IRBCAM User`s Manual

IRBCAM R
Users Manual
http://www.irbcam.com
Copyright c 2005-2015
R
US Trademark: 4,371,963
April 17, 2015
Feature List
IRBCAM offers the following features.
• CAD/CAM files to industrial robot code for most common brands
• Compatible with CAM software which can generate APT-CL or G-Codes
• More than 10 million coordinate points possible in one setup
• Coordinated motion of robot, linear and rotary external axes
• Reachability, singularity and collision checking including external axes
• Fully configured wrist/elbow/base and safe robot paths
• 2D and 3D plotting with animated robot and path verification
• Toolpath optimizer which aids the user in finding good settings
• Command-line interface with possibility to use as post-processor
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Contents
Quick Steps to IRBCAM
4
Nomenclature
4
1 Safety Precautions
7
2 Introduction
8
3 System Requirements
8
4 Coordinate Systems
9
4.1 User and Tool Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
4.2 Roll, Pitch, Yaw Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
5 Input Formats
5.1 APT-CL
12
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
5.2 G-Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
5.3 Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
6 3D Navigation and Options
18
7 Examples
21
7.1 Offline Programming with IRBCAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
7.2 FANUC R1000iA-80F Robot and G-Code Programming . . . . . .
30
7.3 ABB IRB2400 Robot with no External Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
7.4 ABB IRB6600 Robot Mounted on a Linear Track . . . . . . . . . .
40
7.5 ABB IRB6400 Robot with Rotary Table - Dynamic Angle Mode 1 . .
48
7.6 ABB IRB6400 Robot with Rotary Table - Dynamic Angle Mode 2 . .
52
7.7 ABB IRB4400 Robot with Linear Track and Rotary Axis . . . . . . .
54
7.8 ABB IRB6600 Robot with 3-Axis Construction Views . . . . . . . .
58
7.9 KUKA KR60-3 Robot and Roller Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
7.10 ABB IRB140 Robot and Fixed Axis 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
7.11 ABB IRB2400 Hanging Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
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7.12 ABB IRB6400 Robot with Actuated Linear Table . . . . . . . . . . .
75
7.13 Motoman UP50N Robot and 5-Axis Toolpath . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
7.14 ABB IRB6650S and Stationary Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
84
7.15 ABB IRB6400 Configuring Complex 5-Axis Paths . . . . . . . . . .
88
7.16 Gantry-Tau Milling of 8m Wind Turbine Blade . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
7.17 HYUNDAI HS165 and Drilling Cycles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 Collision Detection
100
104
8.1 Collision Detection: IRB6400 with Rotary Axis . . . . . . . . . . . .
9 Robot Code Output Options
105
108
9.1 Gun On/Gun Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
108
9.2 Tool Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
108
9.3 Spindle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
9.4 S4 Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
9.5 Speeds from APT File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
9.6 Tool Data
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
9.7 Module and Procedure Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
9.8 External Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
9.9 Controller Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
10 IRBCAM as a Post-Processor
10.1 Optional Parameters
112
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.2 Example of IRBCAM integration with SurfCam
114
. . . . . . . . . . .
118
10.3 Example of IRBCAM integration with VisualMill . . . . . . . . . . .
121
10.4 Running IRBCAM on Multiple Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
126
11 Statistics
127
12 CAD Converter
128
13 ABB Robot Controllers
133
14 Calibration
135
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Quick Steps to IRBCAM
This section summarises the steps required to get started with IRBCAM. The steps
required are the following:
• Generate your 2D or 3D drawing in a CAD program, such as AutoCad or
SolidWorks.
• Load CAD file into a CAM package, such as SurfCam or VisualMill and generate tool cutting paths. Save as APT-CL file (recommended) or ISO G-code.
• Load APT-CL file or G-codes into IRBCAM and check that the programmed
robot coordinates have no collisions, out of reach or singularity problems.
• When the path has been verified with IRBCAM, generate robot code, load
into robot controller and start machining.
Nomenclature
This section explains some of the terms and terminology which are used throughout
the manual.
• Cubes: Cubes are general elements used to represent tables, fences, walls,
obstacles, etc. in your station. The user can specify each cube using width,
length and height and a colour. There can be many cubes in a station.
• Geometry file: There can only be one geometry file in a station and this object
represents the part to be machined. The dimensions of the geometry file
should match the generated toolpath. Geometry files must be converted to
the IRBLIB format using the CADConverter.exe and placed in the installation
directory ..\IRBCAM\geometry
• Linear table coordinate system (or linear table frame): The linear table frame
specifies the position and orientation of a linear, actuated table relative to the
world coordinate system. If a geometry file is included in the station, it will be
specified relative to the linear table frame. When the actuated table moves,
the geometry file will move with it.
• Object coordinate system (or object frame): An object frame is specified relative to the user coordinate system. This feature is available on for example
ABB and ADEPT robots, but not all robot brands. An example situation where
the object frame is useful, is as follows: The user frame is calibrated to a corner of a working table bolted to the floor, while the object frame specifies
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translation and rotation relative to that corner. The user frame will normally
never change and needs to be calibrated only once. It is easier and faster to
calibrate an object frame relative to the corner of a table (user frame), than
to the base frame of the robot.
• Robot coordinate system (or robot base frame): The robot base frame specifies the location and rotation of the robot relative to the world frame. Normally,
the robot base frame and the world frame are identical. In some situations
it can be useful to make the robot frame different from the world frame, for
example when the robot is mounted on a linear track or when the robot is
ceiling mounted (upside-down).
• Roll, Pitch, Yaw angles: These three angles specify the orientation of coordinate systems. The Roll angle (RZ) is about the world Z-axis, the Pitch angle
(RY) is about the current Y-axis, while the Yaw angle (RX) is about the current
X-axis. Not all robot manufacturers use Roll, Pitch and Yaw angles, hence
IRBCAM includes an angle converter from manufacturer specific angles to
Roll, Pitch and Yaw.
• Rotary axis coordinate system (or rotary axis frame): The rotary axis frame
specifies the position and orientation of an actuated turntable relative to the
world coordinate system. If a geometry file is included in the station, it will
be specified relative to the rotary axis frame. When the turntable rotates, the
geometry file will rotate with it.
• Station: A system setup in IRBCAM is saved in a Station file with file extension IRB. The station file describes location and orientation of objects
such as linear track, robot, turntable, linear actuated table, geometry file,
stationary CAD, tool and cubes. Station files can be sent to and opened
on another computer as long as custom-made objects (geometry, stationary
CAD and tool) are placed in the installation directories, normally C:\Program
Files\IRBCAM\tool (or \geometry).
• Stationary CAD: These objects are used when more detail is required compared to cubes. There can be many stationary CAD files in a station, and
as opposed to geometry files these will not move when a turntable or linear
actuated table moves.
• Toolpath: A toolpath contains either 3- or 5-axis information about tool tip
location and orientation. IRBCAM supports toolpaths on APT-CL or G-Code
formats. These files must be generated by separate CAM software, such as
SurfCam, VisualMill or others.
• Tool coordinate system (or tool frame): The tool frame is located at the
mounting flange of the robot and specifies the distance and orientation of
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the tool tip relative to the mounting flange. Normally, the Z-axis of the tool
frame points straight out from the mounting flange, but this is not standardised and definitions vary between the robot manufacturers. The advantage of
using a tool frame definition becomes evident when the user wants to change
the tool. Instead of having to modify the entire robot program, only the tool
frame has to be updated.
• Track coordinate system: This coordinate system specifies the position and
orientation of a linear track relative to the world coordinate system. A robot
will be mounted on top of the track, and is specified relative to the track
coordinate system. When the linear track moves, the robot base frame will
move with it.
• User coordinate system (or user frame): This frame is relative to the robot
base frame and is used to define a local coordinate system, typically on a
working table. The advantage of having a user frame definition becomes
evident when the user wants to move the part on the working table. Instead
of having to modify the entire robot program, only the user frame has to be
updated. Another advantage of defining a user frame is the fact that the CAM
software which generates the toolpath does not need to know the location
and orientation of the robot. The origin of the user frame defined on the robot
and the placement of the physical part to be machined relative to that user
frame should match the origin defined in the CAM software.
• World coordinate system (or world frame): The world frame is always located
at the position X=Y=Z=0 with angles Roll=Pitch=Yaw=0 degrees. Normally,
when the robot is in the home position, the upper arm points along the positive X-axis of the world frame, but this is not standardised and definitions
vary between the robot manufacturers.
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7
Safety Precautions
Industrial robots can cause significant damage to personnel, infrastructure and
surrounding equipment if not operated properly. When using robot code generated
by IRBCAM, the following safety precautions must be made.
• The robot must only be operated by personnel who have received proper
training. In particular, the operator must know how to calibrate user frames
and tool frames and to make sure that these frames are identical with the
ones used by IRBCAM.
• The operator must not modify the generated robot code, for example by removing safety information embedded in the code such as arm configuration
data.
• No personnel must enter inside the workspace of the robot in the following
situations: A) The controller is in automatic mode, B) the controller is in manual mode when the operator is using the teach pendant, C) the machining
spindle is running.
• Safety walls and/or doors must be used to protect the operator from potential
loose parts such as the milling tool or from material being removed.
• IRBCAM is intended for robotic machining of soft materials. Machining of
hard materials (such as steel) with a robot can cause serious damage to
tooling and/or the robot itself.
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8
Introduction
This document describes the IRBCAM software, an interface between G-Codes
and the APT-CL format and the most common industrial robot languages. The
APT-CL format is one of the most common CAM formats, and most CAM software
can export to this generic machine-independent format. IRBCAM can also work
with G-codes, see section 5 for more information. IRBCAM has been tested extensively on SurfCam, AlphaCam and CATIA v5, ProEngineer and VisualMill, which
are some of the common CAM platforms.
IRBCAM connects the powerful capabilities of modern CAD/CAM platforms with
the flexibility, accuracy and speed of industrial type robots. While such robots are
normally not rigid enough to be used for hard metals, they are well suited for rapid
prototyping and mould production in light metals, wood and foam materials. An
industrial robot offers a cost-efficient alternative for 5-axis machining in lightweight
materials. The repeatability of a robot is typically 0.1-0.2mm, while a typical absolute accuracy is 0.3-0.5mm, depending on the size of the workspace. However,
this type of accuracy requires that the operator carefully calibrates the tool and the
work object coordinate frames. When these frames are not calibrated carefully,
position errors of several millimeters are not unusual.
The total workspace volumes that can be achieved, depends on the robot model
type and varies from 0.5x0.5x0.5 cubic metres to more than 2x2x2 cubic metres.
By placing the robot on a linear external axis, the workspace can be extended
to very large distances (systems up to 100 metres have been built) in one of the
workspace directions. By including a rotary external axis, the robot can machine
large objects from all sides.
3
System Requirements
IRBCAM runs under the Windows (NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Win7, Win8) operating system and the software is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. On Mac and
Linux operating systems a 64-bit version is available. The PC running IRBCAM
should have at least 1GB of RAM. If large APT files are used, then more working
memory is recommended. The 32-bit version can utilize RAM up to 4GB, while the
64-bit version does not have this limitation. IRBCAM has been successfully tested
on computers with 16GB and more RAM and toolpaths with more than 10 million
coordinates. A relatively fast CPU is recommended for the collision detection functions. The Intel Core-i7 4770S 3.1GHz is an example of a CPU which runs the
collision detection relatively fast. A good low-cost CPU is the Intel Pentium G860
3.0GHz (collision detection about 25-30% slower than with the i7-4770S).
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9
Coordinate Systems
This section contains useful background information about common coordinate
systems (user and tool frames) for industrial robots, as well as a short description
of a common definition of axis rotations (roll, pitch, yaw).
4.1
User and Tool Frames
To program an industrial robot efficiently, it is strongly recommended to use two
types of coordinate systems: 1) The User Frame and 2) the Tool Frame. The two
main advantages of using these two coordinate frames are: 1) it becomes easy
to change tool (only the tool coordinates need to be modified, and not the entire
program) and 2) it becomes easy to move the entire toolpath inside the workspace
of the robot.
Figure 1: Definition of the user frame: X=1000mm, Y=0, Z=0 and the axes in the
default directions.
All the major robot brands use the same default definition of the user frame, see
Figure 1. The X-axis (red colour) points in the direction straight out from the robot
base. The Y-axis (green colour) points to the left as seen from the robot base,
while the Z-axis (blue colour) points from the floor towards the ceiling. The 0,0,0
position of the user frame is located at the base of the robot. The user can freely
move the user frame in all three directions (X,Y,Z), as well as rotate the axes in any
directions (roll, pitch, yaw). The user frame normally consists of 6 numbers (X,Y,Z
plus roll, pitch, yaw). Note that ABB uses quaternions (4 numbers) instead of the
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3 rotations. IRBCAM contains a converter between quaternions and the three (roll,
pitch, yaw) angles.
The definition of the tool frame is slightly different between the various robot brands.
The European brands ABB, Kuka and Comau use the definition shown in Figure 2
(left) while the Japanese brands Motoman and Fanuc use the definition shown
in Figure 2 (right). The difference between the two definitions, is a 180o rotation
about the tool Z-axis. IRBCAM is based on the European definition. Hence, when
using IRBCAM with the Japanese brands, care must be taken when defining the
tool frame coordinates, see for example section 7.13. For ABB, Kuka and Comau
Figure 2: Definition of the tool frame. Left: ABB, Kuka and Comau definition. Right:
Motoman and Fanuc definition.
robots, the default tool frame has the X-axis (red colour) pointing towards the floor
(see Figure 2, left) when the robot is in the home position, while for Fanuc and
Motoman robots the default tool X-axis points towards the ceiling (see Figure 2,
right). Both definitions use the Z-axis (blue colour) as the main tool direction (for
example the direction of the milling tool).
4.2
Roll, Pitch, Yaw Angles
IRBCAM uses the roll (RZ), pitch (RY) and yaw (RX) angles for describing rotations.
Figure 3 illustrates three examples of single roll, pitch, yaw rotations, each 90o .
The positive direction of rotation is given by the right-hand rule. Place the thumb
in the axis direction - the positive rotational direction is then given by the remaining
fingers.
Figure 4 illustrates a combined roll, pitch, yaw rotation. Roll is always performed
first, followed by Pitch about the new Y-axis, followed by Yaw about the new X-axis.
Note that the majority of robot brands use roll, pitch, yaw angles, while some brands
use quaternions and Z-Y-Z rotations. IRBCAM consistently uses roll, pitch, yaw for
user- and tool frames and converts these angles to quaternions and Z-Y-Z angles
when necessary.
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 3: Three examples of single roll, pitch, yaw rotations.
Figure 4: An example of a combined single roll, pitch, yaw rotation.
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5
Input Formats
This section briefly describes the IRBCAM input formats: APT-CL and G-Codes.
5.1
APT-CL
Table 1 shows the APT-CL commands which are supported by IRBCAM.
UNITS/MM
GOTO/X,Y,Z
GOTO/X,Y,Z,I,J,K
CIRCLE/XC,YC,ZC,I,J,K,R
INDIRV/VX,VY,VZ
TLON,GOFWD/
(CIRCLE/XC,YC,ZC,R),ON,
(LINE/XC,YC,ZC,X,Y,Z)
HELICAL/CENTER,XC,YC,ZC,
INDIRV,VX,VY,VZ,
AXIS,AX,AY,AZ,
PITCH,P,RADIUS,R,ANGLE,A,
HEIGHT,H,ROUND,D,END,X,Y,Z
RAPID
FEDRAT/MMPM,V
LOADTL/x
SPINDL/RPM,x
MSYS/(12 numbers)
CYCLE/FEDTO,F,MMPM,V,
RAPTO,P1,RTRCTO,P2,
PULBAC,S
CYCLE/OFF
Coordinate units. MM or INCH.
Linear 3-axis move
Linear 5-axis move, (I,J,K) is the tool
vector. Default tool vector is (0,0,1).
Arc/circular move where (XC,YC,ZC) is
the circle centre, (I,J,K) is a vector normal
to the arc/circle plane and R is the radius.
Catia 3-axis circle format. VX,VY,VZ is the
motion direction vector, XC,YC,ZC is the
circle centre, X,Y,Z is the arc end-point.
