replace Staubli RX-robots floppy-drive

[ToolFrame]

We use some Staubli RX-robots. They have a disk-drive and a floppy-drive. I use the floppy to backup the programs.

I wonder if it's possible to use a usb-floppy emulator? That would be a good solution: the spare parts from Staubli are expensive... they say it is not a normal floppy-drive??

 

[MikeHalloran]

Well, I'll be dipped in ... er, used food. I didn't realize there was such a thing.

They're so cheap that you could just quietly install one, and see if the robot can deal with it.

While you've got the 'special' floppy drive out, photograph it, including the labels of course. They'd be crazy to use anything more special than an odd bezel color, but you never know.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[tygerdawg]

The RX series all used Adept's VME bus controller running the V+ OS & programming language, and it was pre-USB technology. Very doubtful if your USB solution would work. You would probably have to write your own driver, integrate with the OS file manipulation commands, work the bus & data addressing scheme, and.........oh, never mind. It makes my head hurt just to think about it.

Spare parts for those systems are crazy expensive because they are obsolete and in short supply.

Short of calling Staubli Tech Support to confirm, you may want to try posting your question on the Staubli forum of robot-forum.com . JimC lurks on that forum and he's the man.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[MikeHalloran]

This emulator, at least, uses USB technology on the storage side, not on the floppy side:

http://embeddedsw.net/EMUFDD_Floppy_Hardware_Emulator_Home.html

I.e., it does not require USB support on the motherboard or in the OS; it just 'looks like' a floppy drive at the end of a floppy cable.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA