Original Guide (en)

UR e-Series Robots with Battery Supply

Installation guide

UR3e, UR5e & UR10e (e-Series) Original Guide (en)

UR3e, UR5e & UR10e (e-Series) 2 Rev. 1, July 2018


The information contained herein is the property of Universal Robots A/S and shall not be reproduced in whole

or in part without prior written approval of Universal Robots A/S. The information herein is subject to change

without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Universal Robots A/S.

Universal Robots A/S assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions in this document.

Copyright © 2009-2018 by Universal Robots A/S

The Universal Robots logo is a registered trademark of Universal Robots A/S.



1 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4

3 Guidelines ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5

4 Assembly Guide............................................................................................................................................................... 6

5 Shopping list .................................................................................................................................................................... 8

6 Schematic Overview UR3e, UR5e, & UR10e ................................................................................................................. 9

7 Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................................................. 11



1 Abbreviations CB Control Box

SCB Safety Control Broad

PSU Power supply

EE Energy Eater

Introduction This document provides guidelines to transform a standard UR e-Series robot into a battery-powered UR e-

Series robot by implementing the Meanwell SD-1000L-48 PSU. This document is intended for advanced

integrators of UR e-Series robots and the described installation should only be made by trained personnel.

This document is not public information and shall be considered confidential by the integrator. Copies of this

document are only permitted by the integrator for documentation purposes.

Before rebuilding the controller (thus voiding the warranty of the product), consider the possibility of placing

a 48VDC-230VAC inverter in front of the normal unmodified UR e-Series Control Box.

WARNING: 1. Internal parts are easily damaged during the battery supply implementation process.

The battery supply implementation voids the warranty of the Control Box and Teach

Pendant including all original components. The warranty remains on the Robot Arm.

2. Read and understand the UR e-Series User Manual before this guide. Pay special

attention to safety, maintenance, and repair precautions.

3. The battery supply implementation is not within intended use and voids the Safety

System Certificate and the EMC Test Certificate. The TÜV NORD label must be

removed or covered by a nontransparent label.

4. Always perform a thorough risk assessment for each application.

5. Universal Robots disclaims any liability even if all guidelines contained in this

document are followed.

6. The instructions in this document shall be considered as general guidelines. Universal

Robots, in general, does not support technical questions regarding battery supply

solutions. It is assumed the integrator has a high level of technical knowledge.

7. Incorrect grounding and/or chassis connections can cause unpredictable behavior and

in some cases, damage the PSU or the SCB. The grounding guidelines in this document

must be followed closely.

8. Observe ESD precautions when handling the electronics.

9. Consult the safety section in the UR e-Series User Manual for general precautions.



3 Guidelines These guidelines are based on the use of Meanwell SD-1000L-48 on a 24V, 36V, or 48V battery supply.

Guidelines for assembly, connectors, crimps, schematic overview, and troubleshooting can be found in other

areas of this document.

1. The battery voltage must never drop below 20V during the operation.

2. Main circuit breaker.

It is recommended to use two circuit breaker between the batteries and the PSU, one on the positive(+)

pole and one on the negative(-) pole (see page 9 and 10).

Circuit breaker recommendation: Phoenix Contact (Mouser Part No. 651-2907498, Mfr. No. 2907498)

3. When connecting the batteries and PSU:

• Use worst-case conditions (i.e., minimum voltage, maximum power) when deciding on cable

gauges.

• Use the shortest cables as possible.

• The wire recommended to connect the batteries in a series and connect the batteries to the PSU is

6 AWG/16mm2 (Farnell Part No. 2501432, Mfr. No. PP001193)

o Cable shoes for connecting batteries wires to PSU (Digikey Part No. A100742CT-ND,

Mfr. No. 61855-1)

• Connect battery positive pole “+” to +Vi on the PSU, and battery negative pole “-“ to -Vi on the

PSU.

• Before turning on the system, it is recommended to have a qualified person review your battery

assembly and the connection to the PSU.

4. The regulated DC-DC power supply is mandatory as the voltage among batteries varies. Use PSU:

Meanwell SD-1000L-48 (RS-online Part no.: 678-3672, Mfr. No. SD-1000L-48)

• Do not run a program that requires more power than the PSU can deliver. If you do not know how

much power is needed, modify the configuration file. This is done in a terminal1 by typing:

nano .urcontrol/urcontrol.conf (press enter).

• In the subsection [Hardware] change to “power_supply = 750” when a 36V or 48V battery supply is

used. When 24V battery supply is used, change to “power_supply=500”

• Press “Ctrl+x” a box will pop up asking if you want to save the file.

• Press “y” for yes, and then press “enter”.

• Run an update by typing: update_urcontrol_crc.py (press enter).

• For log out type: exit (press enter).

• Press Ctrl+Alt+F7 to get back to the user interface.

1 Open terminal: Ctrl+Alt+F1 – Login: root password: easybot



4 Assembly Guide Before starting this chapter, it is highly recemented to read and understand the service manual for e-

Series from Universal Robots2! - Section 4.2 describes the disassembly of the CB.

