Dual work stations with UR - using two independant Safeguard Stops

tor_odigo

Hello Roboteers,

I am working with a project that involves a UR10e and two work stations. To have a good work flow we will use two identical work stations, so that an operator can prepare a product on one station while the robot does its thing on the other, and then switch places once they are done (see pictures below). 

For this to work in a safe way, we want a safety scanner to stop when someone enters the zone the robot is working in. BUT we also want the operator to be able to work at the other work station without the robot stopping. The robot will pause once it is done on one side, and the operator then have to press a button before
it starts working on the other work station. 

Is this possible to achieve with the safety inputs available on the UR10e? With only one pair of Safeguard Stop inputs, I don't see how I could setup two separate safety zones that work independently. 

Best,
Tor

bcastets

@tor_odigo
Maybe you could use 2 IO controlled switch which could by pass the safeguard of each zone. Then you can activate or deactivate the safeguard from your program.

Loïc

There are some solutions but not as easy as it seems...

Maybe (and everything needs to be check by risk analysis!!!) with an external safety PLC, you can check positions of the axis, check your scanner and depending of these two conditions switch the safeguard mode or not. 

Some industrial robots can manage several scenari of safety depending on external conditions, but I don't think you can do that with an UR alone.