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Okay - this is tough because it depends on how you are connecting on your PC side and how you are connecting on your PLC side, and new products get added and things change, but here's a general summary. Generally speaking this can be simplified: If you are on a PLC from the last 5-10 years (it's 2020 now) then mini-USB is probably available on the PLC, if not Ethernet is with the exception of the FX3U and the Alpha. So this includes FX3S, FX3G, L Series, Q Series and R Series released in the last 10 years If you are working with an FX1S, FX1N, FX2N, FX3x PLC the front port is an 8 pin mini-DIN RS-422 cable and you can use the FX-USB-AW cable If you are working with an older FX PLC with the 25 pin connector, get the SC-09 cable and get a USB to Serial adapter like the Keyspan/Tripplite USA-19HS If you are working on a Q PLC that is slightly older it may have a mini-DIN connector on it, this is a 6 pin mini-DIN and is not the same as the mini-DIN on the FX series, it is RS-232. For this you need the SC-Q cable with a USB to Serial adapter, or the GT10-RS2TUSB-5S and a mini-USB cable As an experienced Mitsubishi programmer, I keep 5 cables in my bag and this setup covers me for 99% of what I need: Classic SC-09 Cable to program either new or old FX series and some old A series PLCs Keyspan/Tripplite USA-19HS serial to USB converter Mini-USB Cable with Ferrite core like the MR-J3USBCBL3M or GT09-C30USB-5P GT10-RS2TUSB-5S converter to connect to old Q series and some HMIs with the round RS232 connector A good quality Ethernet cable around 10' long. If I didn't have to worry about the old FX and A series, then the FX-USB-AW would replace cables 1, 2 and 3 in this list! Below is a table that shows what cable you should need for what PLC. Family Model Connection Type PC Side Connection Type PLC Side Cable # Supplier Alpha Alpha2 RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) Front Panel Connection AL-232CAB Mitsubishi FX FX-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (DB25) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX1N-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX1N-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX1S-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX1S-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX2NC-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX2NC-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX2N-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX2N-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX3G-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX3G-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX3G-XXX USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi FX FX3S-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX3S-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX3S-XXX USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi FX FX3UC-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX3UC-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX3U-USB-BD USB FX3U-USB-BD MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi FX FX3U-XXX RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-422 (mini-Din) SC09 Mitsubishi FX FX3U-XXX USB RS-422 (mini-Din) FX-USB-AW Mitsubishi FX FX5U-XXX Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) FX FX5UC-XXX Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) L L02 Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) L L02 USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi L L06 Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) L L06 USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi L L26 Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) L L26 USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q00U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q00U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q00UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q00UJ USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q01 RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q02 RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q02H RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q02U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q02U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q02UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q03U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q03U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q03UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q04U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q04U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) QCPU Q04UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q06H RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q06U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q06U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q06UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q0OJ RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q100U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q100U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q100UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q10U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q10U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q10UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q12H RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q12PH RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q13U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q13U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q13UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q20U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q20U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q20UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q25H RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q25PH RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q26U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q26U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q26UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU Q50U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU Q50U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU Q50UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) QCPU QO1U USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi QCPU QO1U RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi QCPU QO1UDE Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) AnSH AnSH RS232 RS422 SC09 Mitsubishi Qmotion Q172D USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi Qmotion Q172D RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi Qmotion Q170M RS-232 (9 Pin Serial) RS-232 (mini-DIN) SC-Q Mitsubishi Qmotion Q170M USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi Qmotion MRMQ100 Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) Qmotion Q170M Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R00CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R00CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R01CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R01CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R02CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R02CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R04CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R04CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R08CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R08CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R16CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R16CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R32CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R32CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R120CPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R120CPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R04ENCPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R04ENCPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R08ENCPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R08ENCPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R16ENCPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R16ENCPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R32ENCPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R32ENCPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired) RCPU R120ENCPU USB mini-USB-B MR-J3USBCBL3M Mitsubishi RCPU R120ENCPU Ethernet (wired) Ethernet (wired)

While this doesn't cover absolutely everything this is a good start at a listing of the most common batteries needed for Mitsubishi PLCs.

