This instructable show how to make a overkill conveyor-belt robot-system, consisting of one conveyor belt, a plc, two robots and a Pixy cam. The function of the system is to take a colored object from the conveyor and hand it from robot 1 to robot 2, register color and deliver them on the conveyor again. This instructable is only on the robot part. Guide to the PLC and conveyor will not be shown.

This system is done for educational purposes.

The steps of this system will be as follows:

Colored object is sent down the conveyorbelt.
Sensor connected to PLC detects object at the end of the conveyor.
Conveyor stops.
PLC sends signal to Robot 1 (ready for pickup).
Robot 1 picks up object and moves to transfer position.
Robot 1 sends signal to robot 2 (ready for transfer)
Robot 2 moves into transfer position.
Robot 2 Takes the object.
The object will be transferred in the air from robot 1 to robot 2.
Robot 2 sends signal to Robot 1 (object received signal).
Robot 2 takes the object, and scans the color with Pixy cam.
Robot 2 sends signal to PLC (Signal for color sorting).
PLC stores the color and keeps track of the colored objects.
Robot 2 sends signal to PLC to stop conveyor.
Robot 2 Puts the object back on the conveyor.
Robot 2 sends signal to PLC (object deliverd).
System repeats process.

Step 1: Equipment

Robot arm:

1 PhantomX Pincher Robot Arm (Assembly guide can be found at PhantomX Assembly Guide)
1 WidowX Robot Arm (Assembly guide can be found at WidowX Assembly Guide)
Software for controlling the Robot arms - Arduino IDE (https://www.arduino.cc/)

Color detection camera:

1 Pixy Cam-EV3 CMU CAM5
Software for the Pixy cam (Pixy software)

Controller:

2 ArbotiX-M Robocontroller (Guide for setting up the ArboitX)

Hardware:

1 Robot Geek Large Workbench
4 RobotGeek Relay
1 small led light

Step 2: ArbotiX-M

ArbotiX-M:

Above is a picture off the ArbotiX-M board and how they are set up for Robot 1 and Robot 2.

Robot 1:

The relay connected to the PLC is connected to D16(red circle)
The communication between the two robots are connected to D4 and D63 (send and receive signal)
The black circle is where to connect the usb connection, so it's possible to program the board.
The purple circle is where the first servo is connected (only the first one, the rest is connected through each motor).

Robot 2:

The 3 relays on robot 2 are connected to D2, D4 and D6 (the red circles on the left).
The light is connected to D23 (red circle on the right)
The communication between the two robots are connected to D12 and D13 (send and receive signal)
The green circle indicates where to communicate with the Pixy CMUcam5.
The black circle is where to connect the usb connection, so it's possible to program the board.
The purple circle is where the first servo is connected (only the first one, the rest is connected through each motor).

Step 3: Pixy

The green circle is the connection to communicate with the Arbotix board.

The Red circle is the Usb connection.

Step 4: Relays

Relays on the Robots:

The 3 relays on robot 2 are wired to send a signal to the PLC when activated.

Signal when robot 2 has placed an object on the conveyor.
Signal for detecting red color.
Signal for detecting blue color.

The 4th relay is connected to the PLC. It sends a signal to Robot 1 when activated.

4. Signal when object is ready for pickup.

Step 5: How to Setup the System

Physical Setup:

Because the two robots are going to transfer objects between them, the location of the robots has to stay the same. Therefore clamps have been used to hold the robots in place. When the robots are set in place the programming can be done.

There may be problems with the Pixy cam detecting colors when it should not be detecting anything. The lighting and colors in the room is usually the cause. To counter this, a white box, out of paper has been made, and we placed a small bright light beside the Pixy cam.