Catia helical format. XC,YC,ZC,
VX,VY,VZ same as circle, AX,AY,AZ helical
direction vector, p-pitch distance, R-radius,
A-total helical angle,H-total height,
D-number of revs,X,Y,Z-end point.
Rapid (no contact) move.
Feed rate V. Units can be MMPM (mm per
minute) or IPM (inches per minute).
Tool number x.
Spindle speed x.
Coordinate transformation. MCS, $$*CATIA0,
$$->CSYS also supported.
F is depth of the drill cycle, V is the speed in
units MMPM or IPM, P1 is the rapid-to distance,
P2 is the retract-to distance, S=98 means pullback to P2, S=99 means pullback to P1. The parameters DWELL and INCR are not used by IRBCAM.
End of drilling cycle
Table 1: List of APT-CL Commands Supported by IRBCAM.
Notes:
A GOTO/ command is required both immediately before and after a CIRCLE/ command to define the start and end-points of the arc. If the start and end-points
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13
are equal, then a full-circle is defined. There are two normal vectors (I,J,K) for
a circle plane. These two different vectors are used to define the rotational direction. In the XY-plane, (I,J,K)=(0,0,-1) specifies a clockwise rotational direction,
while (I,J,K)=(0,0,1) specifies a counter-clockwise direction. The tool vector during
the circle/arc motion, is specified in the GOTO/ command immediately before the
CIRCLE/ command.
Helical motion can be specified in two different ways: 1) Use the Catia HELICAL/
command or 2) if the Z-values in a full circle and the GOTO/ commands immediately before and after are different, then a helix motion is defined, see the generated APT file in the example in section 7.2. Below is an example using the Catia
syntax for a lead-in circle and helical:
GOTO/-161.11973,-463.8388,253,0,0,1
INDIRV/-0.31849,-0.94793,0,TLON,GOFWD/,$
(CIRCLE/-156.38010,-465.43127,253,5),$
ON,(LINE/-156.3801,-465.43127,253,-157.97256,-470.17089,253)
HELICAL/CENTER,0,0,253,INDIRV,0.94793,-0.31849,0,AXIS,0,0,1,PITCH,10,$
RADIUS,496,ANGLE,9108,HEIGHT,253,ROUND,25.3,END,495.9753,-4.95004,0
The tooltrace of this example in IRBCAM is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Tooltrace showing Catia syntax for circular lead-in (left) and helical (right).
The 12 numbers after MSYS/ are comma-separated. The first 3 numbers specify
axes translations, while the remaining 9 numbers specify the axis rotations.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
5.2
G-Codes
Table 2 shows the G-codes currently supported by IRBCAM.
G00
G01
G02
G03
G17
G18
G19
G20
G21
G22
G23
G43
G70
G71
G80
G81
G90
G91
G92
G98
G161
G162
RAPID move
Linear move
Clockwise (CW) arc
Counter-clockwise (CCW) arc
XY-Plane
ZX-Plane
YZ-Plane
Mirror X-axis
Mirror Y-axis
Mirror X&Y-axes
No mirroring
Tool Z-axis compensation
Imperial units
Metric units
Start drill cycle
End drill cycle
Absolute programming
Incremental programming
Origin shift
Drill cycle: Retract old z
Relative arc centres
Absolute arc centres
F x
%L NAME
%
LL NAME
M3
M3 Sx
M4
M4 Sx
M5
M6 Tx
M17
M29
Feedrate x MMPM
Procedure NAME
End of procedure
Procedure call
Spindle CW
Spindle RPM = x
Spindle CCW
Spindle RPM = x
Spindle stop
Tool number x
End of procedure
End of procedure
Table 2: List of G-Codes Supported by IRBCAM.
For arcs/circles, the additional parameters I,J,K or R are used. For example:
G1 X100
; arc start point
G2 X90Y10I-5J5 ; arc end point and relative offsets (I,J) to centre point
In absolute circle centre mode (G161), the same example will be:
G161 G1 X100
; arc start point
G2 X90Y10I95J5 ; arc end point (X,Y) and centre point (I,J)
The same example with radius (R) would be:
G1 X100
; arc start point
G2 X90Y10R7.07 ; arc end point and radius
In 5-axis mode, IRBCAM currently supports the following notation:
G1 X0Y0Z0 I0J0K1 ; where I,J,K define the tool orientation
G1 X0Y0Z0 A0B0C0 ; where C,B,A are axis rotations (transformations)
The following example shows two different approaches to 5-axis G-Code program-
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
ming. The first approach is to change the tool orientation using the (I,J,K) parameters. These three numbers define the normal vector of the tool.
Example 1: Using tool vector
Example 2: Using axis rotation
G1 X0
G3 I50
G1 X100
G1 X100I1J0K0
; Tool in X-direction
G2 K-50
G1 X200I0J0K1
; Tool in Z-direction
G3 I50
G1 X300
G1 X0Z300B90
; Rotate 90o about Y
G2 I50
The combined program (example 1 and 2) is illustrated in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Illustration of two approaches for 5-axis G-Code programming.
Notes:
The tool vector is usually normalised to have a length equal to one. If the user specified a tool vector (I,J,K) with a length different to one, IRBCAM will automatically
re-scale (normalise) the vector.
The circle plane is always normal to the (I,J,K) vector. When using axis rotations
(A,B,C), the circle plan is also always normal to the (I,J,K) vector, but note that the
tool vector is rotated by (A,B,C).
The G-code G18 is the same as A90C90, while G19 is the same as C-90.
Axis rotations (A,B,C) can be combined with tool vector orientation (I,J,K). The
following G-code and figure is an example:
IRBCAM User’s Manual
G1 X0Z300B90 ; Rotate 90o about Y
G1 I-1K1 ; Re-orient the tool
G2 I-35K-35 ; Full-circle
Example drill cycle:
G1 Z3
G81 G98 X4 Y5 Z1.5 R2.8 F33
G80
The following moves will take place.
1.
2.
3.
4.
a traverse parallel to the XY plane to (4,5,3)
a traverse parallel to the Z-axis to (4,5,2.8)
a feed parallel to the Z-axis to (4,5,1.5), feedrate F33
a traverse parallel to the Z-axis to (4,5,3)
Without the parameter G98, the 4th move will retract to (4,5,2.8).
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
5.3
17
Text Files
Figure 7: Text file import and options.
IRBCAM can also import pure ASCII text files or CSV files from Excel. Fig. 7
shows the menu (left) and the TXT/CSV Options dialog (right). Parameters such
as the separator character, decimal character, row and column start numbers can
be configured by the user. The data type can either be 3-axis (X,Y,Z) or 5-axis
(X,Y,Z,I,J,K), where I,J,K is the tool vector. ASCII file import is also supported by a
command-line option, see Table 7.
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18
3D Navigation and Options
Figure 8 shows the key combinations for the 3D navigation in IRBCAM. The arrow
keys are used, in combination with CTRL, ALT and SHIFT.
Figure 8: Key combinations for 3D navigation.
The IRBCAM options screen can be accessed from the menu ’Tools - Options’ or
by pressing CTRL+J and is shown in Fig. 9. First, the user can define a text editor
(in this example Notepad++) to view the generated robot code. At the top left there
are options related to the display mode of IRBCAM. The first option defines the
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 9: IRBCAM Options.
placement of the navigation icons (horizontal or vertical). The next option defines
the home 3D view which can be defined as either No Change, Default or Current.
The display of the floor can be turned off. This may be useful when some objects
are located below Z = 0 or the user would like to view the station from below
through the floor. When ’Target Selection Mode’ is disabled, the XY, XZ, YZ and
XYZ plots can be zoomed. When this option is enabled, the user can click on a
single target in the same plots to edit values. IRBCAM will go directly to the robot
target closest to the clicked point. The last three display mode options define the
tool trace. At the top right there are three options (optimizer steps) which are used
to define the behaviour of the Optimizer (accessed through CTRL+I).
The options at the bottom are all related to path configuration. When the option
’Allow Large Reorientation’ is enabled tool roll angle is allowed to change by 40
degrees between any two robot targets. The default is only 3 degrees. The next
option defines the robot’s 6th axis mode. An example using this option is given in
section 7.9. The options related to the parameter RZ2 can be used to configure
complex 5-axis paths, see section 7.15 for an example. Finally, there are 6 options
IRBCAM User’s Manual
20
(one for each joint) which determine the safety distance to the robot’s joint limits.
The default value is 0.5 degrees, but this number can be increased to 30 degrees
for each individual axis. These could be very useful options to influence how a
target is configured. For example, if a station is defined with a linear track, one
might want to put a 30 degree additional joint limit constraint on axis 2 to avoid
large bending torques on the track. Another useful case is when very long linear
moves are programmed. IRBCAM does not interpolate between the points and it
could happen that the robot controller reaches a joint limit half-way between the
points. In such cases, increasing the safety distance to the joint limits could solve
the problem.
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7
21
Examples
This section contains several examples of how to define a station, use IRBCAM as
an offline programming tool or how to load an APT file or G-code, configure the
path and generate robot code. The examples include a single robot, a robot with
a rotary table, a robot mounted on a linear track and the combined setup including
both a linear track and a rotary axis. Unless explicitly stated, the units used in the
examples are all metric (mm).
7.1
Offline Programming with IRBCAM
This section demonstrates how IRBCAM can be used as an offline programming
tool without the need for an additional CAM software package. The robot used in
this example is an ABB IRB6400-2.4-M97.
Figure 10: Initial options when creating new station.
Figure 10 shows the initial options. First, choose ’New Station Wizard’ then ’Station
without Linear Track’. In Figure 10 click ’Next’ to proceed to the next stage. At any
stage, a selection can be reversed by clicking on ’Back’. Figure 11 shows the robot
and tool selection. Select the ABB IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot then ’Robot Holds Tool’.
Figure 12 shows the tool selection window and the options for external axes.
Choose ’Spindle-UBR’ followed by ’Station Without External Axis’. Figure 13 shows
the definition screen for the user frame. Define the user frame at position X=2000
and Z=1000. Note that the Red, Green and Blue coordinate axes for the user
frame will move when the user enters new coordinates. Figure 14 shows the next
screens in the station setup process. Select ’Station Without User Object’ and ’Add
Cube’. Figure 15 shows the cube definition screen. Just leave the cube at the default position with default size in this example. This cube represents for example
a machining table. Finally, select ’No More Cubes’ as the last step in the station
definition process.
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22
Figure 11: Selection of IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot and type of tool.
Figure 12: Spindle UBR and no external axis.
Figure 16 shows the main window in IRBCAM after the new station has been saved.
This station currently has no target (robot coordinates) defined. The user now
has the option to load robot coordinates from an APT file or from G-codes, or to
manually enter new coordinates using IRBCAM’s offline programming features. In
this example, we will demonstrate the offline programming features. First, add a
new target as shown in Figure 16 (left). This can be done using the menus (Edit Target - Add Target) or by pressing CTRL+E. In Figure 16 (right), the new target has
been added by default to the position (0,0,0) in the current user frame. To enter the
Combination View shown in Figure 16 (right) use the menus (View - Combination
View) or press CTRL+2.
When defining the second robot target as shown in Figure 17 (left) the user has to
decide if the new point should appear before or after the first target. In this example,
add the second target after the first and edit the X-value to be 475, Figure 17 (right).
Next, define the remaining robot targets as illustrated in Figure 18 and in Table 3. In
total, there should be 19 targets. Targets 3,6,9,15 and 17 are mid-points in circular
motions. To define this attribute, right-click on a target in the target list (upper lefthand side of the main window) and click on the button ’»’. The list of attributes will
appear for the given target, as illustrated in Figure 19. The attributes are: 1) linear
or arc motion, 2) speed, 3) tool number and 4) spindle RPM. Note that only the
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 13: Definition of user frame.
Figure 14: Selection of user object and cubes.
mid-points in the arc are specified, not the start and end-points.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 15: Definition of cube.
Figure 16: Addition of first target (point).
Figure 17: Definition of second robot target.
Figure 18: Definition of remaining points.
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Point
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
X
0
475
492.68
500
500
492.68
475
25
7.32
0
0
0
250
250
300
250
200
250
250
Y
0
0
7.32
25
475
492.68
500
500
492.68
475
0
0
200
200
250
300
250
200
200
Z
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
25
25
0
0
0
0
0
50
Speed
150
Arc
Tool
1
RPM
1000
4
4
4
300
0
1000
150
4
4
Table 3: Coordinate points and attributes for offline programming example.
Figure 19: Addition of attributes such as speed, tool number and spindle RPM.
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Figure 20: RAPID export options.
Figure 20 shows the export option for the final robot code, for ABB robots the export
code is in the RAPID language. In order to enable editing of tool number, spindle
RPM and speed for individual robot points (as illustrated in Figure 19), the export
options ’Set Tool Number’, ’Set Spindle Speed’ and ’Speeds from APT file’ must be
selected, as shown in Figure 20.
Figure 21: Path configuration.
Before the robot code can be exported, the toolpath must be configured. From
the menus, select ’Tools - Configure Path’ or press CTRL+K and the configuration
window, Figure 21 (left), appears. In this example, just accept the default settings
and press OK. If everything goes well, all the robot targets will be configured successfully, as shown in Figure 21 (right). After configuration, the RAPID code can
be exported. The final output should look like the code in Figure 22. Note the
function calls for spindle speed and tool number. These functions are hardware
IRBCAM User’s Manual
27
specific, and must be written by the user to interface with the correct digital and
analog input/output signals. Note also that both linear (MoveL) and circular moves
(MoveC) appear in the RAPID code, and that the speed varies between 150mm/s
and 300mm/s.
Figure 22: Final robot code (RAPID).
Note that while user and tool frames in IRBCAM use Roll-Pitch-Yaw angles (Z-YX), the coordinate points use Z1-Y-Z2 angles. The APT file or the user defines
the Z1 and Y angles, while the Z2 angle is defined by IRBCAM when configuring
the path. The angle Z2 equals the Tool Roll Angle which is specified in the path
configuration, Figure 21 (left). The user decides a value for Z2 only for the first
target. IRBCAM will then decide the Z2 angles for all the remaining targets based
on the user’s initial choice for the Z2 angle. In the example in this section, only
3-axis coordinates were defined. In such cases, the angles are Z1=0 and Y=180
degrees.
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Fig. 23 (left) shows the IRBCAM statistics screen (Tools - Statistics or press CTRL+Z).
The figure shows that there are 14 linear moves and 5 arc moves. The shortest
linear move is 25mm and the longest linear move is 475mm. The total length of
the toolpath is 2.70m and the estimated machining time about 17 seconds. The
maximum dimensions are 500mm in both X and Y directions and 25mm in the Z
direction. At this stage, you may want to save your station with ’File - Save Station’
(or press CTRL+S).
Figure 23: IRBCAM statistics (left: current, right: after maximum distance operation).
Figure 24: Maximum distance parameter.
Although the RAPID code exported in Fig. 22 will run without any problems on an
IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot, in the remainder of this example the maximum distance
function in IRBCAM will be demonstrated. This function can reduce the longest
linear move which the robot has to make. Select ’Tools - Maximum Distance’ (or
press CTRL+M) and the window in Fig. 24 will appear. Select maximum distance
equal to 10mm and press OK. After the operation is complete, select the statistics
window again (CTRL+Z) and the window in Fig. 23 (right) should appear. Now the
toolpath contains 342 linear moves and 5 circular moves (note: the circular moves
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Figure 25: IRBCAM station after maximum distance operation.
are not affected by the maximum distance operation. The bars in Fig. 23 (right)
which show moves longer than 10mm represent the circular moves). The shortest
linear move has now become 5mm while the longest move 7.422mm. The other
parameters in the statistics window are as before.
Fig. 25 shows the new IRBCAM main window after the new toolpath has been configured. As seen in this example, the maximum distance operation can significantly
increase the number of robot targets. In this example, it is recommended to only
export the 19 robot targets to the controller (as in Fig. 22). The maximum distance
function can be used when the controller reports problems with long linear moves.
Such problems can occur if the robot has to change configuration during the linear
move, or if the path goes near a singularity of the robot. With shorter maximum
moves, IRBCAM has more options available to avoid such problems.
