate with the AB PLC. Requiring no additional hardware or software on the PLC, this
robot solution is a plug and play programming solution whereby the end-user simply plugs into the PLC using
an Ethernet connection making it easy and readily programmed. When an end-user buys an Adept robot system
with the ePLC Connect software, all that’s needed is for them to plug a cable from the Adept controller to the AB
PLC or Ethernet network via an Ethernet cable. With this solution the end-user can have multiple robots on the
network. One (1) PLC/Ethernet network can control for example a Cobra SCARA, a Viper 6-Axis Articulated
robot, a Python Cartesian linear module, or Quattro parallel robot. Additionally, the ePLC Connect solution
supports vision guidance, which extends the flexibility and capability of the robot system. Multiple cameras
can be used to take images to find out where an object is located relative to the robot, update the robot location
accordingly, and then provide more accurate information in helping the robot system pick the object - all done
through the PLC.
“The ePLC Connect solution is the cleanest solution available for PLC robot programming,” said Rush LaSelle,
director of worldwide sales and marketing. “The system is simple and straight forward to install for operators
already familiar with PLC programming, requires very little training and bottom line can lower the end-user’s
total cost of owning a robot.”
“Using the Adept solution has made our job much simpler,” said Richard Bahr, president and CEO of MGS
Machine Corporation a leading robot system integrator. “We are able to program the robot in ladder logic then
create libraries of code that are easily re-deployable. This makes our next project even easier to do. We have
developed our code to a point where the robot can be added to any one of our machines and be functioning in a
matter of hours.”
The ePLC software communicates with the user-supplied PLC to exchange data automatically. It runs on the
Adept SmartController CX (ASCX), reading the command registers, executing the appropriate commands,
and then writing status information back to the PLC. The Ethernet IP protocol is the backbone of the
communication between the ASCX controller and the PLC, and Adept’s implementation makes use of the
implicit (I/O) messaging to exchange the necessary data. The ePLC connect software works in conjunction with
the Adept-supplied User Defined Data Structure (or UDT) to pass the command and status information back
and forth as appropriate.
“The biggest advantages we see with the ePLC Connect solution are the time & cost savings on implementing
the solution and the benefits of increased efficiency & increased production to our customers,” said Dave Deeb,
principle electrical engineer at EDAS Inc. a Midwest design & automation service provider. “We have found that
integrating these types of robots in a facility now takes hours instead of days, increases productivity and efficiency
up to 10 fold and in one particular customer’s case saved as much as $450,000 in one year.”
Deeb added that EDAS Inc.’s customers are finding their payback on their initial investment is less than 10
months and the flexibility the solution offers allows them to reallocate their resources when their products
change with just couple hours of programming and integration. This gives customers a fully flexible cost effective
automation system that in turn significantly increases their margins.
A testament to its simplicity and ease of use is that over the last 5 years of use, training an end-user was
accomplished with no more than a 2 hour WebEx meeting to review basic PLC concepts and how they pertain
ADEPT WHITE PAPER
PLC Robot Programming: Familiar Programming, Reduced Costs of Implementation and 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance 3