About Robots

Compared with machines, robots are more flexible and let you work with a larger envelope when machining a part. In the Machining apps, you can set up robots, simulate them and generate an APT output.

Notes:
  • Robots are supported for milling operations only.
  • You cannot program a robot that already contains robotic tasks.

This page discusses:

See Also
Getting Started with Robots

Robot Definition

A robot is defined by a robotic cell composed of a control equipment resource. The control equipment resource drives the robot arm and auxiliary resources such as rails and rotary tables.



Milling Operation Parameter Definition

Lateral Axis of the Spindle

You can define x-axis parameters to control the robotic cell in the Lateral Axis sub-tab available in the Strategy tab of any milling operation dialog box.

The Mode parameter lets you specify whether the x-axis direction of the tool port axis is constant or tangent to the path.

The Roll offset parameters specifies an angular offset of the lateral direction, in a plane perpendicular to the axis.

Control Equipment Parameter Definition

You can edit control equipment parameters of a robot cell by right-clicking a control device in the Resource Configuration View and selecting Edit Local Parameters.

You can specify a name, add a comment, and define the type control equipment. The two types of control equipment are:

  • NC controller
  • Robot controller
Depending on the type of controller selected, the following tabs are displayed:
  • Compensation
  • Numerical Control
  • NC Output

Note: The content displayed varies according to the type of controller selected. The parameters are available in the context of a the manufacturing cell only and are not stored in the robot cell itself.

Robotic Translators

Machining programs must be translated into programming languages that are specific to robot controllers. When a robotic cell is controlled by a robot controller equipment resource, an Offline Programming (OLP) robotic translator must be used to modify the output to a Native Robot Language.

OLP translators define the translation format. Default translators are provided as 3dxml files, written in VB.NET and can be stored as VSTA macro library objects. You can define the robotic translator under the Numerical Control tab of the Local Parameters dialog box.

There are two types of OLP translator output formats:

  • Generic Robot Motions: Uses point coordinates, normal and lateral axes, feedrate, motion type, and turn numbers. Instructions are outputted as a list of motions in a specific robot controller format. For more information, see the Robotics - Supported Translators User's Guide.
  • Specific NC Process: Uses NC applicative robot routines, such as automatic tool change, automatic control of spindle speed, or Post Processor instructions. Output has the same format as a Post Processor table. For more information on parameter syntax, see PP Tables and Word Syntaxes - NC Instructions.

Robot Output

You can output different information related to robots in an APT file, such as robot motion type, configuration numbers and integer values. For more information, see Robots.

The Output Cycle syntax option must be clear to generate the information. This option is available in the NC Output tab of the dialog box that appears when you edit the NC output parameters of a robotic cell.

Commands

The following commands are not supported with robots:



Assign Machine from Database
Accessory change
Part Sequencing
Machine Rotation
Head Change
Analyze Positioning Sensors
Point to Point

Commands for editing tool paths are not supported.