In this example the maximum distance function has been demonstrated for a 3-axis
toolpath. For 5-axis toolpaths, in addition to the X,Y,Z values, the two rotational angles will also be interpolated. Hence, for a 5-axis toolpath with very large rotational
changes (90o or higher), the maximum distance function can be used to make the
rotational changes in the toolpath smaller and hence easier to configure.
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7.2
30
FANUC R1000iA-80F Robot and G-Code Programming
IRBCAM can make robot programs from G-codes. In this section the G-code in
Table 4 will be used as an example. First, create a new station using the ’New
Station Wizard’. Select a FANUC-R1000iA-80F robot and the Spindle-TMA4 and
accept the default settings. Place the user frame at X=2000, Y=0, Z=1000.
Figure 26: G-Code to APT Conversion.
The G-code in Table 4 is available in the IRBCAM distribution files. It is saved in
the ’C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\apt’ directory with the filename ’ABBA.nc’. When
loading G-codes into IRBCAM, the first step is to convert the G-codes to the APTCL format. In the menus, select ’File - APT - G-code to APT’, or press CTRL-G,
see Figure 26. Select ’ABBA.nc’ and save the converted APT file to for example
’ABBA.apt’. Then, IRBCAM will load the converted APT file (accept the default
settings when loading the APT). Next, go to ’View - XYZ’ or press CTRL+6 and the
screen shown in Figure 27 should appear.
Note that because of the code G19, the toolpath is placed in the YZ-plane. As can
be seen in Figure 27, the red tool vector points in the negative X-direction. This
direction will be very difficult for the robot to reach, hence let us turn the user frame
by 180o about the Z-axis. Select ’Edit - User Frame’ or press CTRL+U and set
RZ=180. Click on ’OK’. Next to the spindle in Figure 28, you can now see that the
X-axis (red colour) of the user frame points towards the robot, whereas the default
direction is away from the robot. After this operation, it is no problem for the robot
to orient the tool in the negative X-direction.
Finally, select ’Tools - Configure Path’ or press CTRL+K. Set the Tool Roll Angle
to 90o and click ’OK’. The entire toolpath should then be configured and the list of
coordinates on the left-hand side of the screen should change from red to green
colour. Select ’View - Combination View’ or press CTRL+2. The screen should
then look like Figure 28. After this, the robot code can be generated by selecting
’FANUC - Save Karel’ in the menus.
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 27: 3D View of Imported G-Codes.
Figure 28: Configured Toolpath Based on G-Code.
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;
;
;
;
;
This program uses:
G20 = mirror about X
G23 = No mirroring
G92 = Translate origin
Others (G21 Mirror Y, G22=X&Y)
G71 ; Metric units
G90 ; Absolute Programming
F3000 ; Feedrate 3000 mm/min
G19 ; Transformation XY to YZ
M4 S1000 ; Spindle on, 1000 RPM
M6 T1 ; Tool number 1
%L A ; Sub-routine for letter A
G0X-8Y-5 ; RAPID move
G1Z0 ; Slow (contact) move
G1X8
G1X15Y-20
G1X25
G1X5Y20
G1X-5
G1X-25Y-20
G1X-15
G1X-8Y-5
G0Z50
G0X-6Y0
G1Z0
G1X6
G1X1.5Y11.5
G1X-1.5
G1X-6Y0
G1Z50
% ; End sub-routine
%L B ; Sub-routine for letter B
G0X-25Y-20Z50
G1Z0
G1Y20
G1X-5
G2Y5J-7.5 ; Clockwise arc
G2Y-20J-12.5
G1X-25
G0Z50
G0X-17.5Y-15
G0Z0
G1Y0
G1X-7.5
G2Y-15J-7.5
G1X-17.5
G0Z50
G0X-17.5Y10
G0Z0
G1Y15
G1X-7.5
G2Y9J-3
G1X-17.5
G0Z50
% ; End sub-routine
LL A ; Call A
G20 G92X35Y0 LL B ; Call B
G23 G92X90Y0 LL B ; Call B
G92X125Y0 LL A ; Call A
G92X0Y0
G0X-36
G3Z0I100K10 ; Helix, pitch 10mm
G0Z50
M5 ; Spindle off
Table 4: Example G-code program with function calls, translation and mirroring.
IRBCAM User’s Manual
7.3
33
ABB IRB2400 Robot with no External Axes
Figure 29: Initial options when creating new station.
Figure 29 shows the initial options. First, choose the ’New Station Wizard’ followed
by ’Station without Linear Track’. In Figure 29 (right) click on ’Next’. At any stage,
a selection can be reversed by clicking on ’Back’.
Figure 30: Selection of IRB2400-1.5-16 robot.
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34
Figure 30 shows the library of ABB robots. Select the IRB2400-1.5m-16kg robot.
Leave the robot in the default position (0,0,0) with no rotations. Click on → (the
green arrow icon in the bottom right-hand corner). Note that the position of the
icons (horizontal or vertical) can be defined in the options screen (CTRL+J) in the
main IRBCAM window which appears after the station has been defined. Figure 31
Figure 31: Selection of generic tool.
shows the library of robot tools. In this example, the generic tool will be used. Accept the default settings for the tool which are (X = 300, Y = 0, Z = 300) and
rotation RY = 90o . The Tool Radii can be modified to change the graphical appearance of the generic tool. These values are just for the 3D graphical visualisation
and they have no impact on the generated toolpath and RAPID code. In the dialog
Figure 32: Selection of rotary axis.
box shown in Figure 32 select no rotary table for this example. In Figure 33 the
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Figure 33: Definition of user frame.
user frame (UFRAME) is defined. In this example the following values are used:
X = 1000mm, Y = 0, Z = 300mm and no rotations. In Figure 33 the X-axis of the
coordinate frame is shown with Red colour, the Y-axis with Green colour and the Zaxis with Blue color (one way to remember the colour scheme is XYZ=RGB). Note
that only the user frame (UFRAME) is defined in this step, not the object frame
(OFRAME). Figure 34 shows the next two options. In this example, no user geom-
Figure 34: Selection of user object and cubes.
etry (CAD file) is loaded into the station. The next option (Cube definition) allows
simple cubical objects to be put into the station. These objects could represent
machining tables, fences, control cabinet or other obstacles. Figure 35 shows the
definition of the machining table by using a cubical object. The centre position of
the cube equals X = 1000mm, Y = 0, Z = 150mm with no rotations. The length,
width and height of the cube are defined as 1000mm, 1000mm, 300mm, respec-
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 35: Definition of cube.
tively. Note that the position of the cube equals the mid-point of the cube. Hence,
when the position is set to 150mm and the height is set to 300mm, then the cube
strethces from the floor at 0mm to a height of 300mm, which in this case equals
the Z-position of the user frame defined in the previous step. It is possible to have
Figure 36: Ending the selection of cubes.
as many cubical objects as you like. When all the cubes are defined, Figure 36
shows how to proceed. After this step, the station can be saved as an ’*.irb’ file, in
this case for example ’irb2400.irb’.
After the station has been defined and saved, an APT file can be loaded. The file
’example.apt’ is included in the installation directory ’C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\apt\Example.apt’.
Choose ’File - APT - Load APT’ from the menu (or press CTRL+L). When loading
an APT file, the minimum distance between the robot coordinates must be defined,
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Figure 37: Minimum distance between points.
see Figure 37. Accept the default setting of 1.0mm. Note that this function only
removes a coordinate if there is no re-orientation of the tool from the previous coordinate. Also leave the scaling factors for X,Y and Z equal to the default settings
of 1.0mm.
Figure 38: Load APT file into station.
After the APT file has been loaded into the station, choose ’View - Combination
View’ (or press CTRL+2) and the screen should look like Figure 38. The top left
window shows the robot, the tool and the machining table. The other three windows
show the toolpath in XYZ, XY and XZ views. To the left, the list of robot targets
(positions) is displayed. In this example, there should be a total of 966 targets.
Note that these targets are displayed with a red colour, which means that they are
not yet configured.
In the menus, select ’Tools - Configure Path’ (or press CTRL+K). The screen should
then look like Figure 39. At the bottom of the screen, the configuration window
appears. In this example, since there is no rotary or linear axis, the tool roll angle
is the only parameter which can be adjusted. Try moving the slider for the tool roll
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 39: Path Configuration.
angle, and you will see how the robot adjusts its configuration accordingly. You can
also click the check-box for ’Wrist down’ and note how the robot’s wrist changes
accordingly. Finally, choose a tool roll angle of 57.6 degrees and press the OK
button.
Figure 40: Targets configured.
All targets should in this example be configured, and the message shown in Figure 40 should appear. At the same time, the colour in the robot target list at the left
of the screen should change from red to green. You can now use ’View - Animate
Forwards’ (or CTRL+F) or ’View - Animate Backwards’ (or CTRL+B) to verify the
toolpath. Select any function from the menus to abort the animation.
Next, select ’File - RAPID - RAPID Options’ and the window in Figure 41 will appear. In this case, just accept the default options. These options will be explained
in more detail in section 9.
Finally, to generate the RAPID code, select ’File - RAPID - Save RAPID’ (or press
CTRL+R). Select a filename (you can choose ’*.prg’ or ’*.mod’ extension), and
the example is completed. This RAPID code can now be transfered to the robot
controller and executed.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 41: RAPID export options.
Figure 42: Save RAPID code.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
7.4
ABB IRB6600 Robot Mounted on a Linear Track
This example will demonstrate robotic milling of a larger object by using an IRB66002.8m-175kg robot mounted on a linear track.
Figure 43: Option for selecting linear track.
Figure 43 shows the initial option in the ’New Station Wizard’. Select ’Station With
Linear Track’ and click ’Next’.
Figure 44: Linear track library.
Figure 44 shows the library of linear tracks. Choose the track IRB6003S-10.7 with
default settings. This track has a length of 10.7m. Click on → to continue to the
robot selection.
Figure 45 shows the library of robots. Choose the IRB6600-2.8-175 with default
settings and click →. Note that the Z-position is by default set to 442mm which is
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 45: Robot library.
the robot mounting height of the track IRB6003S-10.7. Figure 46 shows the tool
library. Choose the Spindle-UBR with default settings and click →.
Figure 46: Tool library.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 47: Option for rotary table.
In Figure 47, choose ’Station Without Rotary Axis’ and click ’Next’.
Figure 48: Definition of user frame.
In Figure 48 define the user frame equal to X = 4000mm, Y = 1550mm and
Z = 1150mm and no rotations. Click on →.
In Figure 49 choose ’Station With User Object’ and click on ’Next’.
In Figure 50 choose the user object named ’BoatHull’. The object is automatically
placed at the origin of the user frame defined in the previous step. The position
and orientation in this window correspond to the object frame (OFRAME) on the
robot. Keep the default settings and click on →.
Next, we want to define the machining table. In Figure 51 select ’Add Cube’ and
click ’Next’.
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 49: Option for user objects.
Figure 50: User object library.
Figure 51: Option for defining cubical objects.
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Figure 52: Definition of machining table.
In Figure 52 we define the position and size of the cube. Set the position to X =
4000, Y = 1550 and Z = 250 and the width, length and height to 6000, 1500, 500,
respectively. Click →, no more cubes and save the station.
Figure 53: APT file loaded in Combination View.
Figure 53 shows the combination view (CTRL+2) after the APT file ’BoatHull.apt’
has been loaded into the station (CTRL+L).
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Figure 54: Path Configuration.
Figure 54 shows the toolpath configuration (Tool - Configure Path or CTRL+K).
The 3D graphics window has been rotated by holding the CTRL key and using the
arrow keys on the keyboard. In the previous example in section 7.3 there was only
one parameter which had to be defined (the Tool Roll Angle). When there is a
linear track in the station, there is one more parameter: The Linear Track Offset.
Move the slider for the track offset and you will see which effect this parameter
has. Try with the following settings: Tool Roll Angle = −68.4 degrees and Linear
Track Offset equal to −200mm. Set the Linear Track Mode to ’Dynamic Position’
and click on OK.
Figure 55: Configuration Succeeded.
Figure 55 shows that all the targets were configured. In cases when we can not
find parameter settings which work, we can use the ’Optimizer’.
Figure 56 shows the Optimizer (Tools - Optimizer or CTRL+I). In this window
choose Linear Track Mode = Dynamic Position. The default parameter to optimize is the Tool Roll Angle. Click on ’Optimize’ and wait for the results which are
shown in Figure 56. A bar with value equal to 1 in this figure means that the corresponding Tool Roll Angle will configure the entire path. In this example, all roll
angles will work, except for angles between −90o to −120o . Note that the value for
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 56: Path Optimizer.
the linear track offset of −200mm displayed in the bottom left corner of Figure 56
in the optimizer is taken from the configurator screen in Figure 54 when optimizing
the Tool Roll Angle.
By selecting ’View - Linear Track’ (or CTRL+8) the linear track motion can be inspected. We see from Figure 57 that the track moves from 1793.6mm to 3749.97mm
with a total travelled distance of 1956.34mm. This completes the example with the
linear track motion.
In just a few minutes, we have managed to configure a robot station with a linear
track motion and a toolpath of several thousand coordinates. The configured path
can now be exported as a RAPID file (CTRL+R) or as a MOD+ROB combination
(CTRL+M). The MOD+ROB option allows for uninterrupted milling of very large
files (only limited by the size of the flash-disk), while RAPID files need to be split if
there are more than about 24,000 targets.
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Figure 57: Linear Track Motion.
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7.5
ABB IRB6400 Robot with Rotary Table - Dynamic Angle
Mode 1
In this section an example with an IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot and a vertical axis rotary
table is presented. Figure 58 shows the tool library when an IRB6400-2.4-M97
Figure 58: IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot with generic tool.
robot has been selected. Select the generic tool and set the X-distance equal to
500mm. Click ’Update’ to update the graphics of the generic tool, then 4.
Figure 59: Choice for rotary axis.
In Figure 59 choose ’Station With Rotary Axis’ and click OK.
Figure 60 shows the library for the rotary axes. The library contains a limited number of turntables. Howeverm the provided library should be sufficient for most
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IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 60: Library for rotary axis.
applications, since the models can be positioned freely and the rotational axis oriented in any direction. In this example, choose the model ’Rotary-Vertical-Axis’ and
position it at X = 2000mm, Y = 0 and Z = 400mm. Click 4.
Figure 61: Choice for geometry object.
In Figure 61 choose ’Station With User Object’ and click OK.
Figure 62 shows the library for user objects. Select the model ’Geometry-Girl’. The
model is automatically positioned at the origin of the user frame, which is located
on the rotary axis. Accept the default settings and click 4.
In this example we do not need any cubical objects. In Figure 63 select ’No More
Cubes’ and click OK.
Figure 64 appears when the APT file ’girl.apt’ has been loaded (CTRL+L), the
Combination View (CTRL+2) has been selected and the configurator has been
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50
Figure 62: Library for geometry objects.
Figure 63: Choice for cubical objects.
opened (CTRL+K). Set the Tool Roll Angle equal to 90o and the Rotary Axis Angle
also to 90o . Change the Rotary Axis Mode from ’Fixed Angle’ to ’Dynamic Angle 1’
and click OK. Dynamic Angle Mode 1 is used for sculpturing, when tbe milling tool
is mainly oriented parallel to the table plane.
With these settings the entire path of more than 7000 coordinates is configured
successfully. By selecting ’View - Rotary Axis’ (or pressing CTRL+7), the rotary
axis angular movement is displayed as in Figure 65. It can be seen from this
figure that the initial rotary angle is 90o as selected in the configurator and that the
total movement of the rotary axis in this example is 3600 , from 90o to −270o . The
configured toolpath can now be saved as either a single RAPID file or a MOD+ROB
combination. This concludes the example of a robot and a rotary axis.
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 64: Path configuration including rotary axis.
Figure 65: Rotary axis movements.
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7.6
ABB IRB6400 Robot with Rotary Table - Dynamic Angle
Mode 2
In this section the example is similar to the previous section, except that Dynamic
Angle Mode 2 will be demonstrated. As in the previous example, an IRB64002.4-M97 robot with a vertical axis rotary table are used. Use the New Station
Wizard and follow the steps in the previous example as illustrated in Figs. 58-60.
