Pally Official Software Download

This new release focuses on making the installation and troubleshooting process easier.

NEW FEATURES

GRIPPER LAYOUT VISUALIZER

The new Gripper layout visualizer tool provides an illustration of what the robot thinks about the gripper. Especially for multi-zone custom grippers that are defined by a gripper.json file, this tool will help understand possible configuration errors. Each vacuum zone is displayed in a different color, and the TCP offsets and rotations are shown relative to the robot tool flange.

EASY LICENSE HANDLING

Now it is possible to inspect the license contents before uploading. The program will check the license contents and display a warning if the license on the USB is not appropriate for any reason.

Pattern verification warning before Active Plan expires

The robot program can now check all existing pallet patterns and inform the user about patterns that haven’t been completely tested. This process will automatically run at the first program start every day when the Active Plan expires within 30 days.

Warning on the Program Node before Active Plan or License expires

The program node will display a warning already 30 days before the active plan or the whole license expires.

New logic for lost vacuum signal

The logic for lost vacuum signal has been completely redesigned. The program will no longer repeat the last unsuccessful box position automatically without user action.

IMPORTANT BUGFIXES

• More accurate error messages when a position cannot be palletized.
• Bug fixes related to virtualized simulation environments.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

• Added a reminder on the Patterns page to test new patterns after uploading.
• Rewritten a text on the Gripper page, describing how and when to use a custom TCP.
• Added a new boolean variable rf_gripper_align_to_edges to enable or disable gripper-to-box edge alignment for large grippers.
• Added a new boolean variable rf_allow_same_pattern to allow palletizing the same pattern on both pallets in Dual Product mode.

Now it possible to change the pallet center reference point by using the following statement in the beforePallet callback:
palletmanager_daemon.write_key_value_static(str_cat(“center_of_pallet_”, PalletNr), new_center)
This makes it possible to switch between multiple pallet calibrations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 3.2.0 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 3.2.0 URCap
• Pally 3.2.0 User Manual

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.

Below you can download the Pally User Manual:

NEW FEATURES

EASY PATH PLANNING

Now it is possible to get suggestions for path planning settings such as smart exit, based on the current calibration points.

• When the new “Easy path planning” checkbox is selected, the path planning settings are no longer visible and the program will use default values that fit best to the actual setup.
• By pressing the new button “Get path planning suggestions” the suggested path planning settings become visible and manually editable.
• The drop-down list called “Load defaults for conveyor orientation” is no longer relevant and has been completely removed.

FINISH THE CURRENT PALLET, PROCEED TO THE NEXT PALLET

Two small new icons have been added to the Operator Panel in order to finish the current pallet immediately, regardless of the number of boxes remaining. The buttons terminate the current pallet through updating the corresponding rf_P1_terminate and rf_P2_terminate variables.

PAUSE AND STOP BUTTONS ON THE OPERATOR PANEL

In Polyscope version 5.13 and later, the play, pause, and stop buttons have been moved to another location, which is completely covered by the Pally Operator Panel. As a workaround, a new pause and stop button has been added to the Operator Panel.

COMPATIBILITY WITH POLYSCOPE 6

This release will be compatible with Polyscope 6 and UR20 (a separate URCapX file will be provided)

IMPORTANT BUGFIXES

• Fixed an issue where patterns with whitespace in the name were not transferred from USB.
• Fixed an issue where subfolders with whitespace in the name were not included in the full backup.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

• Calibration Test Wizard improvements

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 3.1.0 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 3.1.0 URCap
• Pally 3.1.0 User Manual

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.

Below you can download the Pally User Manual:

This is a bugfix release that does not include any new features.

• Fixed an issue where palletizing stopped with “unable to find collision free path”
• Fixed an issue where some test and demo licenses were not properly recognized
• Fixed an issue where changes were not properly detected in pattern files with whitespace in the file name
• POP layout changed to have enough room for the OEM logo
• Minor text corrections and text formatting changes in license related operations
• Added some logging into the calibration test wizard

Please refer to the original release notes of 3.0 to see what’s new in version 3.0

Release notes 3.0

ACTIVE SERVICE AND SUPPORT PLAN

The program will lock access to some important settings when a active Service and support plan expires.

