What you need¶
Power¶
A 24 V DC supply of at least 5 A. The BOM names a Mean Well 120 W DIN-rail unit; any regulated 24 V 5 A supply with the robot's GX16 power connector wired to it does. The control board accepts 18 to 24 V; below 24 V the motors lose torque and speed. The robot draws about 40 W in typical use and more when all six motors accelerate at once. A closed supply with a mains cable needs no mains wiring; the DIN-rail unit does, in a closed box (The power supply).
Plug the supply in through a mains switch within reach, a switched socket strip for example. It is the stop that still works when the PC software has frozen (Emergency stop), and the switch you reach for when the E-stop has no effect.
The E-stop¶
A normally closed emergency stop button, wired to the two E-stop terminals of the control board. The robot does not run without it. The kit's button mounts on the base in the printed holder; any NC switch works for a bench setup (Emergency stop).
The PC¶
The PC runs the kinematics and the planner and must send a packet to the robot every 10 ms without hiccups. A machine that falls behind makes the robot stutter. Tested systems and the minimum are in the commander repository's confirmed working systems: at least an Intel i5 six-core processor of 2017 or newer, or an AMD equivalent. The tested systems include two Windows 10 PCs with six-core AMD Ryzen processors, a Radxa ROCK 5B on Linux and a six-core MacBook Pro.
| Commander software | Python API | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows, Linux, macOS | Windows, Linux (x86-64 and ARM64), macOS (ARM64) |
| Python | 3.10 or 3.11 | 3.11 or newer |
| Connection | USB (a serial port, 3 Mbaud) | USB on the PC that runs the controller; clients anywhere on the network |
A USB type B cable connects the robot to the PC. USB does not power the board.
Tools¶
For an assembled robot: hex keys (2, 2.5, 3 mm) for the mounting screws and the gripper, a small screwdriver for the terminal blocks. For a build, the Build guide lists the rest, down to the blue threadlocker and the thermal cement.
Knowledge¶
You should be able to use a hex key. Python and the terminal you can learn on the way: the Quick start gives every command to type, for someone who has never used either. The Theory corner explains the robotics vocabulary the software uses, from joint numbering to singularities, in the order you meet it.
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