In Figure 66 (left) choose ’Station Without User Object’ and click OK. In Figure 66
Figure 66: Choice for geometry object (left) and cubes (right).
(right) choose ’No More Cubes’, click ’Next’ and save the station.
Point
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
X
200
200
0
-200
0
200
200
Y
0
0
200
0
-200
0
50
Z
50
0
0
0
0
0
0
Arc
4
4
Table 5: Coordinate points and attributes for offline programming example.
Similar to the example in section 7.1, enter the coordinates in Table 5. Use the
menu ’Edit - Targets - Add Target’ or press CTRL+E to add a new target. Target
number 3 and 5 in Table 5 should be defined as ’Arc Mid-Point’. To define an arc
mid-point, right-click on target 3 or 5 in the target list (top left), click on ’»’ and then
select ’Motion Type: Arc Mid-Point’ and click on ’«’ to save. Note that a target can
not be defined as an arc-mid point if it is the last point in the list.
Figure 67 (left) shows the combination view (CTRL+2) after all the targets in Table 5
have been defined. A full circle with radius 200 is defined with the initial and final
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Figure 67: Combination view (CTRL+2) after the targets in Table 5 have been
defined.
Figure 68: Configuration options (left) and status window after configuration (right).
lift point at X = 50 and Z = 50. Figure 68 shows the configuration options which
appear after selecting ’Tools - Configure Path’ or pressing CTRL+K. Define ’Rotary
Axis Mode’ equal to ’Dynamic Angle 2’ and ’Tool Roll Angle’ equal to 10.8 degrees
and press OK. All targets should be defined successfully as shown in Figure 68
(right). In this example the rotary axis performs the entire motion of the circle,
while the robot and the tool are stationary. The robot only moves at the initial and
final lift points.
As illustrated by the examples in sections 7.5 and 7.6 ’Dynamic Angle 1’ is used
primarily for sculpturing-like toolpaths where the tool is oriented in the plane defined
by the turntable. ’Dynamic Angle 2’ is used when the tool is oriented normal to (or
close to normal to) the plane defined by the turntable.
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7.7
ABB IRB4400 Robot with Linear Track and Rotary Axis
In this final example a setup including an IRB4400 robot with both a linear track
and a rotary axis will be demonstrated. Select the linear track ’IRB6003S-10.7’, the
robot ’IRB4400-1.96-45’ and the tool ’Spindle-TMA4’, all with the default settings.
Select ’Station With Rotary Axis’.
Figure 69: Library of rotary axes.
In Figure 69 the rotary axis library is shown. Select the rotary axis ’IRBP5000L1000’ and position this axis at X = 1500mm, Y = 1500mm and Z = 1000mm.
Rotate the rotary axis 90o about Z, such that the rotary axis is aligned in the same
direction as the linear track.
Figure 70: Selection of user geometry.
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Figure 70 shows the library of user geometries. Select the object ’Demopart’ and
position this object Z = 300mm out from the origin of the rotary axis. This distance
Z = 300mm corresponds to the robot’s object frame (OFRAME).
Figure 71: Definition of cubical object.
Define a cubical object at the other end of the Demopart object, as shown in Figure 71. Position the cube at X = 6500mm, Y = 1500mm and Z = 500mm. This
cube represents a simplified support mechanism for the Demopart.
Figure 72: Path configuration.
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Figure 72 shows the configuration screen after the APT file ’Demopart.apt’ has
been loaded (CTRL+L), the Combination View has been selected (CTRL+2) and
the configurator has been opened (CTRL+K). In this example, all three sliders are
activated for the Tool Roll Angle, the Rotary Axis Angle and the Linear Track Offset.
Set the Tool Roll Angle to 90o , the Rotary Axis Angle to 180o and the Linear Track
Offset to zero. Set Rotary Axis Mode to ’Dynamic Angle’ and the Linear Track
Mode to ’Batch Mode 200mm’. This last option means that the linear track will try
to stay constant, but when it has to move it moves by at least 200mm. Mark the
check-box ’Wrist Down’, which changes the configuration of the wrist. This option
can be useful to avoid twisting of cables mounted to the robot’s upper arm. Finally,
click on OK.
Figure 73: Configured toolpath.
Figure 73 shows the fully configured path of more than 5000 robot targets. When
selecting the ’Dynamic Angle’ mode for the rotary axis, IRBCAM tries to keep the
orientation of the spindle equal to the first target which was configured manually
with the configurator window in Figure 72.
Figure 74 shows the angular movements of the rotary axis (CTRL+7). In this case,
the total movement of the rotary axis is about 180o .
Figure 75 shows the linear track movements. Note that the track tries to stay
constant, but when it moves it moves in steps of 200mm corresponding to the
’Batch Mode 200mm’ as selected in Figure 72. This concludes the example of
using a robot mounted on a linear track in combination with a rotary axis. The
configured toolpath can be exported as a single RAPID file or as a MOD+ROB
combination.
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 74: Rotary axis angular movements.
Figure 75: Linear track movements.
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7.8
58
ABB IRB6600 Robot with 3-Axis Construction Views
Figure 76: New Station: IRB6600 Robot.
In this example, it will be demonstrated how to configure a 3-axis toolpath with
several construction views. First, define a new station without a linear track and
select the the IRB6600 robot as shown in Figure 76. Next, select the TMA4 spindle
as shown in Figure 77. Accept the default settings of the spindle.
Figure 77: New Station: TMA4 Spindle.
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Figure 78: New Station: Definition of user frame.
Define the user object origin at X=1000mm, Y=-1200mm and Z=435mm as shown
in Figure 78. Select a station with user object and place the user object ’Head’ at
X=500mm, Y=1200mm as shown in Figure 79. The ’Head’ position corresponds
to the object frame (OFRAME) of the robot, and the position is relative to the user
frame (UFRAME).
Figure 79: Linear track movements.
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In this example, we will demonstrate how to add a cube after the station has been
defined. In the new station wizard, do not add any cubes. After the wizard is
completed and the station has been saved, select ’Edit - Cube - Add’ in the menus
as illustrated in Figure 80.
Figure 80: Addition of Cube.
Figure 81 shows the next screen which appears. Here you select the color of the
new cube. The three sliders correspond to the components of Red, Green, Blue
(RGB) colors.
Figure 81: Color selection for new cube.
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Figure 82: Edit Cube.
Next, select ’Edit - Cube - Edit’ in the menus, as shown in Figure 82. Set the cube
position to X=1500mm and Z=217.5mm. Set the cube dimensions to X=1000mm,
Y=2400mm and Z=450mm. This cube represents a machining table.
Figure 83: Cube Parameters.
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Load the APT file ’Head.apt’ into the station. This file was generated by SurfCam
and contains about 8100 coordinates and 5 different construction views (top of the
head and four sides). In order to machine this toolpath with the robot, we need to
add transition points (4 in total) between the construction views. The first transition
occurs after coordinate 2292. Select ’View - Combination View’ in the menus (or
CTRL+2), click on coordinate 2292 in the list of coordinates, followed by ’Edit Targets - Add Target’ as shown in Figure 84. In the dropdown box which appears,
Figure 84: Transition 1 after coordinate 2292.
select ’After 2292’, see Figure 85.
Figure 85: Addition of new coordinate after 2292.
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IRBCAM automatically suggests a new position and tool orientation for the new
coordinate as shown in Figure 86. The new position and tool vector are placed in
the middle between the neighbouring coordinates. For this first transition, we are
satisfied with the tool vector, but we edit the position to X=0mm, Y=-150mm and
Z=270mm to avoid any collisions between the spindle and the work object, see
Figure 86.
Figure 86: Edit new coordinate 2293.
Figure 86 shows the second transition point which is added after coordinate 4032.
Again, we are satisifed with the suggested tool vector, but change the position to
X=100mm and Y=-100mm.
Figure 87: Edit new coordinate 4033.
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Figure 88 shows the third transition point added after coordinate 5855. Again,
we are satisifed with the suggested tool vector and change the position vector
to X=100mm and Y=100mm. There is no need to edit the tool roll angle (RZ2),
since this angle will be automatically adjusted by IRBCAM when the toolpath is
configured. Finally, the fourth transition point is added after coordinate 6349. The
Figure 88: Edit new coordinate 5856.
suggested toolvector is OK, but we edit the position to X=-100mm and Y=100mm.
Figure 89: Edit new coordinate 6350.
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Finally, the entire toolpath with 5 different construction views can be configured
(CTRL+K) with the settings shown in Figure 90. After the toolpath has been configured, have a look at the four transition points and notice that IRBCAM has adjusted
the tool roll angles such that all the four transitions are smooth with as little tool
re-orientation as possible.
Figure 90: Toolpath configuration.
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7.9
KUKA KR60-3 Robot and Roller Mode
Define a new station with a KUKA KR60-3 robot, the tool ’Spindle-Roller’ and the
object ’Cylinder’, as shown in Fig. 91. Define the user frame (CTRL U) at the
position (1500,0,300) and rotation RZ=90o .
Figure 91: Definition of station with KUKA KR60-3 robot, the tool Spindle-Roller
and Cylinder object.
Figure 92: IRBCAM Options
In ’Tools - Options’ choose ’Roller Mode’. Note that this mode is only possible for
straight tools, ie. tools which have zero lengths in the X and Y directions.
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Figure 93: Combination View and Toolpath roller.apt.
Load the toolpath ’Cylinder.apt’. The Combination View (CTRL 2) should look like
Fig. 93. Next, choose Tools - Configure Path (CTRL K) as shown in Fig. 94. In this
example the roller tool is already aligned with the toolpath, hence the tool roll angle
can be kept at 0 degrees. With the ’Cylinder.apt’ toolpath, the roller will rotate 180
degrees. Often with the Roller Mode, the 6th axis will reach it’s joint limits. In such
cases, the ’Wrist Down’ option may be selected in Fig. 94, or the tool roll angle
could be defined at ± 180 degrees to avoid that the 6th axis will reach it’s joint
limit. In this example, the toolpath can be configured either with ’Wrist Down’ and
the roll angle starting at 0 degrees, or no ’Wrist Down’ but tool roll angle starting at
-180 degrees.
Figure 94: Configure Toolpath.
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Figure 95: Roller orientation at the first corner.
Fig. 95 shows the roller tool at the first turning curve. In Roller Mode, the tool will
rotate such that the 6th axis of the robot is always aligned in the direction of the
toolpath.
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7.10
ABB IRB140 Robot and Fixed Axis 6
In certain applications, when a straight tool is used, it may be useful to lock axis 6
to a fixed value. A straight tool means that the X and Y values in the tool data are
both equal to zero. When axis 6 is locked, the robot effectively becomes a 5-axis
machine.
In this example, select an IRB140 robot with the user frame located at (500,0,0),
select the tool Spindle-Roller and no external axes or user objects. Fig. 96 shows
the options screen (CTRL+J). When there is a straight tool defined in the station
(like Spindle-Roller), it is possible to select a fixed 6th axis as shown. Load the
Figure 96: Options screen.
Figure 97: Configure path. The tool roll (axis 6 value) is set to 10o .
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APT file ’apt\Example.apt’ from IRBCAM’s installation directory. Select the Path
Configurator (CTRL+K), as illustrated in Fig. 97. When axis 6 is fixed as in this
example, the ’Tool Roll Angle’ in the configurator becomes the fixed angle for axis
6. In this example, set this angle to 10o , as marked with a red rectangle in Fig. 97.
Figure 98: RAPID code. Note the axis 6 value in the MoveAbsJ command.
Fig. 98 shows the generated RAPID code. Note the axis 6 value in the first MoveAbsJ command (marked with a red rectangle). The axis 6 angle is fixed to 10o .
Figure 99: FlexPendant showing the angle of axis 6.
Fig. 99 shows the FlexPendant in jogging mode. Start the RAPID program and
execute one of the MoveL commands after the initial MoveAbsJ. Stop the program
and go to the jogging screen. As seen from Fig. 99 the angle of axis 6 will remain
at 10o during the entire robot program.
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7.11
71
ABB IRB2400 Hanging Robot
In this example the use of IRBCAM with a hanging robot will be demonstrated.
Figure 100 shows an example 3D Contour toolpath in SurfCam. The toolpath is
Figure 100: Example toolpath in SurfCam - 3D Contour.
aligned with the XY plane and the APT file is exported with Construction View
(CVIEW) 1. The five points in the square can also easily be created inside IRBCAM. The points are: (0,0,0), (100,0,0), (100,100,0), (0,100,0) and (0,0,0). Figure 101
Figure 101: Robot Configuration - Hanging IRB2400, Z = 2000mm and RX =
180o .
shows the configuration screen in IRBCAM. Select the IRB2400-1.5-16 robot and
change the Z-position to 2000mm and the X-rotation to RX = 180o .
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Select the Generic Tool with parameters X = 300mm, Z = 300mm and RY = 90o
and define the user frame at position X = 1000mm and Z = 500mm, as illustrated
in Figures 102 and 103.
Figure 102: Tool Definition - Generic Tool X = Z = 300mm and RY = 90o .
Figure 103: User Frame Definition - X = 1000mm and Z = 500mm.
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Load the APT file into IRBCAM and configure the path with a tool roll angle of 0o ,
as illustrated in Figure 104. Export the toolpath to a rapid program, for example in
a file called ex1.prg.
Figure 104: APT Path Loaded into IRBCAM. Configured with Tool Roll Angle of 0o .
In the ABB FlexPendant, change the robot base definition to Z = 2.0m and the
quaternion (0,1,0,0), which is the same as the rotation RX = 180o , as shown in
Figure 105. Finally, to verify that the RAPID program generated by IRBCAM is
correct, the program ex1.prg can be loaded into the FlexPendant and verified with
RobotStudio, as shown in Figure 106.
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Figure 105: Robot Base Definition in the FlexPendant. Z = 2.0m and Quaternion
= [0,1,0,0].
Figure 106: Path Verification and Tool Trace in RobotStudio.
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7.12
75
ABB IRB6400 Robot with Actuated Linear Table
This section demonstrates the use of a linear actuated table. Placing the user
object on an actuated linear table can sometimes be a cost-efficient alternative to
placing the robot on a linear track. Figure 107 shows the option screen in the ’New
Station Wizard’. Select the last option (Station with Actuated Table), then ’Next’.
Figure 108 shows the definition screen for the actuated table. In this example, set
Figure 107: Selection of Actuated Table.
the Width and Length of the table to 1500mm and 6000mm, respectively. Leave
the table in the default position (X=2000,Y=0,Z=500).
Figure 108: Definition of Linear Actuated Table.
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Next, select ’Station with User Object’ as shown in Figure 109.
Figure 109: Addition of User Geometry.
Select the BoatHull CAD file as illustrated in Figure 110. Move the object to
Z=710mm and rotate RZ by 90o to place it correctly on the machining table.
Figure 110: User Geometry: Definition of Object Frame.
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Figure 111 shows the Path Configuration window (Menu item ’Tool - Configure
Path’ or press CTRL+K). Define the following parameters: Tool Roll Angle = 145o ,
Actuated Table Offset = -2000mm, Actuated Table Mode = Dynamic. Press ’OK’.
Figure 111: Robot with Actuated Table: Path Configuration.
After the path has been configured, select Menu item ’View - Actuated Table’
(or press CTRL+9). The plot shown in Figure 112 will appear. This plot shows
the dynamic table motion, from -2000mm to +837.07mm, a total travel range of
2837.07mm.
Figure 112: Generated Linear Table Motion.
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7.13
Motoman UP50N Robot and 5-Axis Toolpath
The setup for Motoman robots is slightly different compared to other robot types,
as will be illustrated in this example. First, select the ’New Station Wizard’ and
’Station Without Linear Track’ as shown in Figures 113 and 114.
Figure 113: New Station Wizard.
Figure 114: Station Without Linear Track.
Next, select the Motoman UP50N robot, as shown in Figure 115.
One difference between Motoman robots and for example ABB and Kuka robots, is
the tool axis definition. The Motoman tool coordinate system is rotated 180o about
the Z-axis compared to ABB and Kuka. For the Motoman controller NX100, the
tool definition is stored in a file named TOOL.CND. An example tool definition from
the TOOL.CND file could look like this:
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Figure 115: Selection of Motoman-UP50N Robot.
