Network setup

The vision controller connects to the 3D sensors, the robot controller and your network through its Ethernet ports. This page shows which device goes into which port, how to set the IP addresses on the Network page of the Studio, and how to fix connection problems. It applies to both Bin Picking Studio (BPS) and Locator Studio (LS).

Overview

The vision controller has three kinds of network interfaces. Each one has its own Ethernet port(s) and its own block on the Network page.

The three interfaces of the vision controller and the devices connected to them.

Interface	Ports	Connect	IP address of the vision controller
Sensor interfaces	Sensor 1–4	Photoneo 3D sensors, directly or through a Gigabit switch	Static (Manual). Sensor interface 1 can also run a DHCP server for the sensors.
Network interface	Network	The factory network, the Internet or a computer for remote access	Static (Manual) or from a DHCP server (Automatic)
Robot interface	Robot	The robot controller, directly	Static (Manual), on the same subnet as the robot controller

Ethernet ports of the vision controller

The vision controller has six Ethernet ports. From left to right they are: Sensor 1, Sensor 2, Sensor 3, Sensor 4, Network and Robot. Each port has a fixed purpose, so always plug each cable into its dedicated port.

The six Ethernet ports of the vision controller (red frames).

• Sensor 1–4 – Photoneo 3D sensors. Use a Cat5e cable or better that supports Gigabit Ethernet, to get the full transfer speed. A sensor can be connected directly or through a Gigabit switch. To connect more than four sensors, connect a Gigabit switch to any sensor port.

• Network – the Internet, the factory network or a computer. Through this port you can control the Studio remotely, see Remote access.

• Robot – the robot controller. Connect it directly, without any other network device in between. The vision controller and the robot controller communicate over TCP/IP; no other communication protocols are supported.

Example setups

Example 1 – Minimal setup

One 3D sensor, one computer and one robot, each connected directly to the vision controller:

• The 3D sensor (here a PhoXi 3D Scanner) is connected to Sensor 1.

• A computer for remote control is connected to Network.

• The robot controller is connected to Robot. The default addresses of the Robot interface are 192.168.1.1 for the vision controller and 192.168.1.2 for the robot controller.

Example 1 – minimal setup.

Example 2 – Several sensors and a factory network

Several 3D sensors, and the vision controller connected to the factory network (LAN):

• Two sensors are connected directly to Sensor 1 and Sensor 2. Two more are connected through a Gigabit switch on Sensor 3.

• Network is connected to the LAN through a router or switch. Computers on the LAN can reach the vision controller, and the vision controller can reach the Internet if the LAN has Internet access.

• The robot controller is connected directly to Robot.

Example 2 – several sensors and a factory network.

Reserved IP ranges

When you set the IP addresses on the Network page:

• The subnets of the individual interfaces must not overlap.

• No subnet may overlap with these ranges, which are reserved by Photoneo:

  • 169.254.0.0/16

  • 172.18.0.0/28

  • 192.168.101.0/24

Configuring the interfaces

All interfaces are set on the Network page of the Studio (http://<vision controller IP>/network/). The page has one block for each interface: Robot interface, Network interface and Sensor interfaces.

The Network page. Red frames: the three interface blocks and the Advanced settings switch.

How the page works:

• Each block shows the current settings. Next to the IPv4 method, a badge shows the name of the port in the operating system, for example enp0s31f6.

• To change a block, click its Edit button. Change the values and click Save, or click Discard to drop the changes. While you edit one block, the other blocks are locked.

• Advanced settings shows or hides the less common fields: Gateway, Primary DNS server, Secondary DNS server and the ARS port and RSS port of the Robot interface.

• Save applies the settings to the network settings of the operating system (Ubuntu) of the vision controller. Always change the network settings on this page, not in the Ubuntu network panel.

• Click the info icon next to a field to see its help text.

A block in edit mode. Red frames: Discard and Save. The other blocks are greyed out until you save or discard.

Robot interface

The Robot interface block sets the connection between the vision controller and the robot controller.

The Robot interface block. Red frames: the IPv4 address of the vision controller and of the robot controller, Test connection, and the ARS port and RSS port.

Field	What to enter
IPv4 method	Always Manual. The Robot interface must use a static IPv4 address.
Vision controller – IPv4 address	The static IPv4 address of the vision controller on this port. It must be on the same subnet as the robot controller. Default: 192.168.1.1.
Netmask	The number of leading bits of the subnet mask. The most common value is 24, which means 255.255.255.0. Default: 24.
Robot controller – IPv4 address	The IPv4 address of the robot controller, exactly as it is set on the robot controller. Default: 192.168.1.2.
Gateway, Primary DNS server, Secondary DNS server	Optional. Leave them empty unless your network needs them. Shown with Advanced settings.
ARS port, RSS port	Leave empty to use the default ports. Change them only when a Photoneo technician advises you to. Shown with Advanced settings.

To set up the Robot interface:

1. Click Edit in the Robot interface block.

2. Enter the IPv4 address of the vision controller and the Netmask.

3. Enter the IPv4 address of the robot controller.

4. Click Save.

5. Click Test connection to check that the vision controller can reach the robot controller. See Robot connection.

The vision controller and the robot controller communicate through two channels, each with its own TCP server:

• The Action Request Communication Channel. The vision controller runs the Action Request Server; the robot connects to it to send requests. Its port is the ARS port.

• The Robot State Communication Channel, needed by Bin Picking Studio. The robot runs the Robot State Server; the vision controller connects to it to read the robot state. Its port is the RSS port.

If you use a custom port, set the same port in the Robot module on the robot controller too. For details, see Robot communication overview.

Sensor interfaces

The Sensor interfaces block sets the four ports that the 3D sensors are connected to.

