Brooks Automation 4. Hardware Reference
Part Number: 603988 Rev. A Robot Inputs and Outputs
Ethernet Interface
PreciseFlex robots include an Ethernet switch that implements two 10/100 Mbit Ethernet ports. This
capability was designed to permit the controller to be interfaced to multiple Ethernet devices such as
other PreciseFlex™ controllers or robots, remote I/O units and Ethernet cameras. The Ethernet
switch automatically detects the sense of each connection, so either straight-thru or cross-over
cables can be used to connect the controller to any other Ethernet device.
Due to limited space on the Facilities Panel, only one of the two Ethernet ports is available via an
external RJ45 connector. This external Ethernet port is typically used to interface the robot to a PC.
The second Ethernet port is only available inside the X-axis of the robot. In some cases, it may be
used to connect an Ethernet camera that is mounted on the robot or a vision processing unit
mounted inside the X-axis.
In this case, a PC that is connected to the Ethernet plug on the Facilities Panel can communicate
with the robot’s controller as well as receive images from an arm-mounted camera. If a camera is
mounted in the workcell, an external Ethernet switch must be added to connect these cameras and
the robot to a PC.
See the Setup and Operation Quick Start Guide for instructions on setting the IP address for the
controller.
RS-232 Serial Interface
The robot includes a standard RS-232 serial line equipped with hardware or software flow control.
However, this port is only available on the G1400A controller in the X-axis of the robot and is not
brought out to any outside connector on this robot. If needed, a DB9 connector can be added by the
user to the rear sheet metal panel of the X-axis and a RJ-11 to DB9 pigtail can be added to access
this port. This port can be used to communicate to the system serial console or can be connected to
external equipment for general communication purposes. When used for general communications,
this port is referenced as device "/dev/com1" within the Guidance Programming Language (GPL).
The connector for this interface is a standard RJ11 serial interface connector that has pin
assignments compatible with standard PC "com" ports. For this robot it is only used for debugging
and special service procedures.
Copyright © 2023 Brooks Automation, Inc.
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