Rail Axis Programming

You can automatically assign rail axes values based on predefined strategies.

Before you begin:

You must have a cell configured with a robot mounted on a rail with at least one task defined.

  1. In the Programming section of the action bar, click Compute Rail Values .
    You are prompted to select a robot task.
  2. Select a robot task in the Behavior side tab.

    The robot for the selected task must have at least one assigned rail/gantry and at least one motion activity.

    The Rail Axes Programming dialog box appears.



  3. In the Interpolation Method section, select a Strategy for calculating aux axes values for each aux axis.

    Choose from the following strategies:

    • Fixed Value: The Initial Value is assigned to Command.1.
    • Constant Offset: The Initial Value is added as an offset at each tag position for Command.1.
    • Minimized Motion: The Initial Value is used as the initial value for minimizing the movement of Command.1.
    • Arm Angle: All computed rail values ensure that the Command.1 value is always equal to the specified angle. This angle can be specified for only one horizontal DOF at a time. If a solution with Joint1 at the specified angle cannot be found within the rail DOF limits for a target, the target is marked as Unreachable.
    • Leave Unchanged: The value is unchanged for Command.1.

  4. Enter an Initial Value based on the Strategy selected in Step 3.
  5. Optional: Select Max Increment and specify an upper limit by which the rail axis DOF can be incremented for calculating reachability.

    While incrementing rail axis values for minimizing rail motion, rail increments are automatically calculated. If the rail values calculated are less than that defined in Max Increment, these values are used. If they are greater than the value specified for Max Increment, the Max Increment value is used.

  6. Optional: Select Ignore Out of Limits solutions to view only fully reachable solutions in the computed results.
  7. Click Compute to compute the aux values.
  8. Click Results list to view the calculated aux values and the reachability status of the tag point shown for each robot motion activity.


    The Results view can be customized in the following manner:

    • Customized Results List provides a customized view where you can select the activities for analysis and subsequent update to the model.
    • Reachable Motion Activities shows only the reachable move activities in the list.
    • Unreachable Motion Activities shows only the unreachable move activities in the list.
    • Results List shows or hides the results list.

  9. Click Jog to jog the device to the calculated position by selecting the corresponding robot motion activity name. The robot tracks the robot target when you jog the auxiliary axes. When the target is unreachable, the robot goes back to the previous reachable position.
  10. Click Update in the context toolbar near the base of the robot to update the current DOF values of the rail in the results list for the selected activity.


  11. Select Apply to apply the computed changes to the model, or select OK to apply the changes and exit Compute Rail/Gantry Values.