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Fast ROS-supported manipulator for Pick and Place

Hey there,

I’m using ROS Noetic and the Fanuc CRX-10iA/L, but the robot is not fast enough for the task at hand.

We need to purchase a faster arm, however, I have very limited experience with other models, so I’d appreciate some input on which ROS-supported robotic arm is the most recommended for a pick and place application given the following criteria:

  1. Ease of use within ROS - fast to set up.
  2. ROS performance – the arm must move fast, compromising smoothness and trajectory as little as possible.
  3. Manufacturer: Fanuc, ABB, or Motoman
  4. Payload: 10-20 kg
  5. Reach: 1.4-2 m
  6. Speed: 4-5 m/s

From the ros-industrial repo, these models seem suitable: Fanuc M10 and M20 series, ABB IRB 2400 and 2600, and Motoman GP12.

Is there any other model that would better fit the requirements?

Which one would you choose?

Any tips are welcome! I’m glad to provide more details as needed.

Asked by Theodoro Cardoso on 2022-09-28 16:06:49 UTC

Comments

Answers

You might want to think about what will be supported well several years into the future.

IMO Fanuc hasn't put much effort into their ROS drivers and there's no Fanuc driver in ROS2.

ABB has a good ROS2 driver created by PickNik.

Motoman is working on an official ROS2 driver which I'm sure will be excellent. So I'd recommend a Motoman or an ABB.

Asked by AndyZe on 2022-09-29 08:23:55 UTC

Comments

IMO Fanuc hasn't put much effort into their ROS drivers [..]

AFAIK they haven't ever done anything. They don't have any ROS drivers.

Everything that exists for Fanuc is community created and supported.

Asked by gvdhoorn on 2022-09-29 10:31:08 UTC

ROS2 Support is a good point! Appreciate that. In terms of the drivers currently available for ROS1, would you know if there is any relevant difference between the ABB IRB 2400 and 2600, and the Motoman GP12 when it comes to set up time/complexity and maximum achievable performance through MoveIt?

Asked by Theodoro Cardoso on 2022-09-29 11:24:22 UTC

As I commented on your previous question: if you're willing to do some work, you can get 100% performance out of your Fanuc using RMI. At least for a pick-and-place application.

Whether that'll be "fast enough" I can't say, as that's probably a function of both the native performance of the robot itself and whatever (external) interface you're using.

As to your follow-up question: I'd probably recommend the GP12. Setup is very simple (especially if you're sticking to single motion-group configurations), performance is near 100% and the OEM supports (part of) the driver. With ABB, that's not the case, and the existing drivers are capable of moving the robot, but are much more complex in setup and use.

Note that motion performance will also depend on your planner of course.

Asked by gvdhoorn on 2022-09-29 12:47:31 UTC