Many great industrial robot companies are worthy of your attention. But, some companies have been leading the industry for decades.

Some people feel more comfortable choosing an industry-leading brand.

They figure that the more people who use a robot brand, the better the robots will be. There is certainly a logic to choosing a brand that has been popular for decades.

In reality, there are now hundreds of industrial robot companies that offer reliable, feature-rich, and productive robots. It’s worth looking at the whole market as each manufacturer excels in different areas.

But, some robotic companies certainly lead the industry.

And robots from all of these manufacturers are supported by RoboDK.

What Makes An Industry-Leading Industrial Robot Brand?

The robot brands listed below are what we would call “industry-leading.”

What does this mean in practice?

Indeed, an industrial robot company can stand out for several reasons including:

• It has a high annual revenue or other markers of high financial success
• It has been a stalwart of the robotics industry for decades
• Its robots are ubiquitous in some industries or for some applications
• It pioneered a change in the industry

These markers don’t tell the whole story, but they can be useful for getting a broad overview of the “key players” in the robotics market.

The Biggest 4 Industrial Robot Companies

For many years, the robotics industry has been led by a set of companies that are often referred to as “The Big 4.”

In fact, these companies’ robots can be found in thousands of facilities worldwide and together they command roughly 75% of the market for robotics. Therefore, they are often immediately recognizable thanks to the distinct branding and product design from each company.

1. ABB

You can usually recognize an ABB robot by its white color with distinctive red logo.

ABB was founded in 1988 and is based in Zürich, Switzerland. As well as robotics, it specializes in other automation technology and power equipment.

The company has an annual revenue of around $28 billion and in 2002 it became the first company in the world to sell 100,000 robots.

2. Fanuc

You can usually recognize a Fanuc robot by its bright yellow color.

Fanuc was founded in 1972 and is based in Oshino, Japan with its headquarters at the base of the iconic Mount Fuji. The company specializes in robotics and other automation equipment, particularly CNC machines.

The company has an annual revenue of $4.7 billion and has installed over 750,000 robots worldwide.

3. KUKA

You can usually recognize a KUKA robot by its distinctive orange color.

KUKA was founded in 1898 when it started as a manufacturer of acetylene gas. The company first ventured into industrial automation in 1956 with an automatic welding system and created its first welding robot in 1971.

The company is based in Augsburg, Germany, and has an annual revenue of $2.5 billion of which $899 million is in robotics.

4. Yaskawa

The Motoman range of robots is produced by Yaskawa, which you can usually recognize by their white and blue coloring.

Yaskawa was founded in 1915 but their first robot was released in 1974. It was the first electrically driven industrial robot in Japan, as robots before then were all hydraulically driven.

The company is based in Fukuoka, Japan, and has an annual revenue of around $1.7 billion of which around $597 million is in robotics.

6 Other Popular Industrial Robotics Companies

Although The Big 4 above have a huge place in the robotics market, these other industrial robotics companies could be said to be also leading the industry in their own ways.

You can find robots from these companies in many facilities worldwide. As with all incumbent companies in robotics, they are all based in Japan or Europe.

5. Comau

Comau is an automation and robotics manufacturer based in Turin, Italy.

The company was founded in 1973 and developed the first laser robot for General Motors in the 1980s. Most recently it has moved into collaborative robotics and its Aura cobot has the largest payload capacity on the market (170kg).

The company has an annual revenue of $1.2 billion.

6. Epson

When you think of Epson, you might first think of their desktop printers. However, the robotics arm of Epson is a large player in the industry.

Epson was founded in 1942 and is based in Nagano, Japan. The company first brought its robots to the North and South American markets in 1984.

The whole company has an annual revenue of $9.6 billion of which about $1.32 billion is in wearable and industrial products.

7. Kawasaki

Kawasaki is a Japanese industrial manufacturer probably best known for its motorcycles, engines, and aerospace equipment.

The company was founded in 1896 but started making robots in 1968 when it joined an agreement with Unimation (the world’s first industrial robotics company) to make robots locally.

The company has an annual revenue of $1.3 billion and has installed over 160,000 robots worldwide.

8. Mitsubishi

A company best known for its electric products, Mitsubishi Electric’s robots are another common fixture in the industry.

Mitsubishi Electric (itself part of Mitsubishi) was founded in 1921 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

The company has an annual revenue of around $11.6 billion of which around $3 billion is industrial automation systems.

9. Stäubli

Stäubli robots are another stalwart of the robotics industry and can be found in many facilities worldwide.

The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Horgen, Switzerland. Beginning as a manufacturer of weaving automation, it diversified into robotics in 1982 when it acquired Unimation.