The datasheet and manual for the PSU are also recemented to look at before starting this chapter.3

1. Bring the Control Box into an ESD Protected Area (EPA).

2. Disconnect AC mains and all other external cables.

3. Remove the four nuts holding the metal cover inside the Control Box. See the picture below:

4. Remove all wires connected to the SCB and the PSU.

• All wires are reused except for the 230VAC cable and SCB/PSU connection cable.

5. Remove the PSU and SCB. Drill holes for the DC-DC PSU (see the drill drawing on page 12 and 13).

6. Mount the SCB again, and then mount the DC-DC PSU with 3 x M4 L=5.

7. Make the cable connect the PSU to the SCB. See Table 1 below to see how to connect the cable. (Note:

connect RC1 to RC2 on the PSU, CN51). The cable length should be approximately 35 cm. For further

help see the schematic overview in Chapter 6.

PSU Pin CN51 PSU NAME SCB NAME SCB Pin CON1101

5 VAUX AuxPower 2

6 AUXG GND 1

7 RC1 (connect to RC2)

8 RC2 (connect to RC1)

9 RCG ON/OFF 3

Table 1 Pin Connections

2 https://www.universal-robots.com/download/?option=41381#section41378 3 https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/dc-dc-enclosed-converter-input-19-72vdc-output-sd--1000l--48



8. Connect the PSU and SCB with the cable made from step 5.

9. Connect the battery positive/negative poles to the positive/negative (+/-) input on the PSU. Ensure no

cores of the +/- touch each other!

10. Connect the Earth on the PSU to the CB and make sure the CB is grounded properly.

11. Connect all the wires to the SCB again (E_GND, R_GND, GND, 48V, E_48V, R_48V, TP cable, Robot

cables, EE cables) as shown in the schematic overview in Chapter 6.



5 Shopping list

Cable connecting PSU &

SCB

Part Quantity

Housing PSU

Hirose DF11, 2mm Pitch, 10 Way, 2 Row Female

Connector Housing,

Manufacturer No. DF11-10DS-2C

Digi-Key Part No. H2023-ND

1

Housing SCB

CONN HOUSING PHD 20POS 2MM DUAL,

Manufacturer No. PHDR-20VS

Digi-Key Part No. 455-1174-ND

1

Crimps PSU

Hirose DF11 Crimp Terminal Contact. Female

Manufacturer No. DF11-22SCA

Digi-Key Part No. H2953-ND

5

Crimps SCB

JST Sales America Inc. SPHD-002T-P0.5

Manufacturer No. SPHD-002T-P0.5

Digi-Key Part No. 455-1313-1-ND

3

Cable for connecting

SCB and PSU

AWG 24, UL Style 1430 or similar.

3 x ~40cm

1 x ~5cm

PSU Part Quantity

Power supply unit

Meanwell SD-1000L-48

Mfr. No. SD-1000L-48

RS-online Part No. 678-3672

1

Cable shoes for 6-10AWG

CONN SPADE TERM 6-10AWG #10

Mfr. No. 61855-1

Digikey Part No. A100742CT-ND

3

Circuit breaker Part Quantity

Circuit breaker

Phoenix Contact

Mfr. No. 2907498

Mouser Part No. 651-2907498

2

Cables for connecting

batteries

Part Quantity

Cable

6 AWG/16mm2

Mfr. No. PP001193

Farnell Part No. 2501432

Unknow



6 Schematic Overview UR3e, UR5e, & UR10e





7 Troubleshooting

Symptom Possible Cause(s)

PSU constantly delivers 48V to the SCB. The pins, RC1, and RC2 in the CN51 on the PSU are not

connected.

Fails during power-up Teach Pendant is incorrectly connected.

The 48V power supply (including its control wires) may be

incorrectly connected.

48V voltage reverse polarity.

Fails during operation The input voltage for the 48V supply drops below 19V.

The configuration file is modified incorrectly.

Error: Short circuit in robot detected Reverse polarity for robot supply.

Reverse polarity for energy eater.

Error C740A0 The program running on the robot requires more than 1000W –

Try to decrease the Joint acc. and Joint speed.

System seems unstable The 48V power supply is unstable.

Voltage supply not within +/- 1% tolerance.

Incorrect grounding (this may be caused by ground-loops or

loose screws).

For general troubleshooting please consult the Service Manual located at:

https://www.universal-robots.com/support/

Universal Robots, in general, does not support technical questions regarding battery supply solutions.

The parts mentioned in this document, including their part numbers, can be ordered from:

RS Online: http://www.rs-online.com/

Farnell: http://www.farnell.com/

Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/

Mouser: https://eu.mouser.com/

https://www.universal-robots.com/support/

http://www.rs-online.com/

http://www.farnell.com/

https://www.digikey.com/

https://eu.mouser.com/





Make sure to remove the SCB before drilling. The blue dots represent where the holes for the Mean Well PSU approximately should be drilled in the

metal cover.

Documents

Original Guide (en)