Quick-disconnect Camera Cable

Ryan_Weaver 2016-10-10

I'm having some frustration with my UR5 demo unit when paired with the Robotiq Camera System. With the gripper and FT sensor, we added matching CPC connectors (http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/TE_CPC_AS.PDF) on the end of the cable and control box, so that we could quickly connect and disconnect the cables during demo setup. This can't easily be done with the USB camera cable because it needs to be plugged in, and wired into the control box each time.

This wastes time during demo setup and teardown, but more importantly it puts wear and tear on the cable, the wires and the USB port. I would love to have some way to plug this into the side panel of the robot box without having to route everything internally each time.

I'm interested to hear if any testing is being done on this, or if there is demand from other distributors for a similar solution.

Etienne_Samson 2016-10-11

@Ryan_Weaver I also met a lot of distributor and customers who would like a side panel mount to have something more "industrial". In a lot of organization the operator is not allowed to open the UR controller panel. They must call the integrator or the engineering department for that. Do you have any customers who would also benefit from such a thing ?

Ryan_Weaver 2016-10-11

@Etienne_Samson I don't think that I've seen a lot of customers with the kind of restrictions you're describing. However, some of them need to move the robot and controller from time to time, and it's much easier to disconnect the cable if it's on the side panel. We have provided a quick-disconnect cable for many customers for the gripper and ft sensor so that they don't even have to tie power or the USB-RS485 converter into the robot. Something similar would be nice for this cable.

Etienne_Samson 2016-10-11

@Ryan_Weaver thanks for the comment, I don't have any solutions right now but that feedback will go straight to the R&D!

JeanPhilippe_Jobin 2016-10-11

@Ryan_Weaver
Thanks for the comment. I like the idea but my concern is how much this feature is useful for the customer? Is this more beneficial for our partners that, such as you, have to teardown their robots quite frequently? And associated with that, if this is useful for the customer, how much are they willing to pay for such improvement?

This wastes time during demo setup and teardown, but more importantly it puts wear and tear on the cable, the wires and the USB port.

Can you explain better how the cable and the USB port get wear?

We have provided a quick-disconnect cable for many customers for the gripper and ft sensor so that they don't even have to tie power or the USB-RS485 converter into the robot.

On what percentage of integration do you do that? Is it appreciated by the customers?

Ryan_Weaver 2016-10-21

Hi @JeanPhilippe_Jobin

Can you explain better how the cable and the USB port get wear?

Thanks for the response - the cable gets wear because it is being plugged in and unplugged every time a demo happens. When we transport the robot and the controller, they are separate, so the cable is disconnected each time. I don't expect we'll see issues from it for a while, but it's a pain and it could cause the flying leads for 24V to get broken off over time.

On what percentage of integration do you do that? Is it appreciated by the customers?

I would say that we do the quick-disconnect integration for more than 50% of our customers who are using the gripper or FT sensor. We pre-install the latest URCaps and drivers, and install the gripper flange on the robot prior to shipment, and route the cable. That way, when the customer gets the robot in house, all they have to do is attach the gripper to the coupler and plug in the cable, and they're good to go. I think it helps make the out-of-box experience even better.

That being said, the routing of the USB cable for the camera is much easier than the gripper with the RS-485 adapter used to be, so it's a significant improvement. I just wish we could have a quick disconnect, that's all.