TeachPendant

The TeachPendant feature provides an intuitive interface for creating and managing robot teachpoints, motion profiles, gripping settings and sequences for the PF400 robotic arm. It also provides basic state and motor control of the robot arm.

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Creating Teach Points
  3. Motion Profile Configuration
  4. Building Sequences
  5. Labware Integration
  6. Best Practices

Overview

TeachPendant Capabilities

Teach Points: This is the location the arm will travel to when instructed. Can be used for nest locations (eg. to pick up a plate) or intermediate safe locations.
Motion Profiles: Create and manage motion profiles, which can be specified on sequences or arm commands.
Sequences: Build complex multi-step arm actions. Eg. pick up a plate, drop off a plate, pick up a lid.
Labware Integration: Labware definitions can be passed to arm commands and sequences allowing flexibility on how different labware is handled.

Creating Teach Points

Teach Point Creation Process

1
Access TeachPendant mode from the PF400 control interface
2
Create a new teachpoint
3
Set the arm to free mode and manually position the arm at a desired location.
  • Refine position coordinates by jogging the arm using the 'Jog Control' tool.
3
Capture the current position:
  • Enter descriptive name for the teach point
  • Add orientation information (portrait/landscape)
4
Save and validate the teach point position
Note: When adding 'nest' teachpoints is often recommended the use of a special 'teaching jig' which provides guidance on the type of labware/vessel the arm is handling.

Motion Profile Configuration

Creating Custom Motion Profiles

1
Navigate to Motion Profiles section in TeachPendant
2
Configure motion parameters:
  • Speed: Peak motion speed specified as a percentage of the nominal speed.
  • Speed2: Secondary speed for Cartesian moves, expresses as a percentage of the nominal speed.
  • Acceleration/Deceleration: Peak motion accelartion/deceleration as percentage.
  • Accel/Decel Ramp:Duration to ramp up to peak accelerato or deceleration in seconds.
  • Straight: Boolean indication if robot is to follow a straight-line path.
  • In Range: Constraint that specifies if the robot should be stopped at the end of the motion. 0 means don't stop the robot at the end of the motion, blend with next motion if possible. Larger numbers mean the robot will have to be within its tighest error envelope before the motion is considered completed.
3
Set precision parameters:
  • In-range tolerance: Position accuracy threshold
  • Straight flag: Enable linear interpolation
4
Test and save the motion profile with descriptive name

Building Sequences

Sequence Creation Workflow

Sequences are just collections of robot commands that are executed in sequential order. This allows you to reuse commons sequences across and within protocols. For example: Get Plate from Bioshake, Place Plate on Bioshake.

Safety Warning: Always ensure the robot workspace is clear before running a sequence. Use slow speeds when testing new sequences and maintain visual contact with the robot at all times.

Labware Integration

Existing labware is directly available to the PF400 tool server, any commands or features that take in a labware input will present a dropdown of the available labware. The definitions of this labware will be used by the PF400 tool commands.

Best Practices

TeachPendant Guidelines

  • Use consistent naming conventions for waypoints and sequences
  • Create approach waypoints above target positions for safety
  • Test all positions with actual labware before saving
  • Document special requirements or limitations in descriptions
  • Regularly backup waypoint and sequence configurations
  • Always test your sequences via the teachpendant before running a real protocol.