Without an active Service and Support Plan, the following options and information wont’ be available:

• Pally Operator Panel
• Upgrade Pally version
• Add new or edit/delete existing patterns
• Calibration
• Change hardware
• Change language

Terminating the license will still not disable tabs, but prevent starting the program.

It is not possible to upgrade Pally with expired Service and Support Plan. If the user upgrades with an expired support plan, a prompt will appear telling the user to obtain a active plan or downgrade to the previous Pally version.

COMPATIBILITY NOTES

Please read the following compatibility notes carefully before upgrading an existing Pally installation in production. Some changes in the recent versions may require new customer acceptance tests and/or modifications in the main robot program. Always make a full backup before upgrading.

Compatibility notes for version 3.0 and above:

OFFLINE WAYPOINT STORAGE

Waypoints for all box positions are stored in a database, and the robot will repeat the same waypoints for each pallet as long as the calibration parameters remain unchanged. Changing path planning parameters will have no effect on the waypoints until the database is deleted. Changing calibration points, TCP, gripper, and lifting column parameters will mark the waypoints useless, which requires testing the pallet again.

SERVICE AND SUPPORT PLAN

The program will lock access to some important settings when a Service and Support plan expires.

URCAP VERSION IN THE ACTIVE PROGRAM

The program will store information about the URCap version last used when the program was saved. Upgrading to a newer URCap without a valid Service and Support plan will not work.

GRIP QUALITY

The formula for computing the “Grip Quality” value has been redesigned. It is highly recommended to test all patterns after upgrading from URCap version 2.x to 3.x.

PALLET MANAGER DEAMON VARIABLE NAME AND VISIBILITY

The global variable palletmanager_daemon has been renamed to Pally_daemon. The legacy variable palletmanager_daemon is still available but only inside the Pally program node (initial MoveJ and callbacks).

IMPORTANT BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the approach distance was smaller than specified
• Fixed an issue where rf_P1_terminate and rf_P2_terminate did not terminate the corresponding pallet
• Fixed an issue where the program was not deterministic when using safety planes
• Fixed an issue where the robot stopped with “Joint position close to limit” on the return path
• Fixed an issue where the program stopped with an error message from Ewellix LiftKit version 1.2

IMPROVEMENTS

IMPROVED GRIP-QUALITY FOR PICKUP OPTIMIZER

Grip quality formula has been redesigned to give more consistent values when picking small boxes with a small gripper and large boxes with a large gripper.

The new Grip quality uses torque and force estimations especially with multi-pick where boxes are not being picked at their center point.

Two new optimizer parameters are also added:

• rf_grip_rot_cost can be used to define custom cost for picking with different gripper rotations, and
• rf_length_coverage defines how many percentage of the total box lenght has to be covered for multi-pick

IMPROVED SHOW MODE

Demo Mode has been renamed to Show Mode. Now it has a special operator interface where the start conditions for the demo can be defined. Show mode requires a special license with the showMode option.

REORGANIZED ADVANCED TAB

The advanced tab now has a Daemon-, Backup- and Other-tab:

Daemon:

• Daemon port number
• Daemon status
• Start/stop daemon

Backup:

• Backup
• Backup configuration

Other

• Operation mode
• RoboDK simulation
• Reset to default values

Refresh I/O is moved to the I/O tab.

POPUP IF VACUUM SENSOR IS NOT CONFIGURED OR NOT WORKING PROPERLY

The program will display a warning when vacuum is not detected more than twice.

MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES

• PalletManager daemon variable name and visibility changes
• Missing values are indicated by a yellow color instead of red
• Using ‘smart acceleration’ will no longer result in extreme low accelerations

NEW FEATURES

VERIFIED PATTERNS, OFFLINE PATH STORAGE

Now it is possible to store all waypoints of the robot path for each box position, allowing the user to freely adjust any path planning parameters between different patterns. Stored waypoints will also improve stability and repeatability after software upgrades. A pattern that has been once tested and verified will be no longer affected by future changes in the program.

The program creates a database of all waypoints for each pattern for each pallet for each pickup for each box position while palletizing for the first time. The stored waypoints are then reused next time when palletizing the same pallet. This will improve repeatability, for example, after changing path planning parameters or upgrading to a newer Pally version. Using different smart exit parameters for each pattern is now possible.

