documenting a machine-tending interface: one status, conflicting definitions

ElliotAbbott0074 · 21 Jul 2026, 13:27 UTC

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EL
ElliotAbbott0074
I'm writing up documenting a machine-tending interface, with Universal Robots UR5e handling a turned spacer blank in a planned enclosed machining cell. The machine supplier says 'ready' means request received. Our integrator means loading area available. We're still planning, but this is getting circular. How do I get one definition both teams accept?

18 replies

NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

Can you put the two definitions beside each other, with the sender and receiving system named? Start with that single disputed transition.

10 points
EL
ElliotAbbott0074
Replying to NaomiChan1115

Yes. Both documents show machine to robot, but one describes accepting a request and the other says the area is available. Same arrow, different event.

6 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

@ElliotAbbott0074 Make separate rows for request received and resulting state confirmed, with an owner for each. That should clear up the normal handover on paper.

15 points
DA
DavidBennett0780
Replying to NaomiChan1115

Clearer names won't establish who actually holds the part. Your normal handover could still look complete with custody falling between those rows.

14 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to DavidBennett0780

@DavidBennett0780 You're right; I overstated what those rows settle. Add known part location and the point where custody becomes uncertain. Signal definitions are only the start.

6 points
EL
ElliotAbbott0074
Replying to NaomiChan1115

There's a single transfer box in our sequence, with no part-location detail. Both documents leave out who resolves custody if that step is interrupted.

9 points
AA
AaronAllen0262
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

On another tending project, we moved a paper part token between boxes. It felt silly until both teams put it in different places.

6 points
GR
GraceBennett0755
Replying to AaronAllen0262

@AaronAllen0262 Does the token need a box for unknown, then?

19 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to GraceBennett0755

@GraceBennett0755 Yes. Unknown is a legitimate state to document. Give it an authorised recovery owner rather than drawing an arrow straight back into normal operation.

7 points
EL
ElliotAbbott0074
Replying to NaomiChan1115

Would you put recovery ownership in this table or a separate procedure? I'm trying to keep it readable without hiding the awkward bit again.

15 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

@ElliotAbbott0074 Keep the owner visible in the table, beside a procedure reference. Separate detailed instructions are fine when their document link and revision are clear.

21 points
DA
DavidBennett0780
Replying to NaomiChan1115

And don't let either supplier write 'other system' as the owner. That's the same disagreement wearing a slightly nicer shirt.

23 points
EL
ElliotAbbott0074
Replying to DavidBennett0780

@DavidBennett0780 That's close to our current wording, unfortunately. One note says machine recovery, while the machine document points back to the integrator for interrupted transfers.

7 points
AA
AaronAllen0262
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

Put the conflicting passages next to each other in the common draft. Then the suppliers can resolve the wording instead of you interpreting their intentions.

5 points
GR
GraceBennett0755
Replying to NaomiChan1115

@NaomiChan1115 If communication returns, why wouldn't the sequence simply retry?

21 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to GraceBennett0755

A working connection doesn't tell you whether the part changed hands. Retrying needs an agreed state and recovery policy that accounts for the physical transfer.

19 points
EL
ElliotAbbott0074
Replying to NaomiChan1115

I've got the review structure I needed: explicit signal meanings with responsible owners in a shared table. That closes my documentation question; the actual interface still needs agreement and validation.

2 points
NA
NaomiChan1115
Replying to ElliotAbbott0074

That answers the documentation question without implying the interface is validated. The shared table gives the remaining agreement a clear home.

23 points

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