Kuka RRS Servers

You can use the Kuka KRC1 1.XX RRS-I interface to connect to all versions (1.XX through 8.XX) of the Kuka KRC RCS module.

Unless indicated otherwise, the data on this page applies equally to all Kuka KRC RRS servers.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
Kuka RRS Interface
Starting the Kuka RRS Server
Kuka RRS Profiles/Attributes

Set Up the Kuka KRC 1.XX Through 5.XX RRS Server

This task describes the steps required to install the Kuka KRC 1.XX through 5.XX RRS Servers.

Before you begin:

There are numerous versions of the Kuka RCS module corresponding to different versions of the Kuka robot controller. Contact Kuka to get the correct RCS module version and an RCS license.

You can install the Kuka RCS module on a different machine than the one 3DEXPERIENCE is running on. The RCS license is dependent on the RCS version and can be a node locked or a floating license.

The Interix/Windows SFU version of Kuka V5.X RCS modules is no longer available. An MKS10 version of these RCS modules that run on standard Windows OS is available in its place. The KUKA V5.X MKS10 RCS package is available by contacting Kuka at Simulation.Robotics.De@kuka.com, and already contains the DELMIA RCS Server component. The following instructions describe installing the KUKA V5.X MKS10 RCS Server/Module using this package.

Install the Kuka V5.X MKS10 RCS Module

The following steps describe the installation of the Kuka RCS module.

  1. Create a new folder named <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX.

    You can name <Kuka RCS Root> anything, but its full path must not contain any spaces. It is useful if <Kuka RCS Root> indicates the RCS/controller version (for example, KUKA_5_6_MKS_RCS) so that other versions of the RCS/controller can also be installed under the same parent folder if required.

  2. Run setup_RCS.exe in the Kuka MKS RCS Module distribution and install the Kuka RCS module and its components:
    1. Select Yes to allow this app to make changes to your device.
    2. Click OK to acknowledge that a logfile is written.
    3. Select I accept the license agreement and click Next >.
    4. Select <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX as the RCS destination folder in the next dialog box and click Next >.

      Note: If Browse is used, an extra path is automatically appended to the selected folder's path. In this case, remove the extra path so that only <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX appears as the selected folder.

    5. Select Yes for the "<Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX folder exists. Would you like to install to that folder anyway?" prompt.
    6. Click Next > to select the default installation folder for MKS runtime components.
    7. Click Install in the Ready to Install dialog box.
    8. Click Next > in the PTC NuTCRACKER Platform Components 10.x - Setup dialog box.
    9. Select the defaults (for example, Modify) in the next dialog and click Next >.
    10. Click Next > in the next File Extensions dialog box.
    11. Select the defaults in the Custom Setup dialog box, and click Next >.
    12. Click Install in the next dialog box.
    13. Click Finish in the Setup Completed dialog box.
    14. Click OK to acknowledge "Successfully installed MKS runtime".
    15. Click Finish in the Setup - KUKA RCS Module 5.x dialog box to complete the RCS installation.

      Note: Clear the "View readme file" option if you do not want to see its contents at this time.

  3. Disable Windows Firewall on both the DELMIA and RRS Server machines.
  4. Extract the corresponding RCS Machine Data (MADA) archives received from Kuka (for example KRC2-V5.0.0-KUKA5.6.tar.gz or the ALL_MADA folder copied from Kuka Office Lite), as well as any custom RCS MADA you might have for that same RCS version under the <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data folder.

    Note: When using RCS MADAs in Kuka RCS MADA archives, you may need to manually copy the STEU folder from the COMMON_FILES folder into the RCS MADA folder you are using (so that this folder now contains an STEU folder in addition to the existing R1 folder).

Run the Kuka V5.X MKS10 RRS Server

Perform the following steps to start the DELMIA Kuka V5.X MKS10 RRS Server.

  1. Create the folder C:\tmp, if it does not exist.
  2. Open a cmd shell and enter the following commands: 

    erase C:\tmp\rcssrv_<Kuka RCS Root>.pid
 cd /d <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\bin
 rcssrv_KUKA_KRC1__1.XX.exe -tcp 2800 -pid C:\tmp\rcssrv_<Kuka RCS Root>.pid -log C:\tmp\rcssrv_<Kuka RCS Root>.log

    You can use any unused TCP port number as long as a matching RRS server entry exists in the DELMIA RRS client's rrs.servers file.

    At this point, the DELMIA Kuka 5.XX RRS Server process is running and waiting to accept RRS connection requests DELMIA RRS clients across your network.

Set Up the Kuka KRC 8.XX RRS Server

This task describes the setup and use of the Kuka 8.XX RRS Server.

Install the Kuka 8.X RCS Module

Perform the following steps on the Windows machine that will serve as your RRS server. This may be the same machine that you run 3DEXPERIENCE on.