///NAME SPINDLE1
-65.955,40.805,184.031,0.00,-60.00,-31.25
In IRBCAM, modified values of the Motoman tool values are entered, as shown in
Figure 116. The modifications are summarised as follows:
IRBCAM Tool X
IRBCAM Tool Y
IRBCAM Tool Z
IRBCAM Tool RX
IRBCAM Tool RY
IRBCAM Tool RZ
=
=
=
=
=
=
- Motoman Tool X
- Motoman Tool Y
Motoman Tool Z
Motoman Tool RX
Motoman Tool RY
180o + Motoman Tool RZ
=
=
=
=
=
=
65.955
-40.805
184.031
0.00o
-60.00o
148.75o
Figure 116: Definition of Motoman Tool Coordinates.
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Another common tool angle definition is the 90o pitch tool, shown for example in
Fig. 46. With this tool, the Motoman TOOL.CND file would look like this:
///NAME SPINDLE1
-352.00,0.00,350.00,0.00,-90.00,0.00
The IRBCAM angles for this tool would be: RX=0, RY=-90, RZ=180 (which have
the same effect as RX=180, RY=-90, RZ=0).
The coloured lines (vectors) at the tip of the tool in Figure 116 indicate the different
axes. The red vector equals the IRBCAM Tool X vector, the green vector equals the
IRBCAM Tool Y vector while the blue vector indicates the IRBCAM Tool Z vector.
Next, select ’Station Without External Axis’ as shown in Figure 117.
Figure 117: Station Without External Axis.
On the Motoman NX100 controller, the user frame definition is located in a file
called UFRAME.CND. A typical UFRAME.CND file looks like the following:
//UFRAME 1
///NAME UFR1
///TOOL 1
///GROUP 1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
///PULSE
////RORG C000=-1,-30974,-82179,0,0,-9636
////RXX C001=-1,14179,-30518,-3,1826,-9634
////RXY C002=38618,-14980,-66577,-55267,3682,10533
////BUSER 1153.952,-11.781,335.815,0.00,0.00,0.00
The coordinates C000, C001, C002 are here listed as PULSE, and can not be
used in IRBCAM. However, the last line, the ////BUSER, shows the corresponding
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X,Y,Z,RX,RY,RZ values for the user frame. These values should be entered into the
IRBCAM definition screen, as shown in Figure 118. The user frame definition for
Motoman robots is the same as for ABB and Kuka robots, hence no modifications
of the values are necessary for the Motoman UFRAME.
Figure 118: User Frame Location.
Next, select a ’Station Without User Object’ as shown in Figure 119 (left).
Figure 119: Station Without User Object (left). Cube Definition (right).
Next, we would like to add a fixed machining table to the station. In Figure 119
(right) select ’Add Cube’. In Figure 120 define the position of the cube (the machining table) to X=1154, Y=0 and Z=117. Define the size of the cube to X=1000,
Y=1000 and Z=335 (all values in millimeters). After this cube has been defined,
select ’No More Cubes’ and save the station as an ’.IRB’ file.
Figure 121 shows the main IRBCAM window after the APT file ’apt
Example.apt’ has been loaded. The red numbers in the menu at the top left shows
the imported robot positions, in total there should be 766 positions when a minimum
distance of 1.0mm was selected when importing the APT file.
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In the menus, select ’Tools - Configure Path’ (or press CTRL+K) and the configurator screen should appear as seen at the bottom left in Figure 121. With a Tool Roll
Angle of -118.8 degrees, the entire path should configure without any problems.
Figure 120: Size and Position of Fixed Machining Table.
Figure 121: Path Configuration.
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Figure 122: Motoman Inform III (JBI) Export Options.
Finally, the Inform III robot program for the NX100 controller can be exported. Figure 122 shows the JBI export options available from the menu ’File - Motoman’.
The NX100 controller has an upper limit on how many points can be stored in each
file. Normally, this limit is 1000 coordinates. IRBCAM will split long programs into
several JBI files. In the IRBCAM export options you can define the maximum number of lines stored in each file. In this example with the ’Example.apt’ file, there
are 766 coordinates. Hence, if you select a maximum of 400 coordinates in each
file, IRBCAM will export two JBI files. If you name the export file ’TEST’, IRBCAM
will generate the two files ’TEST0001.JBI’ and ’TEST0002.JBI’. The first file will
contain 400 coordinates, while the second file will contain the remaining 366 coordinates. The last line in ’TEST0001.JBI’ will call the job ’TEST0002’ automatically,
so the entire toolpath can be executed without user intervention. Other options are
the robot speeds, as well as options for enabling tool change and gun on/off, see
section 9 for further details about these options.
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7.14
ABB IRB6650S and Stationary Tool
In this example the use of a stationary tool will be demonstrated.
First, select
Figure 123: Initial options when creating new station.
Figure 124: Selection of IRB6650S-3.9-90 robot and type of tool.
’New Station Wizard’ and ’Station Without Linear Track’ as shown in Figure 123.
Next, select the IRB6650S-3.9m-90kg robot as shown in Figure 124. This robot is
selected because of the long arm which will be needed in this example. Next, select
’Stationary Tool’ as shown in Figure 124. Next, select ’Spindle-UBR’ and place the
base position of this spindle at X=3200, Y=0, Z=2400 and rotation RZ=180 degrees
as shown in Figure 125. Note that the base position is different from the tool centre
point (TCP). The TCP can modified by clicking on ’Tool Tip’ at the bottom left of
the screen. In this example, the default tool tip position will be used. Next, select
the default user frame location at X=Y=Z=0 and rotations RX=RY=RZ=0. When
a stationary tool is used, the user frame is attached to axis 6 of the robot. Next,
select ’Station With User Object’ and the object model ’Geometry-Girl’ as shown in
Figure 126.
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Figure 125: Selection of Spindle-UBR and User Frame.
Figure 126: Selection of User Object.
Next, select ’Add Cubes’ and define the first cube location at X=3600, Y=0, Z=2700
with dimensions X=1000, Y=1000, Z=600 as shown in Figure 127. Define the
second cube at X=4200, Y=0, Z=1500 with dimensions X=400, Y=1000, Z=3000.
These two cubes represent the support structure for the stationary spindle.
Figure 127: Definition of Cubes.
Afer the station has been saved, load (CTRL+L) the APT file girl.apt. Then, try to
configure the path by selecting ’Tools - Configure Path’ or press CTRL+K and the
configuration window shown in Figure 128 will appear. In this window, select ’Wrist
Down’ and ’Tool Roll Angle - Dynamic Angle’. After clicking on ’OK’ IRBCAM will
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Figure 128: Path Configuration: First attempt.
Figure 129: Path Configuration: Modification of Object Frame.
only manage to configure the first 25 targets, as shown in Figure 128 (right). The
reason for this limitation, is the angle restriction of ±360 degrees for the 6th axis
of the IRB6650S. To solve this problem, the starting angle of axis 6 is important.
For example, it is not possible to turn 360 degrees in the positive direction if axis
6 starts target 1 with a positive angle. If, however, target 1 starts with a negative
angle for axis 6, the full 360 degree turn in the positive direction will be possible. To
overcome this problem, the user or object frame of the robot can be used. When
a stationary tool is used, the user and object frames are attached to the robot. By
rotating one of these two frames by 180 degrees, the 3D model of the girl will also
rotate by 180 degrees. Select ’Edit - Object Frame’ and set the rotation RZ=180
as shown in Figure 129. This operation will also change the initial angle of axis 6.
Finally, select ’Tools - Configure Path’ (or CTRL+K) and configure the path with the
same parameters as in the first attempt. This time all the targets will be configured
successfully.
Figure 130 shows the IRBCAM station after the successful configuration with a
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stationary tool and full 360 degree rotations using axis 6 of the robot. The reason
why the long arm IRB6650S robot is used in this example, is the relatively large
object distance in the Z direction. If a robot with shorter arm had been used, axis
5 of the robot would have reached its angular limits at the bottom or the top of the
user object.
Figure 130: Stationary Tool: Station After Successful Configuration.
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7.15
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ABB IRB6400 Configuring Complex 5-Axis Paths
In this example the configuration of difficult 5-axis toolpaths will be demonstrated.
Often, it is the case that one single parameter setting will not be able to configure
a complex toolpath. In such cases, it will be beneficial to split the toolpath into
smaller sections, configure each section separately and finally merge the configured sections into the final toolpath.
In this example the configuration and merging of several APT files will be demonstrated. First, define a new station consisting of an IRB6400-2.4-M97 robot, a
generic tool with data equal to (X=350, Y=0, Z=80, RX=0, RY=90, RZ=0) and
user frame equal to (X=1700, Y=130, Z=530, RX=RY=RZ=0). Next, load the
APT file ’Merge-1.apt’ (File - APT - Load APT or use CTRL+L). The window in
Figure 131: Load APT with Append option introduced in version 2012-B1.
Fig. 131 will appear and notice the ’Append’ checkbox. To start with, leave this option unchecked and press OK. Select ’View - Combination View or use CTRL+2).
The IRBCAM window should look like in Fig. 132. Next, open Tools - Optimizer
Figure 132: Combination View after loading Merge-1.apt.
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(CTRL+I). With ’Wrist Down’ and ’Dynamic Angle 1’, tool roll angles in the range
-180 to -120 and +120 to +180 degrees are OK as seen in Fig. 133. In this exam-
Figure 133: Optimizer for Merge-1.apt.
ple, let us choose the tool roll angle equal to +130 degrees and configure the path
(CTRL+K) with the settings shown in Fig. 134 (left). After configuration, right-click
Figure 134: Configuration of Merge-1.apt.
on the last target in the list, number 288 in this case. The information in Fig. 134
(right) should appear. Notice that the angle RZ2 still equals +130 at the end of the
path (equal to the initial choice of +130 degrees).
Next, load the APT file ’Merge-2.apt’ (CTRL+L) without the Append option. Select
the Optimizer (CTRL+I) and the tool roll angles from +50 to +90 degrees should be
OK, as seen in Fig. 135. Next, Next, let us try to combine the two paths: ’Merge1.apt’ and ’Merge-2.apt’. When loading ’Merge-2.apt’, select the ’Append’ option.
Select ’View - Combination View’ (CTRL+2) and the IRBCAM window should look
like in Fig. 136.
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Figure 135: Optimizer for Merge-2.apt.
Figure 136: Combination View after loading both Merge-1 and Merge-2 with Append option.
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The configuration of this combined toolpath with an initial tool roll angle of +130 degrees will fail. In fact, the Optimizer will not find any initial tool roll angle which will
configure the combined path of ’Merge-1’ and ’Merge-2’, even if the two paths configured individually. The problem is the transition between the two paths. ’Merge-1’
ended with an RZ2 value equal to +130 degrees, while ’Merge-2’ was configured
with a tool roll angle of +50 degrees. This difference of +80 degrees is too abrupt
and IRBCAM will not allow it. To make a smooth transition between ’Merge-1’
and ’Merge-2’ with additional targets added, first select the function ’Tools - Maximim Distance’ (CTRL+M). The transition between the two paths occur between
the targets 287-290. Set the start to target 287 and the end to target 290, as seen
in Fig. 137, and leave the distance to the default value of 10mm. After the Maxi-
Figure 137: Maximum distance for transition between Merge-1 and Merge-2.
mum Distance operation, additional targets have been added to the transition area,
see Fig. 138 (dotted red rectangle in XYZ plot). Next, open the ’Tools - Options’
Figure 138: Combination View after Maximum Distance operation in transition
area.
(CTRL+J) and select ’Enable RZ2’, see Fig. 139 (left). This option allows IRBCAM
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to force a lock on the RZ2 values during configuration. Right-click on target number 287 and lock RZ2 to +130 degrees (start point of transition). Then click on OK.
Right-click on target 335 and lock RZ2 to +50 degrees (end point of transition),
then OK. See Fig. 139 (right) for the correct settings. Now, the combined toolpath
consisting of ’Merge-1’ and ’Merge-2’ can be configured with the same settings as
in Fig. 134 (left). At this stage, save the station file (CTRL+S) before continuing the
example.
Figure 139: Left: Enable RZ2 option. Right: RZ2 locked values for targets 287 and
335.
Figure 140: Optimizer for Merge-3.apt.
Next, load ’Merge-3.apt’ without the Append option and run the Optimizer. As seen
from Fig. 140, angles -180 t0 -120 degrees and +100 to +180 degrees are possible.
The angle of +100 will be chosen, since it is closest to the +50 degrees selected for
’Merge-2’. Open the saved station (CTRL+O) containing the paths ’Merge-1’ and
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’Merge-2’. Then load ’Merge-3’ with the Append option. Target 412 is the last one in
’Merge-2’, while target 413 is the fist one in ’Merge-3’. For this transition, IRBCAM
is able to configure it without the need for inserting additional transition targets with
the Maximum Distance function. Hence, set the RZ2 value equal to +50 degrees
for target 412 and +100 degrees for target 413, see Fig. 141. It should now be
possible to configure paths ’Merge-1’ to ’Merge-3’ with the configuration settings in
Fig. 134 (left). Save the station (CTRL+S) before continuing.
Figure 141: RZ2 locked values for transition targets 412 and 413.
Finally, load the path ’Merge-4.apt’ without the Append option and run the Optimizer. As seen in Fig. 142 the tool roll angles -100 to -80 degrees are possible.
Load back the previously saved station (CTRL+O) and add ’Merge-4’ with the Append option.
Figure 142: Optimizer for Merge-4.apt.
As for the previous transition, IRBCAM is able to handle the transition between
’Merge-3’ and ’Merge-4’ without the need for additional targets. Set RZ2 equal to
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+146 degrees for target 940 (the last one in ’Merge-3’) and -90 for target 941 (the
first one in ’Merge-4’), see Fig. 143.
Figure 143: RZ2 locked values for transition targets 940 and 941.
The reason why it is +146 degrees for ’Merge-3’ and not +100 which was defined
for the start point of ’Merge-3’ (target 413), is that the mode ’Dynamic Angle 1’ is
selected which allows IRBCAM to gradually modify the RZ2 angle from +100 to
+146 degrees for the ’Merge-3’ path. With the lock values in Fig. 141 IRBCAM is
now finally able to configure the entire toolpath. The final IRBCAM window with the
entire toolpath configured is shown in Fig. 144.
Figure 144: Combination View after final configured toolpath consisting of four files:
’Merge-1.apt’ to ’Merge-4.apt’.
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Gantry-Tau Milling of 8m Wind Turbine Blade
In this example a variant of a 5-degree-of-freedom (DOF) Gantry-Tau parallel kinematic machine (PKM) will be used to follow the surface of an 8m long wind turbine
blade mounted on a rotary axis. This PKM is characterised by three arm clusters
having 3-2-1 links, respectively. The PKM is designed to have a large workspace
in one direction, while the link lengths are kept short which is an advantage for
stiffness and accuracy. The PKM consists of three linear base actuators and three
telescopic link actuators. The machine can manipulate the tool with 5 DOF, since
the arm with a single telescopic link does not provide an additonal DOF. This telescopic link is used to increase the workspace and stiffness in the Y-direction. PKMs
usually have limited maximum tool orientation angles compared to serial robots.
The 5-DOF Gantry-Tau is able to achieve approximately ±45 degree orientations
in the global Z and X-directions. However, by using an additional rotary axis in the
station, large and complex toolpaths requiring 360 degree tool re-orientations can
be followed.
Figure 145: Parallel Kinematic Machine: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA.
Fig. 145 shows the “New Station Wizard” when selecting the Hexapod-GantryTauUiA PKM. As shown in the figure, the base frame of the robot is lifted 200mm in
the world Z-direction. Fig. 146 shows the tool selection wizard. Select “SpindleGeneric” with tool data X=Y=0, Z=150, RX=RY=RZ=0. Click on “Update” to update
the tool graphics according to Fig. 146. Fig. 147 shows the selection of the rotary
axis IRBP5000L-1000. Position the rotary axis at X=500, Y=Z=1000 and RX=90,
RY=0, RZ=90. Fig. 148 shows the addition of the geometry user object Blade.irblib.
