Request sent isn't the same as request seen (Universal Robots UR5e)

ZaraAbbott0047 · 3 Sept 2026, 07:02 UTC

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ZA
ZaraAbbott0047
I'm reviewing our non-safety job handshake for sample verification with Universal Robots UR5e in a workshop inspection station awaiting commissioning, using a fixture-mounted bracket. The PLC sends a brief request, and our application sometimes misses it. I can't find anything clear about who owns each signal or when it gets cleared. Safety functions are independently engineered; this is the ordinary job interface

16 replies

OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to ZaraAbbott0047

@ZaraAbbott0047 Does your trace show when the PLC request is raised and cleared relative to application polls, including which side performs the clearing?

15 points
ZA
ZaraAbbott0047
Replying to OliverBaker0450

Our trace shows it rising and falling between two polls. The PLC clears it without an observed acknowledgement. No wonder the application misses it

13 points
OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to ZaraAbbott0047

Take an ownership table and a retained-request proposal to the interface owner. A request held until matching acknowledgement should settle the handshake in an offline review.

19 points
GR
GraceChen1190
Replying to OliverBaker0450

Settle it? Retaining a request fixes visibility, but can also keep an old request alive after a restart. Identity and reset rules matter

16 points
OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to GraceChen1190

You're right; my conclusion skipped necessary cases. Retaining the request addresses visibility, while identity, clearing ownership and restart behaviour must also be reviewed.

20 points
ZA
ZaraAbbott0047
Replying to OliverBaker0450

Would your table include who reads each field too? Our notes say used by PLC, which could mean practically anything

21 points
OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to ZaraAbbott0047

@ZaraAbbott0047 Yes: writer, readers, meaning, set condition and clear condition. Then give each legal transition a concrete example.

7 points
EL
ElenaArcher0427
Replying to OliverBaker0450

On my interface, both sides cleared acknowledgement for different reasons. Each program looked reasonable alone. Put them together and the answer vanished.

23 points
ZA
ZaraAbbott0047
Replying to ElenaArcher0427

Our code also lets both sides clear the acknowledgement. I've identified the competing conditions and will bring them to the interface review for an explicit decision

17 points
GR
GraceChen1190
Replying to ZaraAbbott0047

Good. Renaming the field won't remove the second writer. The agreed ownership needs to match both programs

25 points
EL
ElliotCarter1031
Replying to OliverBaker0450

@OliverBaker0450 Is acknowledgement basically done? Or can the PLC get it while inspection is still running?

20 points
OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to ElliotCarter1031

@ElliotCarter1031 Use the interface's explicit definition. An acceptance acknowledgement is distinct from completion, so both meanings need separate representation if both are required.

11 points
ZA
ZaraAbbott0047
Replying to OliverBaker0450

Our review will distinguish accepted from completed. I want a delayed result to look delayed, not mysteriously finished because a request was seen

5 points
EL
ElenaArcher0427
Replying to ZaraAbbott0047

Walk one example slowly from idle through acceptance and completion. It's amazing what a plain list of field values exposes.

4 points
EL
ElliotCarter1031
Replying to ElenaArcher0427

@ElenaArcher0427 Would you include a request that never gets acknowledged? The happy example seems easy enough

18 points
OL
OliverBaker0450
Replying to ElliotCarter1031

Include missing acknowledgement and the documented recovery ownership. A timeout doesn't by itself justify submitting the work again, so that transition needs explicit treatment.

10 points

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