A very common question is "what software do I need to purchase to program my PLC?". Luckily with Mitsubishi, the answer is simple. GX Works3. As of the release of the iQ-F (FX5) and iQ-R series PLCs, Mitsubishi released their newest programming platform, GX Works3. And the best part is, when you buy it, you get the two previous programming platforms with it. You also get GX Works2 and GX Developer, all for one price and the price is the same as GX Works2 was, so you are paying the same as you used to and you are getting 3 packages. So which package do you need for which PLC? Use the following chart: *** there is a compatibility mode whereby GX Works 3 will open Q or L or FX3 series projects that is not noted in this chart

Mitsubishi CC-Link networks have grown substantially over the past decade and it’s no wonder that there is some confusion on the various versions. This blog is to give a quick overview and hopefully clear up some of what can be rather muddy waters. Let’s start with what CC-Link is: CC-Link is a FAMILY of protocols created and maintained by the CC-Link Partner Association (https://www.cc-link.org/) Very much like other industrial communication protocols, it is used to communicate between industrial devices. CC-Link is also an open standard meaning that it is not controlled by Mitsubishi, but instead the CC-Link Partner Association and many vendors participate in this Association to promote a standard that works throughout the world. There are over 250 companies participating as members of the CCLPA in all sectors of Automation and Industry. The number of products which communicate using one of the various versions of CC-Link is increasing steadily. In 2005 there were 740 products on the market and in 2019 there were almost 2100, so a 3 fold expansion and the product offerings continue to expand. So why is there confusion in the market over CC-Link products? I believe a lot of it comes down to nomenclature. Just like Modbus had Modbus RTU, Modbus ASCII, and Modbus TCP, CC-Link comes in many versions: • CC-Link • CC-Link/LT • CC-Link Safety • CC-Link IE Field Network Basic • CC-Link IE Field • CC-Link IE Control • CC-Link IE Safety • And SLMP (Seamless Messaging Protocol) Before CC-Link IE TSN came around the overview looked like this: It’s also important to understand what is involved in the various protocols in regards to hardware and software which can be explained with this graphic, again this is prior to TSN. It can be somewhat easier to understand if we look at this from a historic perspective. Starting with SLMP. SLMP is simply the messaging protocol used. It is the data packet structure that goes back and forth between the devices. Then we use RS-485 hardware as the underlying transport for classic CC-Link. Stepping up in time the CLPA created CC-Link IE Field and CC-Link IE Control. CC-Link IE Control is Ethernet based on a Fiber Optic network for high speed token based data transfer and it is usually used for machine-to-machine communication when a lot of data needs to be sent and full determinism is critical. CC-Link IE Field on the other hand is based on standard copper Ethernet and can use ring, line or star networks. Both CC-Link IE Control and CC-Link IE Field need to exist as their own stand-alone network. If you look at the model above you can see that they exist right on top of the Ethernet hardware, they are very low-level protocols and do not rely on the IP Stack and TCP/UDP protocols. Because of this, these networks (CC-Link IE Field and CC-Link IE Control) must be kept on their own hardware separate from classic business networks. This is where CC-Link IE Field Network Basic comes into play. CC-Link IE Field Network Basic is a fast, Ethernet based protocol that rests on top of the TCP/UDP stack. This means that it can coexist with other standard Ethernet traffic and you can connect it to standard business class Ethernet switches along with your normal network traffic. The downside of this, is that CC-Link IE Field Network Basic is non-deterministic and the time from packet to packet can change depending on network traffic. This finally brings us to CC-Link IE TSN. TSN stands for Time Sensitive Network. Without getting too deep into the technology, the TSN network allows high speed deterministic networking that has the potential to be even faster than CC-Link IE Field or CC-Link IE Control. It also will be capable of existing on networks with other traffic, as long as the switching hardware that is used is designed to accommodate it. As a general rule of thumb, here are the details and uses of each network (and like all rules-of-thumb, there are exceptions!). CC-Link (including CC-Link, CC-Link/LT and CC-Link Safety) - Serial based network for device level