The company has an annual turnover of around $1.2 billion.

10. Universal Robots and the Cobot Market

Finally, the newest company on this list was at the forefront of one of the latest trends in robotics — collaborative robots (aka cobots).

Universal Robots was founded in 2005 and is based in Odense, Denmark. The company likely coined the term “collaborative robot” to mean a robot that can operate without safety fencing. The company has an annual revenue of $219 million.

Omron and the Growth of Cobots

Since then, dozens of other collaborative robot companies have been founded and the bigger players in the market have also produced their own cobots.

One such company that entered the collaborative robotics market with great success is Omron.

Omron is an industrial automation company based in Kyoto, Japan. They partnered with Techman Robot in 2018, adding a series of successful collaborative robots to their existing wide catalog of industrial robots, including mobile robots, SCARAs, and Delta robots. The company has an annual revenue of $6.9 billion.

Which Industrial Robot Brand Should You Choose?

On the whole, all these industrial robot companies and more could be a good choice for your next robot.

But, how do you tell which robot is the right one? It can be overwhelming to see so many different robots available.

A good place to start is to decide what properties your robot application will need. What payload capacity, for example, and what reach will be necessary for your task?

From then, you can continue your research with a better understanding of what you’re looking for in a robot.

Finally, whatever robot brand you choose, you can be sure that it can be supported by RoboDK.

Which industrial robot companies do you have experience with? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post 10 Industrial Robot Companies That Lead the Industry appeared first on RoboDK blog.

To add to this, it is often difficult to find enough skilled workers to carry out the gluing process. With low staff numbers and low productivity, the gluing station can become a bottleneck for the other steps in your manufacturing process.

But, one company noticed a gap in the market. They saw a need for robotic gluing systems that are easy for people to program and use.

By using RoboDK, they provide manufacturers with an easy entry point into the benefits of automated gluing, helping them to reduce waste and improve their processes.

Introducing… DVF Corporation

DVF Corporation is an engineering and manufacturing company based in Maryland, USA. For the last 20 years, they have specialized in technical and fabrication solutions for both industrial customers and the Department of Defense.

In their team, DVF Corporation has specialists in fields like mechanics, electronics, optics, hydraulics, pneumatics…

… and robotics.

They are a preferred integrator for Universal Robots collaborative robots, with which they create integrated solutions to help other manufacturers to improve their processes.

The Problem: Inconsistent Hot Melt Glue

DVF Corporation’s latest project comes with the arresting tagline “Stop Talking, Start Gluing.”

The project is called Robotic Glue Systems and it provides integrated gluing systems to any company that usually dispenses glue by hand, especially for engineered foam packaging.

With this solution, they are trying to solve a persistent problem: inconsistent gluing.

If you have ever manually glued a product, you will know how difficult it is to achieve a consistent gluing pattern. It is especially hard to maintain consistency over a long shift with many gluing operations.

Defective gluing patterns lead to a high scrap rate which means less productivity, more waste, and a higher cost per part.

Jay Wolfe, President of DVF Corp, explains:

“Before this, clients could not rely on precise glue dispensing coming from manual application. The goal was to eliminate scrap and eliminate the need for skilled operators. With our solution, someone puts a part on the table and pushes a button. When complete, they replace it with another blank part.”

DVF Corporation’s Robot Setup

The team at DVF Corporation incorporated their various skillsets to create a system that is simple to deploy and easy to program — the RGS UR1024.

The Robotic Hardware

The core of the setup is a Universal Robots collaborative robot that gives the user the flexibility to use the robot alongside the human operator, without safety fencing.

The System can be configured for hot melt, cold glue or epoxy applications.

The Software Setup

The robot can be programmed using the teach pendant provided by Universal Robots. However, for more flexible programming, the team offers RoboDK for offline programming.

RoboDK allows users to program the robot offline using a simulated robot and tool.

How the Gluing Application Works

Operating the gluing robot is a simple task. When the system is ready, the user only needs to program the desired path into the robot using one of the available options.

There are 2 options for programming:

1. For online programming on the robot, the user can create the program line-by-line using the robot’s teach pendant.
2. For offline programming with more control, RoboDK allows the user to program directly with their CAD files. The program is then loaded into the robot for operation.

Example operating procedure

One of the benefits of gluing with a robot is that it allows the human operator to load the next items to be glued while the robot is performing the current gluing operation.

To do this, you need to program the same gluing pattern at two different locations in the workplace, a task that is very simple to do in RoboDK. You just change the target reference frame for each workpiece.

