WAM Arm – User’s Manual
www.barrett.com
© 2008 Barrett Technology®, Inc.
Document: D1001, Version: AH.00
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1.2.4
Control Software/Firmware Upgrades
Barrett Technology releases software and firmware upgrades periodically (see Section 4.5 for
details on firmware upgrades). Upgrades are available free of charge for customers of Barrett’s
support subscription service. Customers with an expired support contracts can choose to renew
their contract, or purchase the upgrades separately. See the enclosed Support Reference Sheet for
more information about your support subscription service.
2 Safety and Cautions
2.1 Safety
Instructions
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE USING YOUR WAM.
Following these safety instructions will help prevent user injury and equipment damage.
•
Proper precautions should be taken when selecting the location and setup of your WAM
system. DO NOT set up the system such that any part of the robot’s workspace (resembling a
sphere with an approximately one meter radius, as shown in Figure 16) reaches into a
pedestrian pathway in the lab space. The WAM is an unusually quiet mechanism – it
generates little servo or transmission noise – thereby providing very little intrinsic warning of
its enabled state.
Figure 16 – WAM Workspace
•
In addition, as with any piece of robotic equipment, it is ultimately up to you to be aware of
your surroundings during robot operation. Although the WAM is intrinsically safer than other
robotic systems, you may wish to integrate standard safety measures such as mats, gates, light
curtains, etc. into the lab space surrounding the WAM.
•
NEVER connect or disconnect any electrical cables while the Power Supply is turned on.
Failure to follow this instruction could impart irreparable damage to the onboard electronics
or put you at risk of electrical shock.
•
Always plug the Power Supply into a properly grounded wall source. Failure to do so could
damage the WAM electronics and put you at risk of electrical shock.
•
Do not allow the WAM to be exposed to liquids that may cause electrical short-circuit and put
you at risk of electrical shock.
•
Keep dirt and debris away from the exposed cable drives located at the joints.
•
Do not exceed the load limit of the arm: 4 kg for a 4-DOF WAM and 3 kg for a 7-DOF
WAM. Consider all loading situations including accelerated loads, cantilever loads from long
objects, robot collisions, active loads, etc.