The integrator can get an overview of the waypoint database status in a new tab “Verified patterns” under Program Pally Advanced. The database status can be one of the following:

• Offline path storage is not available or not valid for this pattern
• Partly tested with other calibration parameters. (Cached waypoints may require further testing with another URP program.)
• Fully tested with other calibration parameters. (Cached waypoints can’t be used with this URP program, but may be used with another one.)
• Partly tested with this calibration (Test in progress? Cached waypoints will be used where available, but further testing is requred.)
• Fully tested with other path planning parameters. (Cached waypoints will be used by this URP program for all box positions.)
• Fully tested with the current path planning parameters. (Cached waypoints will be used by this URP program for all box positions.)

A pattern is considered verified if the corresponding path storage database contains all the necessary waypoints to palletize full pallet(s) from one or two pickup positions, according to the current setup:

• If both left and right pallets are enabled, both must be tested, and
• If both primary and secondary pick positions are enabled, both must be tested.

The integrator can decide to continue testing an incomplete storage, or clear the current waypoints and start testing the pattern again.

COMPATIBILITY NOTE: If a Service and Support Plan subscription expires, the program will no longer calculate any new waypoints. Patterns that are not fully verified will fail with error code 2023.

ORDER MANAGEMENT, A.K.A MULTIPLE PARTIAL PALLETS

It is now possible to create a list of multiple full- and partial pallets (referred as orders) that the program will palletize. In Dual Product Mode, separate lists for the primary and secondary conveyor can be created.

The list of orders can be created by the operator manually on the Partial Pallet screen, or via new API functions of the Pallet Manager daemon:

• insert_order
• update_order
• delete_order
• clear_orders
• etc.

LINAK ELEVATE LIFTING COLUMNS

Linak ELEVATE Easy, Pro, and MODBUS lifting columns are now natively supported.

OPERATOR INTERFACE IN SWEDISH

Product Selection and Operator Panel is now available in Swedish.

NEW FILE BACKUP

File backup has a new option. It is possible to only backup the active installation and program file. Additionally license related files are backed up. These files are bundled in a zip-folder.

Physical calibration data is now included in the backup file. This will improve simulation accuracy in MyRobotCloud.

SAFETY SETTINGS

The Pally safety settings are now limited by the general safety settings – the maximum speed cannot be higher than allowed by the safety system.

NEW LICENSE HANDLING

It is now possible to terminate both the Service and Support Plan and the whole Pally license. These options are available in the License tab of the installation node.

Termination will add the robot serial number to a blacklist with a flag indicating the level of termination. The list is copied to an inserted USB drive, and the copied list should be given to Rocketfarm as a receipt of termination.

It is not possible to terminate TEST and DEMO licenses.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

• URCap API version 1.12 or higher is required.
• CB-series: Polyscope version 3.15 or higher is required.
• E-series: Polyscope version 5.10 or higher is required.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 3.0.1 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 3.0.1 URCap
• Pally 3.0.1 User Manual

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.

Below you can download the Pally User Manual:

NEW KEY FEATURES

• Active Service and Support plan
• Offline waypoint storage
• URCap version in the active program
• Grip quality
• Pallet Manager Deamon variable name and visibility

IMPORTANT BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the approach distance was smaller than specified
• Fixed an issue where rf_P1_terminate and rf_P2_terminate did not terminate the corresponding pallet
• Fixed an issue where the program was not deterministic when using safety planes
• Fixed an issue where the robot stopped with “Joint position close to limit” on the return path
• Fixed an issue where the program stopped with an error message from Ewellix LiftKit version 1.2

OTHER CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS

• Improved grip-quality for pickup optimizer
• Imporved show mode
• Reorganized advanced tab
• Popup if vacuum sensor is not configured or not working properly
• PalletManager deamon variable name and visibility changes
• Missing values are indicated by a yellow color instead of red
• Using ‘smart acceleration’ will no longer result in extreme low accelerations

COMPATIBILITY NOTES

Please read the following compatibility notes carefully before
upgrading an existing Pally installation in production. Some changes in the recent versions may require new customer acceptance tests and/or modifications in the main robot program. Always make a full backup before upgrading.

