Introduction to RobotStudio An Offline Robot Programming Tool

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Introduction to RobotStudioAn Offline Robot
Programming Tool
Dr. Richard A. Wyskrwysk_at_psu.eduhttp//www.engr.
psu.edu/cimlt gt, 2002
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Outline of Activities

• Sequence of activities required to create an
  offline program
• Designing robot worlds in RobotStudio
• Defining robot motions
• RobotStudio features
• Advantages of offline robot programming

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References

• RobotStudio tutorial gtgt http//130.203.243.91/Lab
  20Manuals20Test20Site/Frameset.htm
• www.robotstudio.com
• gt Product
• gt Downloads gt Movies gt
• - Station layout demo
• - Path definition demo
• - Program Generation demo
• RobotStudio documentation files

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Objectives

• Become familiar with RobotStudio
• Learn the sequence of Operations in the use of
  RobotStudio
• Understand the design methodology used in
  designing robot worlds in RobotStudio
• Understand how robot actions are described in
  RobotStudio
• Appreciate advantages of offline robot programming

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ExerciseReadiness Assessment Test A.K.A. RAT

• AS A TEAM, take 5 minutes to discuss the system
  below.
• For the system given below write a program in
  RAPID. Use Partial pseudo code this means you
  may use pseudo parameters but you will have to
  use real RAPID functions and commands

Pick part from M/C 1
This pseudo code should be gtgt Syntactically
correct in that it should use the functions and
the keywords in the proper syntax AND gtgt
Logically correct in that it should represent the
system given alongside
Inspect Part Ok/Not?
User input Ok/Not
Part Ok
Part Not Ok
Put _at_ Machine 2
Put _at_ Scrap Bin
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RobotStudio

• What is RobotStudio ?
• An offline robot programming software package by
  ABB for programming all robots that run on S4 and
  S4C controllers.
• Where is it loaded at?
• Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotic
  Lab
• Room 244 Leonhard Building

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RobotStudio

• Write lengthy robot programs without using the
  teach pendant
• In robot studio we define a Robot World and the
  paths the robot takes in these worlds to complete
  its tasks. This is done though a graphical
  interface. The software then generate the RAPID
  code in a file

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Steps in using Robot Studio

• Design
• Define Path
• Generate Program
• Simulate Graphically Verify
• Optimize

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What do we Design?
The model may have any or all of the following
entities

• Robot
• Robot Workspace Envelope Table
• Fixtures
• Robot Tools
• Parts
• Other Interacting Entities

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Design all of those?
No, Fortunately we dont have to design all of
those. There are libraries of each of these
objects and most times we just go to the
appropriate library and select the robot,
workspace, tools etc that we might need.
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Design Libraries

• Some of the objects that are available are
  complete assemblies of smaller links, joints and
  end effectors
• An obvious example is the robot
• For the program to be practical a robot has be
  modeled as an assembly and not as a rigid body
• .illustrationgtgt

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All 3 pictures are the same robot in different
stages of a pick operation
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Design Libraries

• Similarly we have to assemble the tool onto the
  robot during the design phase

Robot with Tool
Tool
Robot


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Design (contd..)

• For the objects that are not in the library we
  have the following options
• Design them using a standard CAD application and
  import the drawing in RobotStudio.
• RobotStudio has a built in CAD utility which can
  be used to design different things.

Tip Before going in to design standard parts
check with www.robotstudio.com goto 3D-models
link
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Menus
Toolbars
Browser
Property Browser
Output window
Graphics window
Status bar
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How do I create designs in RobotStudio?

• Designs in RobotStudio are created by
• Drawing simple shapes (select from toolbar)
• Possibly applying simple edit operations like
  rotate, translate etc.
• Assembling together these simple shapes.

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What Next?

• Make sure you have all the designs of all the
  items needed to describe the robot world that you
  want to program.
• Assemble all components together exactly the way
  they are in the real world (to exact dimensions
  and orientation).
• RobotStudio lets you translate and rotate
  objects easily using a mouse as well as by
  specifying the absolute or the incremental
  coordinates of the new position or orientation.

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Gosh that might be a lot of Work!
Yes it might be, but once it is ready then you
can use and reuse it again and again with or
without minor changes. Eventually it save a lot
of work and increases productivity!
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Path Definition

• Ok, so weve designed and assembled everything,
  now what?
• We define the actions of the robot. The movements
  that are required of it along with all the
  spatial constraints
• This is called Path Definition

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How?

• To define paths we specify the points in the
  robot world and define them as targets
• The flexibility of the program will depend on its
  modularity.
• E.g., - Pick action can be broken down into
  move-to, grab and an other move-to actions
• Verify that the targets are defined in the
  correct sequence (check in Object Browser)

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So our program is ready!

• Not just yet, we need generate the program based
  on our robot world definition and path
  definitions
• We need to switch the power on!

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Hold it!

• Switch on the power?
• Werent we in the programming phase.
• Yes we still are, but RobotStudio is an offline
  programming tool and it is designed to look and
  feel as similar to online robot programming

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So what?

• So, we need to switch on the robot controller
  before we can proceed.
• This is the VIRTUAL Robot Controller
• One of the things that this affords is that it
  allows the user to Verify the robot program
  quite a lot like MasterCam displays an animation
  of the NC program that it generates

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Voila!

• We are now ready to go. The program is saved onto
  a floppy and is transferred from the PC to the
  physical robot controller, ready to run!
• Note Keep saving your work, along the way, as
  you create or make changes to the program

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Still More

• RobotStudio has a host of features which can be
  applied to program special situations and also to
  enhance the existing program.

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RobotStudio

• Do collision detection by checking spatial
  interference
• Add conditional checks and other code to expand
  RobotStudio functionality using Visual Basic
  Scripting
• Use a virtual teach pendant to add to the
  program
• Optimize locations of various objects and thus
  reduce cycle times
• .more gtgt

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RobotStudio

• Visualize and Simulate movements and actions of
  objects other than the robot itself
• Collect simulation data in an Excel Spreadsheet

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Advantages of Offline Programming

• Reduces risk by visualization and confirming
  solutions
• Introduce new parts and methods without
  interrupting production
• Optimize robot programs to increase productivity
• Generate higher part quality through creation of
  more accurate paths
• Check for and avoid singularities

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Lets Go Lean!!