control - Works for small networks of devices with speeds up to 10Mbps - Great low cost option for sensor networks, VFDs, and actuators like IAI Robocylinders - not intended for coordinated motion control or large volumes of data CC-Link IE Field Basic - Ethernet based network for machine level communication using CAT 5E or CAT 6 cabling - can co-exist on standard business type networks using standard business class switches and hardware - intended for device level control such as sensors, valve banks, VFDs, etc - cannot perform coordinated motion control, and is non-deterministic CC-Link IE Field - Ethernet based network for machine level communication using CAT 5E or CAT 6 cabling - cannot co-exist on standard business type networks, it must be separated to a network only running CC-Link IE Field devices, uses a token based network - intended for high-speed, deterministic communication and is often used for servo motion, industrial Robot communication, and deterministic remote I/O CC-Link IE Control - Ethernet based network for inter-machine level communication using fiber optic cabling - Intended for larger volumes of data and a high speed network for synchronizing data between large systems such as different manufacturing cells on the same manufacturing floor CC-Link IE TSN - The newest network, this network works on standard copper Ethernet and should use CAT 6 cabling - provides real-time communication between devices on a deterministic network - uses a time sharing technology as opposed to a token based system - allows for even higher-speed coordinated motion control than CC-Link IE Field - can co-exist with standard business level traffic on the same network if properly enabled Ethernet switches are used - devices such as VFDs, servo motors, and high speed inspection cameras can all co-exist on the same network and achieve communication speeds previously not attainable As the main take-away, I hope you have been able to pick up the main differences between these various networks. Each is it’s own unique system and for the most part there are no converters or ways for the different networks to communicate with each other unless it’s done through a PLC or other specialized hardware. So choosing the correct hardware in terms of a control platform and devices can be somewhat confusing, but hopefully you now understand the differences. And if you need any help in choosing a network or components, please reach out to Gibson Engineering as we are here to support you in navigating these various technologies. For more reading: CC-Link IE and CC-Link IE TSN details here: https://www.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/products/cnt/plcnet/pmerit/concept/index.html

There is always debate about when Mitsubishi’s new servo amplifiers such as MR-J4 and MR-JE CC-Link IE Field Basic should be used? To understand this you need to step back and understand what functionality they bring to the wealth of product offering Mitsubishi has in their toolbox. The biggest advantage is that there is no need for extra motion control modules. It is based on CC-link IE Field protocol which in a full functionality mode is a Gigabit based deterministic protocol over Ethernet. However, IE Field Basic is not deterministic so speed might be a consideration when deciding if this is right for your application. A CC-Link IE Field Basic axis can only be used as a stand-alone single axis, so there is no way to synchronize axes together on this network. The best applications for these servo amplifiers are when single axis point to point motion is the only requirement. If you are going to use Homing, Absolute or Incremental moves, Velocity or Torque control as a single axis then this is your amplifier. If all you need is simple single axis servo functionality, from one or multiple servos, these amplifiers can be tied together over the built in Ethernet available on most Mitsubishi PLCs. This functionality simplifies your overall system architecture, reduces costs by reducing any additional hardware, and reducing deployment time with available PLC function blocks. There are many quick startup guides which can be found on Mitsubishi's website and here on Gibson Engineering’s Knowledge Base. If you have questions or would like to learn more please reach out to us at Gibson Engineering. Quick Start Guide for MR-J4-GF CC-link IE field Basic on GX-Works3 for IQ-F(FX5)) Quick Start Guide for MR-J4-GF CC-link IE field Basic on GX-Works3 for IQ-R) Quick Start Guide MR-J4-GF CC-Link IE Field Basic Servo Amplifier on the GX Works2 for Q PLC ) Quick Start Guide- How to use the PLCopen FBs for MR-JE-C CC-Link IE Field Basic)(Links of FBs: 1: MR-JE-C PLCopen Library in iQ-R PLC 2: MR-JE-C PLCopen Library in Q PLC 3: MR-JE-C PLCopen Library in iQ-F PLC)

