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Flyway Cluster Linking

Flyway Cluster Linking

Owned by Comala Publishing
Last updated: Jan 29, 2025
6 min read

A Flyway cluster is a cluster of Flyways that is controlled by a single PMC. User can bring two or more clusters together easily with the Flyway Cluster Linking feature.

See also: Flyway Cluster Linking Example, Flyway Cluster Linking Overview

Quick introduction

Consider the following simple scenario: cluster 1 (in blue) has 3 flyways, and cluster 2 (in green) has 4 flyways.

First, configure a border for each cluster in software. In this example, all the physically connected edges are configured. Red line represents the border configured for cluster 1, and the black line represents the border configured for cluster 2.

Next, establish physical connection for all edges in the border, see Electrical Setup for connection detail.

Now you can send XBots across the boundary. See Flyway Cluster Linking Example for how to use the command.

Please note that only stereotype ID is transferred between systems, so all systems needs to define the same stereotype with the same information

Border Explained

A border is a line drawn along the outside boundary of the system where XBots from other system/cluster can enter, and XBots from the current system/cluster can exit. Each border is made up of the edges of Flyways, the edges can either be continuous or disconnected.

You can have maximum of 4 borders in a single system/cluster, as shown below in 4 different colors. One system/cluster can have up to 64 edges.

It is recommended to setup the border so it reflects the physical connection, like the following example:

If the border does not cover the entire physical connection, collision might happen when an XBot or its payload extends into the nearby system; shown below:

There are three states for the border, shown below:

The borders of the two connecting systems must match, and the Flyway Link cable must be connected. The following diagram shows two conditions where the border will always stay in "Disconnected" state.

Near Border Behavior

Border also adds additional behaviors to the system.

Behavior 1: Extending the Allowed Motion Range

Without a border, the following system will limit an XBot's motion to not extend outside of Flyway by more than 15mm. The motion of an XBot will be stopped when it hits the limit, shown below:

Once a border is established and ready, the motion range near the border is extended. An XBot can now move until its center hits the border, regardless of the XBot size; if the XBot is moved with XY Motion command, it will go past the border and enter the neighboring system. Consider the following graph:

  1. XY Motion command is used to send XBot 2 (M3-09) out of cluster "PMC 1"; it will not be stopped by XBot Center Boundary

  2. XBot 3 (M3-06) hits the XBot Edge Boundary and stopped

  3. XBot 6 (M3-06) moves in Arc Motion, and its center hits the XBot Center Boundary then stopped

  4. XBot 4 (M3-12) moves in Arc Motion, and its center hits the XBot Center Boundary then stopped

Behavior 2: Passing XBot Control to the Neighbor Cluster

As previously mentioned, an XY Motion command can be used to send an XBot from one cluster to another. An XBot will first be controlled by its original cluster as long as its center line has not passed the border:

Once the XBot's center line passes the border, the XBot will be controlled by the neighbor cluster:

XBot ID Management

Each cluster can be configured into either Real-time ID mode or Absolute ID mode. DO NOT mix the ID mode, i.e. all clusters should be configured to the same mode.

Real-time ID

In Real-time ID mode, each cluster manages its own sets of IDs. 

When an XBot with a particular ID leaves a system, that XBot will be marked as "Undetected", and its ID is ready to be used by any incoming XBot. In the following example, XBot 1 is driven from "PMC 1" cluster to "PMC 2" cluster, and now any XBot entering "PMC 1" can have ID 1 assigned to it.

When XBots enter a system, the system will assign a set of appropriate IDs to these XBots. Do not make assumptions on what the new IDs would be; always call Get Incoming XBots to obtain the full list of IDs and use Get XBot Status to find their location. In the following example, two incoming XBots are assigned "3" and "5" respectively.

Absolute ID

In Absolute ID mode, all clusters must have the same Absolute ID setting. One the ID settings are synchronized, XBots can be transferred from one system to another without changing their XBot IDs. In the following example, XBot 3 and 5 retain their ID when crossing from cluster "PMC 1" to "PMC 2".

Currently, user can manually synchronize the Absolute ID setting between clusters using Planar Motor Tool by following the steps below:

  1. Read XID Configuration to understand how to edit, load, and save the Absolute ID, especially section Saving and Merging ID Configuration File.

    Consider the following situation, each system/cluster has 3 XBots configured, and all 9 XBots are unique

  2. To merge these 3 configurations together, first generate the configuration file for both "PMC 2" and "PMC 3" following Saving and Merging ID Configuration File

  3. Open PMT that connects to "PMC 1", follow Saving and Merging ID Configuration File to merge the Absolute ID of "PMC 1" and "PMC 2"; the end result is shown below:

  4. Next, follow the same step to merge "PMC 1" and "PMC 3"; note that "PMC 3" has a conflicting ID "3", PMT will prompt you to change the ID "3" in "PMC 1"; in this example, ID "9" is used, as shown below in green text. Write the resulting ID Configuration to PMC and save the ID Configuration file to computer. resulting Absolute ID Configuration shown below:

  5.  Now, open PMT that connects to "PMC 2" (likely on a different PC), merge the ID Configuration file saved in step 4, and write it to PMC. The result is demonstrated below:

  6. Repeat step 5 for "PMC 3", now all 3 PMCs have the same Absolute ID configuration.

 

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