The Sensor interfaces block. Red frames: the DHCP server switch and the IPv4 address of Sensor interface #1.

Each sensor interface uses a static IPv4 address (IPv4 method: Manual). The sensors connected to it need IPv4 addresses on the same subnet.

A Photoneo 3D sensor has two addresses:

• A fixed IPv6 link-local address. The vision controller prefers it when it connects to the sensor.

• An IPv4 address that you set in PhoXi Control. The vision controller uses it when the IPv6 connection fails.

So always give each sensor a valid IPv4 address. There are two ways to do it:

The two ways to give a sensor its IPv4 address.

• Static IP address (recommended) – Set a static IPv4 address on the sensor interface on the Network page, and a static IPv4 address on the same subnet on the sensor in PhoXi Control.

• DHCP server on Sensor interface 1 – Only Sensor interface #1 can run a DHCP server. When you turn on its DHCP server, the address of this interface is fixed to 192.168.101.1 and the connected sensors get addresses from 192.168.101.10 to 192.168.101.240. In PhoXi Control, set the IP assignment of the sensors to DHCP. Sensor interfaces #2, #3 and #4 have no DHCP server.

To set the network settings of a sensor in PhoXi Control: open Network discovery, select the sensor and click Configure at the bottom of the window.

PhoXi Control: Network discovery with the Configure option.

Network interface

The Network interface block sets the connection to the factory network, the Internet or a computer. For the ways to control the Studio remotely through this port, see Remote access.

The Network interface block. The red frame marks the IPv4 method.

Choose the IPv4 method:

Manual

Use Manual (static IPv4 address) when you connect the vision controller directly to a computer, or to a network without a DHCP server.

• Direct connection to a computer – Set the Network interface and the computer to the same subnet. The Studio is then reachable from the computer at the IP address of the Network interface.

• Connection to a local network – Choose an IP address inside the range of the local network. If the network has a DHCP server, choose an address outside the range that the DHCP server assigns. The Studio is then reachable from every device on the network at this address. For Internet access, also set the Gateway and, if needed, the DNS servers.

Automatic

Use Automatic when the vision controller is connected to a network with a DHCP server. The vision controller gets its IP address, netmask and gateway from the DHCP server, and the fields are read-only. The Studio is reachable from every device on the network at the assigned address, and the vision controller can reach the Internet if the network has Internet access.

Note: For remote access with VNC or TeamViewer over the LAN, a static IP address is recommended, so the vision controller always has the same address. If you use Automatic, ask your network administrator to set up a DHCP reservation, so the DHCP server always assigns the same address to the vision controller.

Troubleshooting

Robot connection

Test connection in the Robot interface block checks whether the vision controller can reach the robot controller:

• Available – the robot controller is reachable.

• Unreachable – the robot controller is not reachable. Check the IP addresses on both sides, that the robot controller is turned on, and the cable.

On the Deployment page, two indicators show the state of the two communication channels:

Indicator	States	If it stays DISCONNECTED, check
Action Request Client	CONNECTED – the robot is connected to the Action Request Server and can send requests. DISCONNECTED – the Action Request Server is waiting for the robot to connect.	Is the robot controller reachable? Use Test connection on the Network page. Does the robot program connect to the right IP address (the IPv4 address of the vision controller on the Robot interface)? If you use a custom ARS port, is it the same on the Network page and in the robot program?
Robot State Server (Bin Picking Studio)	CONNECTED – the vision controller is connected to the Robot State Server on the robot and receives the robot state (joint positions and TCP pose). DISCONNECTED – the vision controller keeps trying to connect to the Robot State Server.	Is the robot controller reachable? Use Test connection on the Network page. Is the Robot State Server running on the robot controller? If you use a custom RSS port, is it the same on the Network page and in the program of the Robot State Server?

Sensor connection

A 3D sensor assigned to a vision system is connected automatically when one of these processes starts:

• Teaching gripping point (Bin Picking Studio only)

• Localization configuration

• Calibration

• Deployment

All processes except Deployment try to connect once. If the connection fails, the process does not start and an error is shown. When the Deployment starts, each vision system tries to connect to its sensor several times. If all attempts fail, a FATAL error is shown. A FATAL error is also shown when the connection to a sensor is lost during the Deployment.

On the Deployment page, each vision system has an indicator with its ID:

• 1 in green – the sensor of vision system 1 is connected.

• 2 in red – the sensor of vision system 2 is not connected.

A sensor that is connected to a sensor port, directly or through a switch, must appear in the Network discovery window of PhoXi Control. If it does not appear, contact support@photoneo.com.

To check the IPv4 address of a sensor, open PhoXi Control and select the sensor. The IPv4 field shows its address.

PhoXi Control: a valid address in the IPv4 field.

PhoXi Control: N/A in the IPv4 field means the configuration is invalid.

What the IPv4 field tells you:

Sensor interface (Network page)	Sensor (PhoXi Control)	IPv4 field shows	Meaning and what to do
Manual, DHCP server off	Manual (static IP)	The address you set	Valid, recommended. Both addresses are on the same subnet.
Manual, DHCP server on (Sensor interface #1)	Automatic (DHCP)	An address from 192.168.101.10 to 192.168.101.240	Valid.
Manual, DHCP server off	Automatic (DHCP)	An address 169.254.x.x	Not recommended. The sensor got its address through Zeroconf, and the connection may be unstable. Set a static address on the sensor, or turn on the DHCP server on Sensor interface #1.
Manual, DHCP server off	Manual (static IP)	N/A	Invalid. The two addresses are not on the same subnet. Change them so they are.
Manual, DHCP server on (Sensor interface #1)	Manual (static IP)	N/A	Invalid. Turn off the DHCP server and set a static address on the same subnet as the sensor, or set the sensor to DHCP.