Leave the geometry file in the default position X=Y=Z=RX=RY=RZ=0.
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Figure 146: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Tool selection.
Figure 147: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Selection of Rotary Axis.
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Figure 148: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Addition of Wind Turbine Blade.
Figure 149: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Load APT file Blade.apt.
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Figure 150: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Path Configuration Settings.
Figure 151: HEXAPOD-GANTRYTAU-UIA: Path Configured.
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After the station file has been saved, Fig. 149 shows the main window in Combination View (CTRL+2) after the APT file Blade.apt has been loaded. Select “Tools
- Configure Path” (or press CTRL+K) and the configuration window in Fig. 150 will
appear. Select “Rotary Axis Angle” equal to 104 degrees and “Rotary Axis Mode”
equal to “Dynamic Angle 1”. The “Telescope 1 Adjustment” is a parameter which
can be used to define the length of the single telescopic link. Normally, IRBCAM
tries to keep this link length as short as possible for maximum stiffness, plus an
additional length specified by “Telescope 1 Adjustment”. In this example, the tool
is relatively close to the base actuator for the single link. Hence, it is not possible
to make the telescopic link very short and the parameter “Telescope 1 Adjustment”
has no effect in this example. Fig. 151 shows the result after the path configuration.
For each of the three arm clusters, the user can configure the arms to be either to
the left or to the right of the tool. In this example, all three arms are configured as
“Left”. With these settings the approximately 4000 robot targets are successfully
configured.
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HYUNDAI HS165 and Drilling Cycles
In this example a Hyundai HS165 robot is used and an APT file containing drilling
cycles. Fig. 152 shows the station after the “New Station Wizard” has completed.
The user frame is defined at X=1500, Y=0, Z=750, RX=RY=RZ=0. Notice that
Hyundai robots have the base frame rotated 90 degrees about the Z-axis compared to most other robot brands. In Fig. 152 Combination View (CTRL+2) was
selected after the APT file Cycles.apt was loaded into the station. The file Cy-
Figure 152: Hyunday HS165: Station definition.
cles.apt contains the following drilling cycles:
CYCLE/CUSTM1,FEDTO,6,MMPM,1500,RAPTO,50,RTRCTO,100,PULBAC,98
GOTO/299.52625,851.85272,328.88016,0,1,0
GOTO/635.33087,872.65063,226.64124,0,1,0
GOTO/681.97394,868.01251,344.75,0,1,0
GOTO/715.53589,757.49652,409.42993,0.25881904,0.08418598,0.96225017
GOTO/719.79822,545.00757,417.15109,0.25881904,0,0.96592581
GOTO/715.53546,332.49484,409.42923,0.25881904,-0.08418598,0.96225017
GOTO/681.97833,222.22798,344.73831,0,-1,0
GOTO/635.33344,217.48853,226.63429,0,-1,0
GOTO/296.40384,249.4655,328.79007,0,-1,0
CYCLE/OFF
Between CYCLE/ and CYCLE/OFF there are 9 GOTO instructions, which each defines a drilling cycle. The parameters after CYCLE/ are described in more detail in
Table 1 and apply to all the 9 GOTO instructions. This toolpath contains quite large
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re-orientations of the tool and it can be difficult to find settings which will configure
the path. The Optimizer (CTRL+I) can be used to find parameters which work.
Fig. 153 shows the Optimizer window after a search for acceptable user frame
Figure 153: Hyunday HS165: Optimizer.
location. A value of 0 zero means not configurable, while a value of 1 means configurable. It can be seen from Fig. 153 that by shifting the user frame by -500mm
in the X-direction and 0mm in the Y-direction, the toolpath configures. Hence, the
original userframe of X=1500, Y=0, Z=750 is modified to X=1000, Y=0, Z=750. It
Figure 154: Hyunday HS165: General Options.
is now possible to configure the toolpath the new userframe and a tool roll angle
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of for example -45 degrees. However, because of the large re-orientations in the
toolpath, the tool roll angle makes large jumps and towards the end of the path
the tool collides with the robot’s upper arm. To avoid this behaviour the tool roll
angle for some of the targets can be specified and constrained. This feature is
activated using “Tools - Options” (or press CTRL+J) and selecting “Enable RZ2”,
see Fig. 154. Next, right-click targets 15, 30 and 31 and constrain RZ2 (the tool
roll angle) to 0,90 and 90 degrees as shown in Fig. 155. After that, configure the
toolpath using “Tools - Configure Path” (or press CTRL+K) using a starting tool roll
angle of -45 degrees as shown in Fig. 156.
Figure 155: Hyunday HS165: Targets 15, 30 and 31.
Figure 156: Hyunday HS165: Path configuration settings.
Finally, verify that all 43 targets behave as expected by scrolling through the target
list in the upper-left part of the main window. Examples of robot configurations are
shown in Figs. 157-159 for targets 1, 29 and 43.
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Figure 157: Hyunday HS165: Configured Target 1.
Figure 158: Hyunday HS165: Configured Target 29.
Figure 159: Hyunday HS165: Configured Target 43.
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Collision Detection
The collision detection function in IRBCAM (CTRL+X or Tools - Collision Detection)
allows the user to check for contact between the objects inside a robot station. Figure 160 shows the options available to the user. Detection for 6 tool contact sce-
Figure 160: Collision Detection Options.
narios is available: Tool against Robot, Floor, Cubes, Geometry, CAD and External
Axes. In addition, there is detection for 5 robot contact scenarios: Robot against
Floor, Cubes, Geometry, CAD and External Axes. Since the collision detection can
take a long time for very large toolpaths, a Log File is specified where all information about potential collisions is recorded for later inspection. In this way, the
collision detection can, for example, be run overnight and inspected the following
morning. For small toolpaths the collision detection takes only a few seconds or
minutes and can be inspected immediately.
Three accuracy levels are available to the user: High (accuracy level 2mm / 79
thou), Medium (accuracy level 5mm / 197 thou) and Low (accuracy level 10mm /
394 thou). The Low accuracy level is significantly faster to compute than the High
level. Hence, it is recommended to use the Low accuracy level for initial collision
detection testing. If close tolerances are used in a station and the robot or tool is
supposed to move past objects with very small clearances, then the Medium or
High accuracy levels shouls be used.
The default setting is to check the entire toolpath for collisions, but the user can
decide to check only selected critical portions of the toolpath. In the options screen
in Figure 160 the start and end targets for the collision detection can be specified
(’From Target’ and ’To Target’). If the last option, ’Stop if collision found’, is disabled
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IRBCAM checks the entire toolpath between ’From Target’ to ’To Target’ for collisions. If the last option is enabled, then the collision detection will stop and the Log
File will be generated when the first collision in the toolpath is detected.
8.1
Collision Detection: IRB6400 with Rotary Axis
Define a robot station as shown in Figure 161. Select the robot IRB6400-2.4-
Figure 161: Robot Station: IRB6400 with Rotary Axis (View - Orthogonal Views 3D Graphics Z+).
M97 and use the Spindle-Generic with tool data X=300mm, Y=0, Z=300mm and
RY=90. Use the rotary axis Rotary-Vertical-Axis and position it at X=2000mm, Y=0
and Z=400mm. Include the user geometry Girl.irblib and define both userframe
and objectframe equal to zero. Define a cube with position X=Y=Z=1000mm and
dimensions X=6000mm, Y=200mm, Z=2000mm (the wall in Fig. 161).
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After saving the defined station, create a single coordinate target (CTRL+E) with
X=0, Y=500mm, Z=0, RZ1=90 and RY=-90. Configure the target (CTRL+K) with
the settings shown in Figure 162.
Figure 162: Robot Station: Configuration Parameters.
Run the collision detection function (Tools - Collision Detection or press CTRL+X)
with the parameters shown in Figure 160 and accuracy level low. The generated
text file will then contain the following:
Date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Station Info:
------------Robot: IRB6400-2.4-M97C.irblib
Tool: Spindle-Generic.irblib
Geometry: Geometry-Girl.irblib
Linear Track: No
Rotary Axis: Rotary-Vertical-Axis.irblib
Actuated Table: No
Configuration:
-------------Tool Roll Angle (deg): 180.00
Tool Roll Mode: Fixed Angle
Bending Backwards: No
Elbow Down: No
Wrist Down: No
Collision detection options:
---------------------------Accuracy: Low
From Target: 1
To Target: 1
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Tool and Robot: Yes
Tool and Floor: Yes
Tool and Cubes: Yes
Tool and Geometry: Yes
Tool and CAD: Yes
Tool and External Axes: Yes
Robot and Floor: Yes
Robot and Cubes: Yes
Robot and Geometry: Yes
Robot and CAD: Yes
Robot and External Axes: Yes
Analysis:
--------Target 1: Arm #4 - Cube #1
The Log file contains the station information as well as all the collision detection
options. In this particular example a collision between arm 4 of the robot and the
cube is detected. By shifting the cube (Edit - Cube - Edit) from Y=1000mm to
Y=1100mm, this collision can be removed. Another possibility to avoid the collision
is to reconfigure the path by changing the Rotary Axis Angle in Figure 162 from 0 to
180 degrees and the Tool Roll Angle from 180 to 0 degrees. Collisions between the
tool and the rotary axis can be avoided by right-clicking on Target 1 and increasing
the Z-position of the target, for example to Z=50mm.
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Robot Code Output Options
This section describes the output options for ABB RAPID Code. The options are
similar for Kuka, Comau, Motoman and Fanuc robots and the template files for
these robot brands can be found in C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\krl, C:\Program
Files\IRBCAM\pdl2, C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\jbi and C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\karel.
Figure 41 shows the RAPID export options which can be accessed from the menu
’File - ABB - RAPID Options’. In the following subsections, these options will be
desribed. Note, however, that further configuration of the RAPID code output is
possible by editing the template files located at: C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\rapid.
In these files, any text starting with the % symbol will be replaced by IRBCAM. In
addition, the user can add his own commands to these template files. For example,
in ’Footer.txt’ any commands can be entered which are to be executed when the
RAPID code is finished, for example moving the robot back to a home position.
The file ’template.txt’ is used for the MOD+ROB export, while all the other template
files are used for the RAPID file export.
9.1
Gun On/Gun Off
At the top of Figure 41 there are five check-boxes. The first check-box is named
’Gun On/Gun Off’. By selecting this option, the RAPID code will contain function
calls for turning the tool on and off as the robot moves along the toolpath. This
option is useful for waterjet, laser, plasma cutting, etc. Before a fast move defined
in the APT file, the GunOff function will be called. Before a normal cutting speed,
the GunOn function will be called.
The actual function calls can be edited by the user. The template files which can
be edited are located at:
C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\rapid\BeforeCut.txt
C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\rapid\AfterCut.txt
For example, the user may want to add a delay of 2.0 seconds (WaitTime 2.0) after
’GunOn;’ in the text-file ’BeforeCut.txt’.
9.2
Tool Number
The next check-box enables automatic tool change. If this option is selected, the
RAPID code will contain a function call if there is a tool change in the APT-file.
The actual function call for the tool change can be edited by the user. The template
file is located at:
C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\rapid\LoadTool.txt
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The default contents of this template file is the single line ’LoadTool %ToolNumber;’.
IRBCAM will automatically replace the symbol %ToolNumber; with the actual tool
number defined in the APT file. The user must write his own ’LoadTool’ function
which moves the robot to the correct position for the tool change, opens and closes
the tool cabinet, drops the current tool, picks up the new tool and performs the tool
calibration (if relevant). The ’LoadTool’ function will typically interface to digital
inputs and outputs of the toolchange equipment.
9.3
Spindle Speed
The next check-box enables automatic control of the spindle RPM. If this option is
selected, the RAPID code will contain a function call whenever there is a change
of spindle speed in the APT file.
The actual function call for the tool change can be edited by the user. The template
file is located at:
C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\rapid\SpindleSpeed.txt
The default contents of this template file is the single line ’SetSpindle %SpindleSpeed;’.
IRBCAM will automatically replace the symbol %SpindleSpeed; with the actual
speed defined in the APT file. The user must write his own ’SetSpindle’ function
which interfaces with the frequency converter of the spindle. The ’SetSpindle’
function will typically interface to digital and/or analog inputs and outputs of the
frequency converter.
9.4
S4 Controller
By checking this box, IRBCAM will output RAPID code for the older S4 controller.
By unchecking this box, the RAPID code will be exported for the S4C+ and IRC5
controllers.
9.5
Speeds from APT File
By checking this box, IRBCAM will output robot speeds as specified in the APT file.
By unchecking this box, the fast (no-contact) speed and the cutting speed will be
defined by the two drop-down items further down in Figure 41.
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110
Tool Data
The next five items are all related to the tool definition. First, the tool data name
is defined. It can be an advantage to choose a short name for the tool, to make
the final RAPID file as small as possible. The tool data definition is required in
every single MoveL/MoveC instruction, hence this name will be repeated many
times in the RAPID code. The next four items are tool weight and centre of gravity.
It is important to define these parameters accurately to make sure that the robot
moves along the path as accurately as possible. These parameters are particularly
important if the toolpath contains high accelerations.
9.7
Module and Procedure Names
The next three items define the module, procedure and work object name. In the
robot controller, the module and procedure names must be unique and there can
only be one main procedure. Hence, it is useful to be able to change the names. If
the main procedure in the robot controller is already used for other tasks, then the
RAPID code generated by IRBCAM cannot use this name. As for the name of the
tool, it can be an advantage to choose a short name for the work object, to make
the final RAPID file as small as possible. The work object definition is required
in every single MoveL/MoveC instruction, hence this name will be repeated many
times in the RAPID code.
9.8
External Axes
After the speed definitions, the next three items are related to external axis equipment. First, the name of the rotary unit must be specified. This name should match
the system definition for the external axis (the name can be found in the backup
file MOC.cfg under ’MECHANICAL_UNIT’). The next two items define the logical
axis numbers for any rotary or linear track. The logical axis numbers for external
equipment range from 7 to 12 (the first 6 axes are used for the robot).
9.9
Controller Directory
Finally, the controller directory can be specified for S4C+ and IRC5 controllers.
This directory is only required if the toolpath is exported as a MOD+ROB combination (CTRL+M). In this case, the MOD file needs to know the path to where the
ROB file (containing the coordinates) is located on the robot controller. When the
toolpath is exported as MOD+ROB, then the system module CAMSYS.SYS must
be pre-loaded into the controller. The CAMSYS.SYS file is located at: C:\Program
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Files\IRBCAM\rapid\CAMSYS.SYS. If the toolpath is exported as a single RAPID
file, then the controller directory name is not used. The robot controller can typically
only hold about 24,000 targets in memory. Hence, if the toolpath contains more
than about 24,000 targets, then the MOD+ROB export option should be used. Alternatively, a single robot code output file can be split into smaller parts using ’File
- Split APT/RAPID/KRL/JBI’.
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IRBCAM as a Post-Processor
For most users the robot is fixed, any external axis is fixed, the machining table
is fixed and user/object frames are in fixed positions. Hence, it is usually the first
path configuration in IRBCAM which may be difficult to get working. Subsequent
translations and path configurations will probably be very similar to the first.
When this is the case, the graphical interface does not have to be opened up
every time to generate robot code. IRBCAM can be run both as a Windows GUI
application or as a command-line application.