  1. Disable Windows Firewall.
  2. Unzip the DELMIA Kuka 8.XX RRS Server ZIP package under a <Kuka RCS Root> folder while preserving the folder hierarchy (that is, subfolders named KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\bin and data appear after extraction). <Kuka RCS Root> can be any folder but its full path cannot contain spaces. It is useful if it contains an indication of the RCS/controller version (for example KUKA_8_5_RCS) so that different versions of the RCS/controller can be installed under the same parent folder if required.

Obtain and Create RCS Data Files

The Kuka 8.X RRS Server package does not include RCS data files. You can either download or create them, depending on your Kuka RCS version.

  1. For pre-V8.5 Kuka RCS, download the appropriate 8.XX RCS machine data (MADA) files from the KUKA Sharefile FTP site https://kuka.sharefile.eu/login.aspx (like KRC4-KSS_83_b82_RRS1Structure.zip for V8.3 Build 82 RCS, or fetch Kuka Office Lite's ALL_MADA folder) and install it under KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data, resulting in a folder structure like KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data\MADA\KRC4\....
  2. For V8.5 and higher Kuka RCS, use Kuka's WorkVisual 5.0 (or newer) application to create your RCS data files in a subfolder under the KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data folder. The general steps for this are as follows:
    1. Create a <My RCS Data> subfolder under KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data. Name <My RCS Data> to indicate the manipulator type used, so RCS data folders for other manipulators can also be created under the KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data folder if required.
    2. Invoke File > New Project and select KR C4 Project. Give the new project a File name.
    3. Select the appropriate options for issues that may need resolution in the WorkVisual project analysis dialog until this dialog goes away.
    4. Select your robot (and other devices, such as rails, etc.) in the Catalogs section and KukaRobots* tab and drag them onto the Controller 1 icon displayed in the Cell configuration section.
    5. Select the appropriate options for issues that may need resolution in the WorkVisual project analysis dialog until this dialog goes away.

      Tip: Selecting Choose proposal with fewest changes usually works best.

    6. Once all devices have been added to the controller, click Generate code (Shift+F6) located on the upper right.
    7. Click File > Import/Export, select Export files, Next, enter <Kuka RCS Root>\ KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data\<My RCS Data> as the Destination, ensure that Export data for the Kuka RCS-Module is selected, and click Finish.

Run the Kuka 8.X RRS Server

You can perform the following steps to start the DELMIA Kuka V8.X RRS Server.

  1. Create the folder C:\tmp, if it does not exist.
  2. Open a cmd shell and enter the following commands: 

    erase C:\tmp\rcssrv_<KUKA RCS Root>.pid
cd /d <Kuka RCS Root>\KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\bin
rcssrv_....exe  -tcp 2800 –pid C:\tmp\rcssrv_<KUKA RCS Root>.pid –log C:\tmp\rcssrv_<KUKA RCS Root>.pid.log

    You can use any unused TCP port number as long as a matching RRS Server entry exists in DELMIA RRS client's rrs.servers file.

    At this point, the DELMIA Kuka 8.XX RRS server process is running and waiting to accept RRS connection requests from DELMIA clients across your network.

Set Up the 3DEXPERIENCE RRS Client Machine

Perform the following steps on the Windows machine that you run 3DEXPERIENCE on.

  1. Ensure that the RRS servers file (<arch>\startup\rrs\rrs.servers by default) has a Kuka server entry for the Windows RRS server configured in the previous section. If not, edit the RRS servers file using a text editor and add new lines corresponding each of the missing RRS Servers, making sure to give each of them a unique name (first field) and the proper RRS Server machine name (or IP address) and TCP port number.
    Note: You can use the localhost:2800 Kuka RRS server already present if you are running the RRS server locally.
    Note: The default RRS servers file can be changed via Me > Preferences > Robotics > RRS.
  2. If RRS-connecting to a Kuka 8.XX RRS Server, check the 3DEXPERIENCE Kuka RRS shared library version to make sure it is v42 and higher by doing the following:
    • In a command shell, type: findstr VERSION <arch>\code\bin\DNBRRSKUKA_KRC1__1_XX.dll
    • View the RRS SHLIB VERSION= ## output
    • If ## is <42, contact DELMIA and indicate your 3DEXPERIENCE version and platform (32 or 64-bit Windows, etc.) to receive a Kuka RRS shared library that supports the 8.XX RCS module.
  3. (Optional) Edit the <arch>\code\bin\KUKA_KRC1.manip file to add missing <RCS manipulator string + RCS MADA relative path> listings using a standard text editor.
  4. Select RRS Connect to connect RRS for a 3DEXPERIENCE Kuka robot.
  5. Select the Windows RRS server in the RRS Server Selection dialog box.
  6. In the RRS Properties dialog box, perform either of the following:
    • If you skipped (optional) Step 3 above:
      1. Set Relative Robot Path to KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data\<RCS MADA relative path ending in FLOOR, CEILING, etc.> (for example KUKA_KRC1__1.XX\data\KRC4\KR2100P_2_SSCBS\FLOOR).
      2. Set Manipulator to "Use_Relative_Robot_Path"
    • If you did not skip (optional) Step 3 above:
      1. Relative Robot Path is ignored.
      2. Set Manipulator to the correct manipulator from the list.