Let’s say you are trying to implement a pick and place application with your robot. Industrial robots are amazing in terms of going to the place they were told to go. But what if that place we told them to go changes constantly and we don’t know where the part is going to be next time around. That’s when we use machine vision’s help to guide our robot to the right pick location. The general idea is that a vision system needs to be looking at the potential pick locations, and tell the robot where to go and pick up the next part. I’m sure a lot of you would agree that communication is the key to success. That is no different in this case. If two people are speaking different languages that conversation is not going to work great. In digital cameras, there is a sensor that collects the light from the outside world and converts it into electricity. The sensor has “points” (or you can call it a grid) on it that are called pixels. The images we obtain from the camera are represented in these pixels. Robots on the other hand, have coordinate systems. And they usually get represented in meters or millimeters. Two different languages... The whole magic is to be able to know where the camera is located relative to the robot end of arm tooling. Camera can either be mounted at: The end of arm tooling A stationary location If the camera is mounted at the end of arm, we need to know the location of the camera relative to our gripper. At this stage, we only need to know the relative location in terms of two dimensions. The third dimension, we usually can control. For example, if the camera is mounted 3 inches in X and 1.5 inches in Y away from the end of arm tooling, and our part is in the middle of camera’s field of view, the robot needs to move -3 inches in X and -1.5 inches in Y (on its end of arm tooling’s coordinate system) to be able to grab the part. Wait a second, how about the Z? In the robot program, I always have a set location to take my picture before the pick so I know how far the robot end of arm tool is relative to my parts in terms of Z. But what if the part is not in the center of the field of view of the camera, the camera needs to report the part’s location somehow to the robot right? Yes, and that’s when the calibration comes into play. Basic idea is to calibrate the camera’s pixel readings into robot coordinates. Since most of the time, the robots work in real world coordinates (mm or m), you can use the built in calibration function on your camera software if it has one. These routines usually require some type of a grid with known size squares or circles so the camera can do math to convert it’s pixels to real world coordinates. I usually don’t do that. I would have to make sure my axes are aligned perfectly and would have to take lens distortion into consideration somehow. I make a randomly marked paper or plate (see the plate below with holes in it) and use that as the calibration grid. Here are some simple steps and tips to get the calibration process working; Jog the robot to the location where the picture is going to be taken and take a picture. Make sure all the markers on the plate are visible on the image and the top of the plate is the same distance away from the camera as the top of the part you are eventually going to pick up. Note all the locations of the markers in pixels from the camera software. You will need to implement some tools in the vision system to be able to get location data from these markers. Jog the robot to each of these markers and note down the locations in robot coordinates. All you need to do now is to match the pixel location of the marker and the robot location of the marker and do math! Cognex Insight cameras have a built vision tool called N-Point calibration to do this very easily. You select the markers on the plate and write down the corresponding robot coordinate in a table. The software takes care of the rest and your location tools (like PatMax) will report back in robot coordinates now. Almost the same process when the camera is mounted on a stationary location. You just need to know where the camera is located relative to the arm. Only other thing to be careful about now is that the camera needs to be farther away from the pick area so that the robot arm can swing in and grab the part without hitting the camera. Understanding the basics, it’s not so scary to do a vision guided pick and place anymore. Does it still scare you? If so leave a comment below or reach out to us at https://www.gibsonengineering.com/. Disclaimer: This blog post is valid for using 2D cameras for doing a pick and place of the same type of part. Depending on the parts and the hardware used, some additional steps might need to be taken.