The different command-line parameters are as follows:
• irbcam.exe -h | more - Displays the following command-line options
Usage:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
IRBCAM <mode> <mindist> <irb-file> <apt-file> <out-file> <optargs>
mode=0 to open the APT file in the GUI (no <out-file>)
mode=1 to generate RAPID (ABB)
mode=2 to generate MOD+ROB (ABB)
mode=3 to generate KRL (KUKA)
mode=4 to generate PDL2 (COMAU)
mode=5 to generate JBI (MOTOMAN)
mode=6 to generate KAREL (FANUC)
mode=7 to generate LS (FANUC)
mode=8 to generate JOB (HYUNDAI)
mode=9 to generate V+ (ADEPT)
mode=10 to generate NACHI code
mode=11 to generate RAPL-2 (CRS)
mode=12 to generate VAL3 (STAUBLI)
mode=13 to generate ASC (OTC-DAIHEN)
mode=14 to generate PAC (DENSO)
mode=15 to generate AS (KAWASAKI)
mode=16 to generate PRG (MITSUBISHI)
mode=17 to generate SCRIPT (UNIVERSAL)
mode=18 to generate SCOL (TOSHIBA)
mindist is the minimum distance between robot coordinates
irb-file is the station file from the GUI
apt-file is the input APT file from the CAM software
out-file contains the output with configured RAPID code
<optargs> see manual chapter 10 for optional arguments
• irbcam.exe -h > file.txt - Saves the command-line options to a file
• irbcam.exe - No parameters, IRBCAM starts as a Windows GUI application
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The following shows an exampe command-line call for IRBCAM:
cd "c:\Program Files\IRBCAM"
IRBCAM 1 1.0 c:\irb4400.irb c:\Demopart.apt c:\test1.prg
This example will generate ABB RAPID code with a minimum distance between
the coordinates of 1.0mm. The configuration file irb4400.irb and the APT file Demopart.apt are used to output the RAPID code in the file test1.prg.
If the configuration is successful, IRBCAM will output the following message:
1
IRBCAM path configuration succeeded.
The first ’1’ means successful and can be used by other software to check the
status of the IRBCAM output. Alternatively, if something goes wrong during the
conversion, the output could for example look like:
0
IRBCAM Command-line operation failed.
Check if the file names are correct
and that the IRB file is set up correctly.
Error message: Configuration data missing in IRB file.
If you get this error message, it means that the IRB file does not contain the configuration data for the Tool Roll Angle, the Rotary Axis Angle and the Linear Track
Offset. These parameters must be defined in the path configuration window in the
GUI (CTRL+K), see Figure 163. In this case, the Tool Roll Angle has been set
Figure 163: Path configuration window.
to 90o , the Rotary Axis Angle to 180o and the Linear Track Offset to 0mm. Additional parameters which are defined are: ’Rotary Axis Dynamic Angle’, ’Linear
Track Batch Mode 200mm’ and ’Wrist Down’. When these parameters have been
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defined and the path has been configured correctly in the GUI, save the IRB file.
This IRB file can now be used with the post-processor.
With the command-line mode IRBCAM can be integrated into CAM software as a
post-processor. For example, in SurfCam, the following commands can be added
to the ’PostMenu.cfg’ file to add IRBCAM as a post-processor. In SurfCam 2014
the file ’PostMenu.cfg’ is normally located in the directory:
C:\Users\Public\SURFCAM\SURFCAM2014\Config.
PostItem ABB RAPID CODE
Status ABB RAPID CODE
Command "C:\Program Files\SURFCAM\SURFCAM2014\INC2APT" -I -FAR "%p%n" -O "%p%N.apt"
Task D:\IRBCAM.bat "%p%N.apt" "%N"
Task
"C:\Program Files\SURFCAM\SURFCAM2014\Apps\editNC\editNC" "D:\%N.prg"
The file ’IRBCAM.bat’ in this example is shown below:
@echo off
cd "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM"
C:
start /wait IRBCAM.exe 1 1.0 D:\cfg.irb %1 "D:\%2.prg"
10.1
Optional Parameters
IRBCAM supports several optional command-line parameters. Below is an example using two of these:
IRBCAM 1 1.0 station.irb aptfile.apt robfile.prg -uframex 1200 -tooly
250
In this example the User Frame X-position is changed to 1200mm and the Tool
Data Y-value is changed to 250mm. The optional parameters can only be used at
the end of the command-line, and override the values stored in ’station.irb’. Table 6
shows the complete list of optional parameters. The values n in the table must be
replaced by the actual values.
Note that if the optional parameters for rotation (-uframeRx, -uframeRy or -uframeRz)
are used, then the optional parameters for the quaternions (-uframeq1 · · · -uframeq4)
are ignored. The same applies with the rotation parameters for the object and the
tool frames.
For various reasons, a user may want to turn off IRBCAM’s reachability and singularity checking. This can be done with the optional command-line parameter
’-configure 0’. However, it is recommend to keep configuration checking on, and
this parameter is on by default. Robot programs generated with configuration off,
are not likely to run on the robot controller without turning configuration checking
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off. Some programs will not run at all, even with configuration checking off on
the controller. For example, on ABB controllers the RAPID command for turning
configuration checking off is ’ConfL\Off’. One situation where turning configuration
checking off may be useful, is when a user wants to run the same toolpath on several different types of robot models, and wants to save time by defining only one
common IRBCAM station for all the robots. This option is only meant for expert
users, who are confident that unconfigured toolpaths will run without problems on
the robot controller. When configuration checking is turned off, the initial tool roll
angle defined either in the station file or by the optional parameter ’-toolroll n’ will be
used for the entire toolpath. IRBCAM will not attempt to modify the tool roll angle
when configuration checking is turned off.
An example command-line call when including collision detection is as follows:
IRBCAM 1 1.0 s1.irb apt1.apt out.prg -collision_file collision.txt
-collision_accuracy 2
The options here mean the following:
1. 1 - Means that the generated robot code is for ABB (RAPID)
2. 1.0 - Minimum distance between targets (in mm)
3. s1.irb - Name of the input station file
4. apt1.apt - Name of the input toolpath file (APT-CL format)
5. out.prg - Name of the output robot code file
6. -collision_file collision.txt - Enables collision detection and specifies the output filename
7. -collision_accuracy 2 - Specifies the collision detection accuracy level (2=
Medium= 5mm / 197 thou)
If the toolpath is successfully configured and the collision detection functions can
be evaluated on the entire toolpath, then the output from IRBCAM will be as follows:
1
IRBCAM path configuration succeeded.
1
IRBCAM collision checking succeeded.
In this case, two files will be generated: 1) out.prg (the ABB RAPID code) and 2)
collision.txt (the summary of the collision detection analysis).
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Optional Parameter
-toolroll n
-uframex n
-uframey n
-uframez n
-uframeq1 n
-uframeq2 n
-uframeq3 n
-uframeq4 n
-uframeRx n
-uframeRy n
-uframeRz n
-oframex n
-oframey n
-oframez n
-oframeq1 n
-oframeq2 n
-oframeq3 n
-oframeq4 n
-oframeRx n
-oframeRy n
-oframeRz n
-toolx n
-tooly n
-toolz n
-toolq1 n
-toolq2 n
-toolq3 n
-toolq4 n
-toolRx n
-toolRy n
-toolRz n
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Explanation
Tool Roll Angle (n in degrees)
User Frame X Position (n in mm)
User Frame Y Position (n in mm)
User Frame Z Position (n in mm)
User Frame Quaternion Component q1 (n from -1 to +1)
User Frame Quaternion Component q2 (n from -1 to +1)
User Frame Quaternion Component q3 (n from -1 to +1)
User Frame Quaternion Component q4 (n from -1 to +1)
User Frame X-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
User Frame Y-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
User Frame Z-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Object Frame X Position (n in mm)
Object Frame Y Position (n in mm)
Object Frame Z Position (n in mm)
Object Frame Quaternion Component q1 (n from -1 to +1)
Object Frame Quaternion Component q2 (n from -1 to +1)
Object Frame Quaternion Component q3 (n from -1 to +1)
Object Frame Quaternion Component q4 (n from -1 to +1)
Object Frame X-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Object Frame Y-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Object Frame Z-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Tool Data X Value (n in mm)
Tool Data Y Value (n in mm)
Tool Data Z Value (n in mm)
Tool Data Quaternion Component q1 (n from -1 to +1)
Tool Data Quaternion Component q2 (n from -1 to +1)
Tool Data Quaternion Component q3 (n from -1 to +1)
Tool Data Quaternion Component q4 (n from -1 to +1)
Tool Frame X-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Tool Frame Y-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Tool Frame Z-Axis Rotation (n in deg)
Table 6: Optional command-line parameters. The variable n must be replaced by
a number. Note that the quaternions must be properly scaled. The requirement is
that q12 + q22 + q32 + q42 = 1.
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Optional Parameter
-configure n
-cviewx n
-cviewy n
-cviewz n
-cviewrx n
-cviewry n
-cviewrz n
-maxdistance n
-collision_file name.txt
-collision_accuracy n
-startpercent n
-endpercent n
-textfile 1
-statusWindow 1
Explanation
Configuration off/on (n: 0 or 1)
Coordinate X Translation (n in mm)
Coordinate Y Translation (n in mm)
Coordinate Z Translation (n in mm)
Coordinate X Rotation (n in degrees)
Coordinate Y Rotation (n in degrees)
Coordinate Z Rotation (n in degrees)
Max allowed distance for linear moves (n ≥ 1.0 in mm)
Output file name for collision detection
Accuracy level (n=1=High, n=2=Medium, n=3=Low)
Multi-thread parameter (n between 0 and 100)
Multi-thread parameter (n between 0 and 100)
Imports an ASCII text file instead of APT, see Sec. 5.3
Opens a graphical status window
Table 7: Optional command-line parameters (continued).
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Example of IRBCAM integration with SurfCam
In this section an integrated example with IRBCAM used as a post-processor in
SurfCam will be demonstrated. First, the robot station needs to be defined. In
Figure 164: IRBCAM configuration screen.
this example, we will use an IRB6400R-2.5-200kg robot with the spindle TMA4
from the standard library. Select the user frame at (2000,0,0) (the default location)
and no user object or cubes. Save the station configuration in the file ’irb6400.irb’.
This station file will later be used in post-processor mode. In order for IRBCAM to
work as a post-processor, we need to define parameters such as the initial tool-roll
angle, wrist up/down, etc. To be able to define these parameters, we need at least
one coordinate in the station. Hence, select ’Edit - Targets - Add Target’ and accept
the default values (0,0,0,0o ,180o ,0o ) and click ’OK’. The only reason why we need
this single target, is to enable the path configurator. Select the path configurator
(CTRL+K) as illustrated in Figure 164 and define the initial Tool Roll Angle equal to
45o and finally save the station data to ’irb6400.irb’.
In SurfCam create a polyline by selecting ’Create - Line - String - Polyline’. Define
the polyline by the following five coordinates: (0,0,0) - (100,0,0) - (100,100,0) (0,100,0) and (0,0,0). Click ’Done’ to complete the polyline. Next, select ’NC 3-Axis - Contour 3D’ to generate a 3-axis toolpath along the polyline.
If the SURFCAM.PST file has been updated according to section 10, then the ABB
RAPID Code option should appear in the NC Operations Manager, as illustrated in
Figure 165. Click on ’Post’ to generate the ABB Rapid Code. If the post-processor
is successful, the generated code will be opened by editNC, as illustrated in Figure 166.
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Figure 165: SurfCam NC Operations Manager.
Figure 166: editNC showing generated RAPID code.
It should be noted that the post-processor will only be able to generate code if the
initial settings in Figure 164 are matching (relatively closely) the current toolpath
in SurfCam. In the example in this section, the position (0,0,0) of the single target
which was used by the configurator screen in IRBCAM, coincides with the first coordinate in the polyline in SurfCam. In this way, we can be quite certain that the
IRBCAM configuration will be OK. When generating new toolpaths with very different starting positions and/or orientations (in 5-axis mode), the initial configuration
from IRBCAM may not be very good and the post-processor in SurfCam may have
problems generating code. In such cases, it is recommended to open the graphical
user interface of IRBCAM and configure the path there. The updated configuration
settings can then be saved as an IRB file and used with the post-processor in
SurfCam.
As an alternative, it may be useful to have several IRB configuration files with differ-
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ent settings and to make one entry in PostMenu.cfg for each of these configuration
files.
As a third alternative, the generated APT file in SurfCam can automatically be
opened in the IRBCAM GUI for further editing and path configuration. In this case,
the following post-processor code can be used.
PostItem IRBCAM GUI
Status IRBCAM GUI
Command "C:\Program Files\SURFCAM\SURFCAM2014\INC2APT" -I "%p%n" -O "%p%N.apt"
Chdir "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM"
Task "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM\IRBCAM" 0 1.0 c:\cfg.irb %p%N.apt
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Example of IRBCAM integration with VisualMill
In this section an integrated example with IRBCAM used as a post-processor in
VisualMill 2012 will be demonstrated. It is assumed that a robot station is already
defined in IRBCAM and saved with the filename S1.irb. Two Windows Batch files
are needed. Save the following text in a file named: IRBCAM1.bat
@echo off
cd "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM"
IRBCAM.EXE 0 1.0 "C:\Users\Public\S1.irb" %1
Save the following text in a file named: IRBCAM2.bat
@echo off
cd "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM"
IRBCAM.EXE 1 1.0 "C:\Users\Public\S1.irb" %1 "C:\Users\Public\abb1.prg"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++" "C:\Users\Public\abb1.prg"
IRBCAM1.bat starts up IRBCAM with the pre-defined station S1.irb. The parameter
%1 will be replaced by the output file (on APT CLS format) from VisualMill. The
first parameter after IRBCAM.EXE equals 0, which means that IRBCAM will open
up in GUI-mode. The second parameters equals 1.0 (unit mm) which defines the
minimum allowed distance between the points in the APT CLS file.
IRBCAM2.bat uses IRBCAM as a traditional post-processor without the graphical
interface. The first parameter after IRBCAM.EXE equals 1, which means that robot
code on the ABB RAPID language syntax will be generated, see the command-line
options in the beginning of this chapter. The second parameter (1.0) specifies the
minimum distance between the points as in IRBCAM1.bat. The robot code is in
this example saved in the file "C:\Users\Public\abb1.prg". The last line in IRBCAM2.bat causes Notepad++ (if installed) to open up the generated ABB RAPID
code.
Figure 167 shows the required post-processor settings in VisualMill 2012. Set the
"Current Post-Processor" to APT CLS IJK and "Program to send the posted file
to:" to IRBCAM1.bat (including the entire file path, in this case C:\Users\Public
\IRBCAM1.bat.
Next, we will create a small example in VisualMill and post the result to IRBCAM.
In Figure 168 a Box with dimensions 300mm x 300mm x 4mm is created and then
a toolpath is created using 3-Axis Spiral Machining. Select the flat area to machine
and use a ballnose tool with diameter 30mm as shown in Figures 169 and 170.
Finally, right-click on "Machining Job - Post APT CLS IJK" and select "Post" as
shown in Figure 171. Select the filename of the generated APT file from VisualMill,
then wait until the IRBCAM GUI opens as shown in Figure 172. The toolpath shown
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Figure 167: VisualMill 2012: Post-Processor Options and IRBCAM1.bat.
in IRBCAM (Figure 172) should match the toolpath in VisualMill (Figure 171). At
this stage, the toolpath is not configured to run on the robot. The user must now
continue with configuring the toolpath (CTRL+K) in a similar way as in the examples
in Section 7.
Figure 173 shows the generated robot code opened in Notepad++ when IRBCAM2.bat is used instead of IRBCAM1.bat in Figure 167. In order to be able to
generate robot code directly, it is important that the parameter "Tool Roll Angle" is
defined in the station file. Before saving the station file S1.irb in IRBCAM, add a
new robot target (CTRL+E) and configure (CTRL+K) this single target with the desired tool roll angle. Then save S1.irb (CTRL+S) and it is ready to be used together
with the batch file IRBCAM2.bat.
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Figure 168: VisualMill 2012: Create Box and 3-Axis Spiral Machining.
Figure 169: VisualMill 2012: Spiral Machining Options.
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Figure 170: VisualMill 2012: Ballnose Tool Definition.
Figure 171: VisualMill 2012: Generate Post.
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Figure 172: IRBCAM: GUI opened directly from VisualMill 2012.
Figure 173: Generated robot code (ABB RAPID) using IRBCAM2.bat and opened
in Notepad++.
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10.4
Running IRBCAM on Multiple Cores
Modern CPU’s have multiple cores, but the standard GUI version of IRBCAM is not
able to utilise all this available computing power. Most of IRBCAM’s algorithms are
sequential and hence run on a single CPU core only. One way to overcome this
limitation is to use IRBCAM’s command-line interface and run several instances
of IRBCAM in parallel. An example .bat file script to achieve this on Windows is
shown below.
