Fanuc SDK documentation

Move robot with mouse

🚨 The Challenge

In certain applications, you need to move the robot dynamically by sending a continuous stream of velocity commands. Think real-time control like using a joystick 🎮 or even a fancy 6D mouse 🖱️ — yes, those exist!

Fanuc DPM mouse control

✅ The DPM-Based Solution

The DPM (Dynamic Path Modification) option lets you dynamically adjust the robot’s motion path while it’s executing. But here’s the twist: we’re going to hack it a little (in a good way 😎) by using DPM after the motion is "done", keeping the robot stationary but reactive to real-time path adjustments.

🔧 Required Options

To pull this off, make sure the following are enabled:

R739 - Dyn Path Modifier: Allows use of Track instructions for DPM.
SNPX Communication:
- If R650 FRA params is selected, enable R553 - HMI Device SNPX.
- If R651 FRL Params is selected, no extra option needed.

🤖 TP Program Example

This TP program moves the robot to position P[1], starts DPM, and goes to P[2], which is super close to P[1]. Why? Because DPM doesn't work if the same position is used. You will get a DPMO-005 NO Zero Dist Motion.

After that, the robot stays at P[2], ready to respond to live path tweaks through system variables.

/PROG DPM_MOUSE
/ATTR
OWNER		= MNEDITOR;
COMMENT		= "";
PROG_SIZE	= 542;
CREATE		= DATE 25-03-23  TIME 10:14:27;
MODIFIED	= DATE 25-03-23  TIME 10:14:27;
FILE_NAME	= ;
VERSION		= 0;
LINE_COUNT	= 1;
MEMORY_SIZE	= 1030;
PROTECT		= READ_WRITE;
TCD:  STACK_SIZE	= 0,
      TASK_PRIORITY	= 50,
      TIME_SLICE	= 0,
      BUSY_LAMP_OFF	= 0,
      ABORT_REQUEST	= 0,
      PAUSE_REQUEST	= 0;
DEFAULT_GROUP	= 1,*,*,*,*;
CONTROL_CODE	= 00000000 00000000;
/MN
   1:J P[1] 80% FINE    ;
   2:  Track DPM[1] ;
   3:L P[2] 100mm/sec FINE    ;
   4:  Track End ;
   5:L P[2] 100mm/sec FINE    ;
/POS
P[1]{GP1:
	UF : 0, UT : 1,		CONFIG : 'N U T, 0, 0, 0',
	X =  1039.198  mm,	Y =     -1059.802  mm,	Z =   208.816  mm,
	W =      0.000 deg,	P =      0.000 deg,	R =     0.000 deg
};
P[2]{GP1:
	UF : 0, UT : 1,		CONFIG : 'N U T, 0, 0, 0',
	X =  1039.198  mm,	Y =     -1059.802  mm,	Z =   209.816  mm,
	W =      0.000 deg,	P =      0.000 deg,	R =     0.000 deg
};
/END

⚙️ DPM Configuration

Go to MENU → Setup → DPM Setup and configure as follows:

Schedule 1 - CONFIG:

DPM function:              ENABLED ✅
Instruction type:          MODAL
Offset BEF/AFT filter:     AFTER
Orientation CTRL:          DISABLED
Delay time (inline DPM):   5 ITP
Motion group mask:         [1,*,*,*,*,*,*,*]

Schedule 1 - DETAIL:

DPM type:                  MODAL
Offset ref. frame:         UTOOL
Offset accumulate:         FALSE
Stationary track:          YES 📍
Stationary track synch:    DI[1]

Channels 1, 2, 3 Settings:

Channel enabled:           TRUE
On-The-Fly Input:          DI[0]
Max offset/path:           100.00 mm 🚧
Max offset/ITP:            50.00 mm
Min offset/ITP:            0.00 mm
Channel input type:        SYSVAR
Offset value:              0.00 mm

You can safely disable unused channels 4+ to keep things clean ✨.

🧠 How It Works (Behind the Scenes)

Each Instruction Time Period (ITP), the robot reads a system variable ($INI_OFS), applies the offset, then resets it to zero. It’s like a little loop that gives you live path control 🔁.

Variable Breakdown:

Variable	Meaning
`$DPM_SCH[1]`	Schedule 1
`$GRP[1]`	Motion group 1
`$OFS[1]`, `[2]`, `[3]`	X, Y, Z channel offsets
`$INI_OFS`	The actual offset to apply

💻 C# Integration Example

Using SNPX, you can send DPM commands directly by writing to system variables.

👉 Grab the example code here: Download

💡 Notes & Tips

You can also write to system variables using other methods: Socket messaging, KAREL, or Telnet.
Want to control via analog (AI) or group inputs (GI)? Just change Channel input type — no need to use system variables if it fits your setup better.

TP editor with breakpoints

Documentation home

Any question?