Modbus interface to allow communication between a Robotiq gripper and a Fanuc robotic arm

• Installation
• Usage
• History
• Credits
• License

1. Install robotiq ROS package.

This package provides ROS drivers for the Robotiq Adaptive Grippers.

2. Install modbus ROS package.

This package stack provides a wrapper from the modbus TCP communication to standardized ROS messages

3. Download the RobotiqFANUCInterface repository to the src folder of your catkin workspace.

cd ~/catkin_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/rarrais/RobotiqFANUCInterface.git

4. Build your code. Assuming your catkin workspace is located in ~/catkin_ws:

cd ~/catkin_ws
catkin_make

1. Initialize the robotiq ROS modbus node. Make sure to substitute the gripper IP address.

rosrun robotiq_s_model_control SModelTcpNode.py <gripper_ip_address>

The default robotic gripper IP address is 192.168.1.11. To connect with this IP address execute the following command:

rosrun robotiq_s_model_control SModelTcpNode.py 192.168.1.11

2. Initialize the robotiq fanuc interface ROS modbus node. Make sure to substitute the robot IP address.

rosrun robotiq_fanuc_interface fanuc_interface.py _ip:=<robot_ip_address>

3. It is possible to control the gripper using the robot Modbus registers. There are two registers for controlling the gripper and two registers for getting the status of the gripper.

Commands: Set the first two registers (starting at 1) to control the initialization and movement of the gripper.

NOTE: To perform movements on the gripper, make sure to set the 2nd bit of Initialise Gripper [1] to 0.

**Status**: Read the third and forth registers to get information on the status and movement of the gripper. 

• June 6, 2016: Version 1.0 released. Tested with the S-Model of the Robotiq Gripper and with a fake modbus slave, simulating the robot.

• Developed by Rafael Arrais.
• Robotiq ROS Package by Shaun Edwards.
• Modbus ROS Package by Sven Bock.