UR5e Standard Operating Procedure

Power on the UR5e by pressing and releasing the power button on the front of the teach pendant. The button should glow green and the system will boot to the home screen.

On the teach pendant, press the power control button in the bottom left, which should indicate that the robot is powered off.

Before powering on the robot, be sure the correct payload is selected. This selection affects how the robot counteracts the payload mass during operation. Once the payload is confirmed, press the ON button to power on the robot.

After the robot is powered on and initialized, ensure the workspace around it is clear from anything the robot might collide with. Then, press the START button. The brakes will audibly release, and the robot is ready for operation. After the robot starts, press the Exit button to return home.

Basic Controls

Manual Manipulation

To manipulate the robot with your hands, hold the Freedrive button located on the back of the pendant. While this button is depressed, you can manually manipulate the robot's joints. Before entering Freedrive, be sure the active payload is accurate and is not holding any additional mass. Payload calibration is especially important when using Freedrive.

Moving with the Pendant

To move the robot using the pendant, navigate to the Move menu by clicking the Move icon in the top left of the screen. To move the tool head, use the arrow controls on the left-hand side of the control in terface. The clickable arrows correspond to one of three axes:

• x-axis: indicated by a red arrow, controlled by forward/backward arrows.
• y-axis: indicated by a green arrow, controlled by left/right arrows.
• z-axis: indicated by a blue arrow, controlled by up/down arrows.

The Feature by which control axes are oriented can be changed through the Features dropdown. For example, changing the Feature to Base will orient the control axes with respect to the base of the arm, often providing a more intuitive control frame of reference.

Programming

Universal Robots offers five ways to program the UR5e. When programming the UR5e, the UR Developer Page is your friend.

1. Visual Programming

The easiest and most flexible way to program the UR5e is visual programming. This method is great for simple repetitive tasks. To use the visual programmer, navigate to the Program screen by selecting the Program button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. This menu allows the user to select various program components to assemble simple actions.

2. URScript

URScript acts as a robust programming language for controlling Universal Robot arms. Every visual program is translated to a URScript before being executed. This allows the user to add script to their program either on the teach pendant or from a computer. Learn more about using URScript to program this robot here.

3. URCaps

URCaps act as apps or plugins enabling developers to create their own URCap for others to use. URCaps can contain program nodes, installation settings, tool bars, and other custom user interface components. A URCap can encompass both visual components and robot control through URScript. Background processes can also be included in URCaps, typically used to communicate with external hardware and to interact with controls while the robot is working.

Learn more about developing URCaps here.

4. External Control

While the previous methods are designed to run on the robot with no additional hardware, the robot also allows for external control. External control allows for things like monitoring and controling registers; loading, starting, and stopping programs; and externally controlling motion.

Learn more about the external control URCap here.

5. ROS

Robot Operating System (ROS) is a powerful, industry-standard tool for programming robots. It offers precise control and powerful building blocks for developing custom robot software. ROS is a special case of External Control, but gets its own category due to its wide use and support. Universal Robots provides a ROS 2 driver which receives regular updates.

Check out our example for running ROS2 and MoveIt 2 with the Universal Robots UR5e here.

External control of the UR5e with ROS requires an External Control program to be running on the robot. To create such a program, in the Program screen, select "External Control" from the URCaps dropdown. Then, press the play button in the bottom menu to execute the program.

Robot Shutdown

To shutdown the robot, select the hamburger menu in the top right corner of the screen, then select Shutdown Robot. Then, select Power off. You may be asked to save your configuration. Note that it is your responsibility to remove any saved sensitive data from the robot.