• Ewellix LiftKit URCap compatibility

Some compatibility issues with Ewellix LIFTKIT URCap version 1.2.0 have been resolved. Users having Ewellix LIFTKIT URCap version 1.1.0 may receive the following false alarm “Pillar not in position – press Continue to retry” after pausing and resuming the robot while operating the lifting column. Users are advised to upgrade LIFTKIT to 1.2.0 or newer – provided by Ewellix.
https://www.ewellix.com/en/products/7th-axis-for-robot/liftkit/liftkit-ur

• Lifting column Dynamic Positioning

The lifting column optimizer behavior has been significantly changed from version 2.12.0. Calculated lifting column positions may be different from in previous versions. Existing projects that use Dynamic Positioning should be verified. Projects that directly modify the rf_lift_alt_boost and rf_lift_safe_down parameters are advised to set rf_lift_alt_boost_auto=False and verify the program.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

• URCap API version 1.12 or higher is required.
• CB-series: Polyscope version 3.15 or higher is required.
• E-series: Polyscope version 5.10 or higher is required.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 2.12.1 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 2.12.1 URCap
• Pally 2.12.1 User Manual

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.

Below you can download the Pally User Manual:

NEW KEY FEATURES

• A new test tool called Calibration Test Wizard has been added, which makes it easier to identify the most common issues during setup and calibration
• The Pally Operator Panel (previously known as Runtime GUI) has been  integrated; installing two separate URCaps is no longer needed
• Picking fewer boxes automatically when the maximum payload would be exceeded
• New options for automatically starting a new pallet or continuing existing pallet without displaying a popup on program start

IMPORTANT BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the robot did not pick the box(es) at all, or did not update the box counter and repeated the same position multiple times
• Fixed an issue where the pick accuracy was incorrect after moving the lifting column
• Fixed an issue where the multi-zone gripper optimizer selected only one vacuum zone for picking 2 boxes
• Fixed an issue where the program tried to multi-pick more boxes than physically possible with a given gripper size and allowed payload

OTHER CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS

• added a new parameter Lowest Position for Vention lifting columns that can go below the calibrated zero position
• added Service Package options and expiry date in the License tab
• dimensions of Schmalz grippers updated to match the official product specifications
• improved error handling when the robot fails to pick a box due to false positive pick signal or mechanical issues
• added a reminder in the Gripper configuration tab to set a default TCP

COMPATIBILITY NOTES

Please read the following compatibility notes carefully before
upgrading an existing Pally installation in production. Some changes in the recent versions may require new customer acceptance tests and/or modifications in the main robot program. Always make a full backup before upgrading.

• Pally Operator Panel: Functions of the Pally Operator Panel, also known as the Runtime GUI URCap, have been integrated into the Pally URCap. Installing two separate URCaps is no longer required. Compatibility with the older versions of POP are not maintained. Users are advised to uninstall all older versions of POP as they may not function properly any more.
• Maximum allowed payload with multi-pick: The program will check the maximum allowed payload for the specific robot model when selecting more than one box for multi-pick. As a result, the program may reject picking multiple packages, or reduce the number of boxes being picked, in projects where the maximum payload could be previously exceeded. Maximum allowed payload is derived from the serial number format.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

• URCap API version 1.12 or higher is required.
• CB-series: Polyscope version 3.15 or higher is required.
• E-series: Polyscope version 5.10 or higher is required.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 2.10.2 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 2.10.2 URCap
• Pally 2.10.2 User Manual
• Ewellix LIFTKIT URCap

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.

Below you can download the Pally User Manual:

IMPROVEMENTS OF PALLY 2.9.1

• Support for Vention MachineMotion v2 controller

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

• URCap API version 1.12 or higher is required.
• CB-series: Polyscope version 3.15 or higher is required.
• E-series: Polyscope version 5.10 or higher is required.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team pally.urcap.support@rocketfarm.atlassian.net if you have questions!

Download the Pally 2.9.1 Software

Included in the Download:

• Pally 2.9.1 URCap
• Pally 2.9.1 User Manual
• Ewellix LIFTKIT URCap

To download the Pally Software, you need to agree to the general terms and then press download.