C:
cd "C:\Program Files\IRBCAM
start IRBCAM.exe 1 1.0 c:\test1.irb
start IRBCAM.exe 1 1.0 c:\test1.irb
start IRBCAM.exe 1 1.0 c:\test1.irb
start IRBCAM.exe 1 1.0 c:\test1.irb
c:\test1.apt
c:\test1.apt
c:\test1.apt
c:\test1.apt
c:\test1.prg
c:\test2.prg
c:\test3.prg
c:\test4.prg
-startpercent
-startpercent
-startpercent
-startpercent
0 -endpercent 25
25 -endpercent 50
50 -endpercent 75
75 -endpercent 100
In this script, four independent processes of IRBCAM are started up in parallel. The
optional parameters ’-startpercent’ and ’-endpercent’ are used. The first process
converts the first 25% of the input APT file, the second process the next 25% of
the APT file, and so on. The configured toolpaths are stored in four separate PRG
files, test1.prg to test4.prg (mode=1 converts to the ABB RAPID language). The
station file test1.irb must contain all the required parameters needed to configure
the toolpath, for example tooldata and userframe definitions, as well as the initial
tool-roll angle. test1.irb normally would contain a single robot target only, to keep
the file small and to allow definition of the initial tool roll angle.
If all the four processes above are able to configure the toolpath successfully, the
final output will be as follows (two lines of text for each process):
1
IRBCAM
1
IRBCAM
1
IRBCAM
1
IRBCAM
path configuration succeeded.
path configuration succeeded.
path configuration succeeded.
path configuration succeeded.
One potential drawback of such parallel processing of the APT file, is the fact that
each process starts out with the same tool roll angle as defined in the test1.irb file.
When the entire APT file is configured sequentially in the GUI version of IRBCAM,
the tool roll angle changes dynamically depending on for example the distance to
the joint limits and singularities. Hence, there is no guarantee that an APT file
which is possible to configure sequentially in the GUI version of IRBCAM will also
configure successfully when split into parallel processes as in the example above.
The potential benefit, however, is large. By parallelising the processing of the APT
file, the overall computation time can be reduced by a factor approximately equal
to the number of CPU cores. This is particularly of benefit for large toolpaths and
for time-consuming calculations such as collision detection.
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127
Statistics
IRBCAM contains a menu item called "Tools - Statistics". By selecting this item (or
pressing CTRL+A) after an APT file has been loaded, a window as shown in Figure 174 will appear. This window shows the minimum and maximum values in the
Figure 174: Robot coordinate statistics.
X,Y,Z directions, the number of MoveL vs MoveC instructions, the number of fast
vs slow moves and the distribution of the coordinate distances. This information
(especially the min/max values) can often be useful when configuring a toolpath.
For example, if the maximum X position is very large and this position is not reachable by the robot, the user or object frames can be compensated in the negative X
direction to shift the toolpath into the reach of the robot.
The second last row of the statistics window shows the shortest and the longest
linear move. On some robot controllers, very long linear moves can be problematic,
especially if the robot has to change configuration during the move or approach a
singularity. To reduce the longest move and insert intermediate points, the menu
’Tools - Maximum Distance’ can be used.
At the bottom the total length of the toolpath and the estimated time are shown.
These numbers take both linear and circular moves into account. In practice, the
time will be slightly longer than the estimate given by IRBCAM, since the robot
normally has to reduce the speed at corners.
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128
CAD Converter
The CAD converter is a separate program (CADConverter.exe) which can be used
to convert your own CAD files to User Geometries or Tools to the IRBLIB format which can be used in IRBCAM. The CAD converter can be used either as
a command-line tool or with a graphical user interface (GUI). The command-line
options are specified below:
Usage:
:
:
:
CADConverter <outfile> <infile1> <infile2> ... <infileN> <optargs>
With no command-line arguments, the GUI opens
The input files VRML (*.wrl) or STL (*.stl) are converted to the
IRBLIB format
Optional Arguments:
-tool num: If num=1 create tool, otherwise geometry
-X num
: X translation (mm or inch) of input geometries
-Y num
: Y translation (mm or inch) of input geometries
-Z num
: Z translation (mm or inch) of input geometries
-RX num : RX rotation (deg) of input geometries
-RY num : RY rotation (deg) of input geometries
-RZ num : RZ rotation (deg) of input geometries
-sX num : X scaling of input geometries (default 1)
-sY num : Y scaling of input geometries (default 1)
-sZ num : Z scaling of input geometries (default 1)
-tX num : Tooldata X (mm or inch)
-tY num : Tooldata Y (mm or inch)
-tZ num : Tooldata Z (mm or inch)
-tRX num : Tooldata RX (deg)
-tRY num : Tooldata RY (deg)
-tRZ num : Tooldata RZ (deg)
-colR num: Color R (Red, between 0 and 1), STL only
-colG num: Color G (Green, between 0 and 1), STL only
-colB num: Color B (Blue, between 0 and 1), STL only
When calling the CAD converter from the command-line, it will run as a background
process. In a batch file, if it is important to wait until the CAD converter is finished
with it’s task, call it with for example: START /wait CADConverter -h. The units
(mm or inch) are determined by the user’s settings defined using the GUI in IRBCAM.EXE or CADConverter.exe. The default unit is mm.
Figure 175 shows the opening screen of the CAD Converter when the GUI is
opened (no command-line parameters). The Converter opens up in Wireframe
mode, which makes imported CAD files located below the floor visible. CAD files
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Figure 175: CAD Converter: Opening Screen.
saved as VRML (Virtual Reality Meta Language) or STL (Stereolithography) files
can be converted to the IRBLIB format. Make sure that you draw your own CAD
files in a CAD program which can export to at least one of these two formats. The
first step is to load a VRML or STL file into the Converter.
Figure 176 shows the screen after a CAD file has been loaded. This CAD data is
already located in the correct position. Otherwise, the translations X,Y,Z and the
angles RX,RY,RZ in Figure 176 can be used to translate and rotate the imported
CAD data.
In this example, a new tool will be generated. For new tools, it is important that
the Z-axis of the CAD file corresponds to the direction straight out of the mounting
flange of the robot. The X-axis of the CAD file will be pointing towards the floor
when the tool is mounted on the robot and when the robot is in the zero position.
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Figure 176: CAD Converter: Screen after a CAD file has been loaded.
Figure 177: CAD Converter: Screen after a tool coordinate frame has been shifted
to the correct location.
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Note that the default location for the coordinate frame of the tool is located at the
origin (0,0,0). The first step is to shift this coordinate frame to the correct location. Go to the menu ’Edit - Tool Data’ (or CTRL+T) and enter the following values:
X=235, Y=0, Z=235, RY=90o . You should then see the screen as shown in Figure 177. Note that the blue vector in Figure 177 is the Z-axis of the tool, and this
vector must point in the direction of the cutting tool. That is the reason why the rotation RY=90o is required in this example. Figure 178 shows the screen when ’Edit
Figure 178: CAD Converter: Geometry properties.
- Geometry Properties’ (or CTRL+P) has been selected. In this mode, the CAD file
can be scaled in the X,Y and Z directions and it is possible to change the appearance of the object. In Figure 178 the ’Solid Mode’ has been selected (as opposed
to Wireframe) by using the Icons located at the top of the 3D graphics window.
The RGB colours have been changes to 0,0.4,0. Click on ’Update’ to change the
colours in the graphics window. (All other parameters update automatically).
At this stage, the CAD file can be saved as an IRBLIB file. Choose ’File - Save
Tool’ (or CTRL+L) to convert and save the IRBLIB file. To make the new IRBLIB
file available in the tool selection in the ’New Station Wizard’ in IRBCAM, the file
must be placed in the following directory:
..\Program Files\IRBCAM\tool
Note that on some operating systems, this directory will be Read-Only. In this case,
save the IRBLIB file somewhere else first and then manually copy the IRBLIB file
to the location above using Windows Explorer.
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It is also possible to save the file as ’File - Save Geometry’ (or CTRL+S). In this
case, the tool data will be ignored and the generated file should be placed in the
installation directory:
..\Program Files\IRBCAM\geometry
Files placed in the ’geometry’ folder will become available in the ’New Station Wizard’ in IRBCAM when selecting ’Station With User Object’. The reason why these
directories have to be used, is to make it possible to transfer the Station files (*.irb)
between two computers with different directory structures. Even if IRBCAM is installed somewhere else than the default C:\Program Files directory (for example
D:\Programs, the transfer of station files between different computers will work as
long as the new Tool and Geometry files are placed in the installation directories
..:\IRBCAM\tool and ..:\IRBCAM\geometry.
Note that for Motoman robots, the definition of the tool coordinate axes is different
compared to ABB and Kuka robots. For Motoman robots, the X (red vector) and
Y (green vector) axes are rotated 180 degrees about the Z-axis (blue vector). Figure 179 shows the same tool with the ABB/Kuka definition (Left, RY=90o ) and the
Motoman definition (Right, RY=-90o , RZ=180o ).
Figure 179: CAD Converter: Tool Definition on ABB/Kuka (Left) and Motoman
(Right).
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ABB Robot Controllers
The quick steps to uploading files (on ABB controllers) by using IRBCAM are the
following:
• Option 1) Configure the Ethernet connection to the robot controller, see Figure 180. Connect to the robot with an FTP client (for example FileZilla)
• Option 2) On older controllers (S4 and S4C) put the RAPID code on a floppy
disk.
• Option A) Upload the RAPID program. With this option, the number of robot
coordinates is limited by the free memory size of the controller, typically
24,000 robot targets.
• Option B) Upload the system module "CAMSYS.SYS". Load this system
module into the controller from the robot’s teach pendant. This needs to
be done only once. Upload a ROB coordinate file to the controller. Finally,
upload the main module which reads and executes the ROB file to the robot
controller. With this option, the number of robot coordinates is limited by the
size of the controller’s flash disk, typically several million robot targets.
• With both options A) and B), the programs can be run both in manual and
automatic mode.
For ABB robots, the generated RAPID program and data points can be run on the
S4, S4C, S4C+ and IRC5 robot controllers. While IRBCAM works on controllers
that only have floppy disks, S4C+ and IRC5 type controllers have the added advantage of a large flash-disk and an Ethernet connection. For CAM files with several
hundred thousand data points, IRBCAM can split the points across several floppy
disks that can be inserted sequentially. Hence, the older S4C robot controller can
execute as many CAM points as the newer S4C+ and IRC5 controllers. The advantage of S4C+ and IRC5 is the possibility of FTP file transfers and an uninterrupted
execution of large CAM programs (with the MOD+ROB option). On a typical S4C+
controller, more than 3 million CAM points can be executed without interruption or
the need for user interference.
When IRBCAM runs together with a stand-alone S4C+ or IRC5 system, an XEthernet cable and the service channel is one convenient way of transferring the
CAM files. Figure 180 shows the required IP configuration on the PC running
IRBCAM when connected to the service channel on an S4C+ system. The settings
are the same for IRC5, except that the subnet mask should be set to 255.255.255.0.
In order to use the MOD+ROB option, the "Advanced Functions" software module
from ABB is required to access the CAM data points. The figures 182 to 184
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Figure 180: Configuration of PC IP-address when using the robot service channel.
show how to check which software options are installed on the robot controller. In
Figure 184 "Advanced Functions" must be present. On IRC5 the option Advanced
Functions is split into several separate options. The option required on IRC5 is
called "File and Serial Channel Handling"..
Figure 181: Service Screen on ABB (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
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Figure 182: System Info and ID (ABB robots).
Figure 183: System Id Details (Left: ABB S4C+, Right: ABB IRC5)
14
Calibration
This chapter applies mainly to ABB robot, but the calibration approach is similar for
other robot brands. The easiest way to calibrate the robot’s tool and work object
coordinate frames, is to use the built-in functionality in the robot controller. The tool
will normally be calibrated first and the work object second. When calibrating the
tool manually, a sharp point should be available in the work station. The operator
then moves the tip of the tool to the sharp point with four different orientations of
the tool. It is important to do this manual operation as accurately as possible. Any
errors from this step will be directly visible in the final machined object, especially
in 5-axis mode. A built-in function in the controller can then calculate the tooldata
from the four positions recorded.
In this section the steps required to define a work object is presented in more
detail. Note that (on ABB robots) a work object actually consists of two coordinate
systems: the user frame (UFRAME) and the object frame (OFRAME), see Fig. 185.
The operator can decide to calibrate only one of these frames or both.
From the jogging window on the teach pendant, the current work object can be
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Figure 184: Product Id showing installed software options (Left: ABB S4C+, Right:
ABB IRC5)
selected, see Figure 186. When the screen in Figure 187 appears, press the "Define..." button on the teach pendant and Figure 188 will appear. In Figure 188 the
user coordinate frame can be defined by three points: the origin (X1), one point on
the X-axis (X2) and one point on the Y-axis (Y1). The operator will have to manually jog the robot to the three points and press "ModPos" on the teach pendant.
The object frame can often easily be calibrated manually once the user frame is
defined, especially when the user and object frames have the same orientation. In
that case the oframe quaternions will be 1, 0, 0, 0 and the offsets X, Y, Z can be
measured manually.
When the definition of the work object frame is completed, the operator can return
to the Instruction view on the teach pendant screen as shown in Figure 189. By selecting "Edit - Value" from the menu on the teach pendant, the screen in Figure 190
will appear showing the calibrated coordinates and quaternions.
Figures 191 and 192 show an example of how the user frame is defined. The
three coordinate points X1, X2 and Y1 are shown in Figure 191 and the final result
is shown in Figure 192. The UFRAME coordinates are 987.766, 320.628, 186.489
while the quaternions are 0.712462, 0.002028, 0.001521, −0.701707. These values
are recorded and entered when setting up a new station, see section 7.
The user frame part is in the previous example defined to the corner of the machining table. However, the object to be machined is usually located in a different
position than the origin of the machining table. The object frame (OFRAME) can be
used to define the translation and rotation of the object from the corner of the machining table to the actual position. In this case the OFRAME is a simple translation
from the UFRAME (no rotations) and this translation can be measured by a ruler.
In this example the OFRAME is measured simply as X = 107, Y = 0, Z = 24.
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Figure 185: Definition of user (UFRAME) and object frames (OFRAME) on ABB
robots.
Figure 186: Work object definition step 1 (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
IRBCAM User’s Manual
Figure 187: Work object definition step 2 (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
Figure 188: Work object definition step 3 (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
Figure 189: Work object definition step 4 (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
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Figure 190: Work object definition step 5 (Left: S4C+, Right: IRC5).
Figure 191: Work object definition. Top: Origin, Middle: X-Axis, Bottom: Y-axis
Figure 192: Work object result.
Index
3D Navigation, 18
5-Axis Robot, 69, 95
ABB Setup, 133
Accuracy, 8
Actuated Table, 75
Advanced Functions, 134
AlphaCam, 8
CAD Converter, 128
Calibration, 135
CATIA, 8
Collision Detection, 104
Combination View, 37
Command-line parameters, 112
Configuring Complex Paths, 88
Construction Views, 58
Coordinate Statistics, 127
Coordinate Systems, 9
Drilling Cycles, 100
File and Serial Channel Handling, 134
Fixed Axis 6, 69
Optional Command-Line Parameters, 114
Parallel Kinematic Machine, 95
Path Configurator, 37
Post-processor, 114
PostItem, 114
PostMenu.cfg, 114
Quaternions, 136
RAPID, 133
Roller Mode, 66
Rotary Axis Angle, 50
Rotary Axis Dynamic Angle, 50
S4C, 133
S4C+, 133
Service channel, 133
Stationary Tool, 84
STL Format, 128
SurfCam, 8
System module, 133
System Requirements, 8
G-Codes, 14
Tool Roll Angle, 38, 45
Transition Point, 62
Hanging Robot, 71
User Frame, 35, 135
IP configuration, 133
IRBLIB Format, 128
IRC5, 133, 134
VRML Format, 128
JBI, 83
Work object definition, 135
Workspace, 8
Wrist Down, 38
Linear Track Batch Mode, 56
Linear Track Offset, 45
Merge APT files, 88
Multi-threading, 126
Object Frame, 35, 42, 135
Offline Programming, 21
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