GB Toolbox™

The terminal emulator module provides the command line interface to the robot controller. It supports for numerous communication protocols – ASCII, SECS I and TCP/IP. You could open multiple communication sessions and work with several devices from a single computer. The command line buffer maintains history of the commands entered.

This feature allows the user to measure the time it takes for each individual statement to execute. With the Sequencer tool, the user can rapidly program a sequence of robot commands, make a cycle, test robot performance, tweak motion parameters and experiment with the different modes of synchronization. The advantage of having such an utility lies in its emulation of the host computer, and it will work with the robot controller with the same communication and synchronization overhead.

Nidec Genmark’s GPR ™ robots are full featured six-degree of freedom machines and their control provides many options. The Jogging tool provides a simple, user-friendly interface to jog the robot in the desired manner.  Key assignment is programmable with the desired amount of motion for each key. The joystick interface offers another alternative for robot teaching.

User macros allow the user to create new programs that will run on the robot controller and provide effortless integration of the robot into a wide variety of applications.

The robot parameter editor offers access to all robot calibration data. It allows the user to change motion parameters, PID coefficients, limit settings and other vital parameters. After the parameters are modified, they can be saved on the local disk or downloaded to the controller.

A dedicated window displays the current status of the servo axes and digital I/Os in real-time. This allows you to monitor the servo controller operation and perform diagnosis without having to deal with the command line interface.

Another tool displays a graphic of the CCD sensor data collected during the pre-aligner operation. You can zoom-in on the graphics and check for noise, lack of synchronization or symptoms for obstructed optics.

The last diagnostic tool displays the result of wafer scanning operation in a graphic form. It displays the programmed coordinates of the wafer in the cassette, the thresholds for the cross-slotted wafers and the actual locations of the wafers based on the scanning data.

A major advantage of the Nidec Genmark Automation robot firmware is its easy customization. GB Toolbox maintains backups of the entire firmware, from the robot controller to the host computer, and updates of each firmware component – either executable or data.

The station editor provides two views (table and dialog) of the robot teach points and cassette parameters. They can either be edited offline and saved to the robot, or the robot’s current position can be used to initialize the teach points. In both cases, the user is provided with a convenient method of teaching the robot.

Trajectory motions are the most efficient way of maximizing robot performance and system throughput. GB Toolbox™ makes design of the trajectories both easy and fun. The user can import their machine layout as a background and overlap smooth trajectories over it. Once a trajectory is designed, it can be downloaded to the robot controller to test its execution.