About this manual

This manual describes the key concepts for industrial robots and the communication methods used with our robots through an Ethernet-enabled computing device (IPC, PLC, PC, Mac, Raspberry Pi, etc.): using either TCP/IP, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, or PROFINET protocols. To maximize flexibility, we do not use a proprietary programming language. Instead, we provide a set of robot-related instructions, an API, making it possible to use any modern programming language that can run on your computing device.

The default communication protocol for Mecademic robots is TCP/IP; it consists of a set of text-based motion and request commands sent to and returned by the robot. Additional cyclic communication protocols (EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, and PROFINET) are also available and described in this manual. However, even if you do not intend to use the TCP/IP protocol, it is necessary to read the chapter that describes its text-based commands.

Furthermore, we offer a fully-fledged Python API, available from our GitHub account. That API is self-documented, but you still need to read the present programming manual.

Danger

Reading the user manual of your robot (MC-UM-MECA500) and understanding the robot’s operating principles is a prerequisite to reading this programming manual.

All of our robot models are programmed similarly, with only minor differences. For instance, certain commands and messages are specific to particular models and their optional accessories. To streamline your experience, this programming manual has been tailored specifically for the Meca500 robot and its accessories.

Navigation

Mecademic’s documentation is organized by robot models. The various manuals for your robot can be accessed from the header above. For the selected manual, the main sections are listed in the left sidebar, and any subsections are shown in the right sidebar. Clicking on the Mecademic logo in the upper-left corner brings you to the main documentation page, with the list of Mecademic robot models.

User manuals are independent of the robot firmware version. The Programming and the MecaPortal manuals, however, are specific to a given firmware version. For these two manuals, different versions can be selected from the dropdown menu at the top of the left sidebar.

Symbol definitions

The following table lists the symbols that may be used in Mecademic documents to denote certain conditions. Particular attention must be paid to the warning and danger messages in this manual.

Note

Identifies information that requires special consideration.

Warning

Provides indications that must be respected in order to avoid equipment or work (data) on the system being damaged or lost.

Danger

Provides indications that must be respected in order to avoid a potentially hazardous situation, which could result in injury.

Revision history

The firmware that is installed on Mecademic products has the following numbering convention:

{major}.{minor}.{patch}.{build}

Each Mecademic manual is written for a specific {major}.{minor}.{*}.{*} firmware version. On a regular basis, we revise each manual, adding further information and improving certain explanations. We only provide the latest revision for each {major}.{minor}.{*}.{*} firmware version. Below is a summary of the changes made in each revision.

Revision	Date	Comments
A	November 24, 2025	Original version

The document ID for each Mecademic manual in a particular language is the same, regardless of the firmware version and the revision number.