On display from ABB at the recent Automate 2017 was the company’s RobotStudio 6.05 — an offline programming tool for the setup of robots. With it, designers can visualize and confirm layouts before robots are installed — and boost part quality through the creation of more accurate paths. For the offline programming, RobotStudio uses ABB VirtualRobot Technology.
RobotStudio 6.05 takes ABB Virtual Robot Technology to the next level. Now engineers can run several virtual robots at once, and there’s support for MultiMove — the new IRC5 technology for running several robots from one controller.
RobotStudio allows imports of IGES, STEP, VRML, VDAFS, ACIS and CATIA files. By working with this exact data, robot programmers can generate more accurate robot programs (to get higher product quality).
One particularly timesaving AutoPath feature uses CAD models of parts to be processed for automatically generating robot positions to follow part curves in just a few minutes … a task that would otherwise take hours or days.
AutoReach feature — Automatically analyses reachability and is a handy feature that lets you simply move the robot or the work piece around until all positions are reachable. This allows you to verify and optimize the work cell layout in just a few minutes.
Path Optimization — RobotStudio can automatically detect and warn about programs that include motions in close vicinity to singularities, so that measures can be taken to avoid such conditions. Simulation Monitor is a visual tool for optimizing robot movement. Red lines indicate which targets you can improve to make the robot move in the most effective way. It is possible to optimize TCP speed, acceleration, singularity or axes to gain cycle time.
Collision Detection prevents costly damage to equipment. By selecting the objects concerned, RobotStudio automatically monitors and indicates whether they will collide when a robot program is executed.
Virtual FlexPendant — This is a graphical representation of the real FlexPendant, powered by the VirtualRobot … so everything that can be done in the real FlexPendant can be done in the Virtual FlexPendant — great for teaching and training.
True Upload and Download — A robot program can be downloaded to a real system without translation. This is a unique feature thanks to the Virtual Robot Technology that is a technique only provided by ABB.
Rapid editor makes RobotStudio into an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The editor supports customary features, such as syntax coloring, search and replace, basic intellisense (bracket matching, pick list, parameter info) and more.
Debugging — RobotStudio supports RAPID debugging, so breakpoints can be set … and the RAPID program can be stepped through when pinpointing the possible cause of fault. The WatchWindows displays selected variables during RAPID debugging. The data, which is displayed and managed in the Watch Window, is automatically updated when the controller comes to execution state stopped — at a breakpoint, for example.
The EventManager tool is to simulate actions when a specific event occurs. For instance, one can attach an object to a gripper when the gripper reaches the object, or when an I/O signal is set. With the new EventManager, engineers can also define a range of actions to be executed when a single event is triggered.
Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) allows customization and extension of RobotStudio uses. Using so-called VSTA addins, one can create macros in C# or Visual Basic. NET that can be triggered by simulation events … as well as features with the usual RobotStudio GUI. The VSTA add-in is managed from the new add-in browser.
The software’s MechanismModeler tool lets users model their own tracks, tools or grippers for use in RobotStudio simulations.
ScreenRecorder lets users make recording work in RobotStudio, either the entire GUI or just the graphics viewer. This is useful for demonstrations and training purposes. The ScreenRecorder is based on Microsoft Windows Media Technology.AutoConfiguration allows automatic definition of the optimal robot configuration for a whole path in just one click. VirtualTime lets engineers estimate the true cycle time for the robot program, including logical instructions.
Instruction templates let RobotStudio recognize and program any RAPID instructions. RobotStudio comes with predefined templates for all standard RAPID instructions and you also have the possibilities to create and share templates for your own custom processes and instructions.
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