An example operating setup would be as follows:

1. The operator loads a blank part into Station 1.
2. They press the start button on Station 1.
3. While the program is running, they load a blank part into Station 2.
4. They press the start button on Station 2.
5. As the robot completes the glue dispensing task, the operator assembles the part in Station 1 and removes it.
6. The cycle repeats.

In this way, the operator can achieve a steady cadence of gluing and assembly which results in the gluing operation being carried out continually.

Who is a Gluing Robot Suitable For

Jay Wolfe explains that the gluing station has many potential users:

“Our first two systems went to a company that couldn’t hire enough people to do the work manually. Our main customers fall under the field of “Engineered Foam Products” but really the solution is suitable for anyone who dispenses by hand.”

If you are using already gluing items by hand in your business, a gluing robot could be a useful and productive addition to your operations.

How to Set Up Your Own Gluing Robot

Finally, if you are interested in learning more about Robotic Glue Systems, you can find out more about their solution on their website.

Or, perhaps you are thinking about creating your own gluing station? If so, you will have to do a bit more work to integrate the robotic cell yourself. But, the programming step can be just as simple if you are using RoboDK.

What gluing application do you think would benefit from a robot? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post How DVF Corporation Uses RoboDK for Robotic Gluing appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Engraving is an increasingly popular task in manufacturing. Customization is becoming the norm for many different products and engraving allows manufacturers to easily add custom logos and designs onto their products. Robot engraving is an easy way to increase the value of the product with very little extra work.

One student at a German university has designed a system to engrave wood using robot milling and a collaborative robot in RoboDK. What’s especially interesting about this project is that it includes a specialized end effector to avoid generating too much dust and wood chips.

Introducing… Jan Gosedopp

The project was developed a few years ago by student Jan Gosedopp as part of his Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Hamm-Lippstadt in Germany.

We are writing about his project now because robot engraving looks set to become very popular in the near future. For example, someone at manufacturer Universal Robots mentioned recently that they are thinking of adding wood engraving to their ever-increasing list of collaborative robot applications.

Gosedopp’s project involved programming a Universal Robot and developing a custom engraving end effector which could remove the dust.

How Wood Engraving Is Usually Done

As is the case with many machining operations, the traditional way to achieve autonomous engraving is with a dedicated CNC machine.

These machines are easy to find and there are many competing options on the market. However, they are generally inflexible — each model is only suitable for one particular type of engraving. If you want to switch to another engraving process, you may have to buy an entirely different machine.

Programming a CNC Engraver

One of the challenges of this traditional type of engraving is with programming. As CNC expert James Hamilton says “a CNC machine is only as good as its software. And not all software is created equal.” He explains that the software you use can really restrict the abilities of your machine.

Some CNC software, for example, can only achieve 2.5D milling. This is fine for engraving, where you usually only want to mill a 2-dimensional shape into the material surface. However, it becomes restrictive if you ever want to progress to more 3-dimensional shapes.

Gosedopp was using 2.5D rotary engraving, which involves using a spinning routing or milling tool to cut thin grooves into the wood.

What is Robot Engraving?

The approach that Jan Gosedopp took was to avoid using a CNC machine altogether. Instead, he chose to use a robot, specifically the UR10 from Universal Robots.

Compared to CNC machines, robots are very flexible. In fact, a single robot could be used for almost any type of engraving processes… and more tasks besides. All you have to do is give the robot a different tool, which is very easy to do with the right robot programming software.

Programming Robot Engraving

For programming, Gosedopp chose to use RoboDK. This choice helped him avoid many of the potential programming problems that occur with traditional CNC machines.

With RoboDK’s dedicated robot milling wizard, it is easy to achieve both the 2.5D engraving that he needed and gives him the option of using 3D milling with exactly the same setup if he ever needs it.

To generate the engraving path, he used Solid Works along with its free HSMXpress add-on which produces CAM paths. Back when he did this project, the RoboDK tool bar for SolidWorks that we released this year was not yet available. Therefore, the milling path was imported in RoboDK using G-code files.

The Custom Tool for Dust-Free Engraving

One of the core developments of Jan Gosedopp’s project was a custom-built end effector for robot engraving.

An interesting feature of this tool was that it included elements to remove dust and wood chips from the workpiece during the operation, which allowed for a clean working environment.

Important Factors for a Robot Engraving Tool

As part of his Bachelor’s thesis, he evaluated 2 different end effector designs and chose the best one based on its suitability for the task.

He assessed his two designs based on the following categories:

1. Compatibility with the UR3/UR10
2. Ability to clamp the milling spindle
3. Compatibility with the extraction
4. Accurate centering and alignment
5. Milling spindle flush with robot flange
6. Lateral threads for fixing
7. Small tool footprint
8. Low production costs

The two designs were quite similar and rated exactly the same in most of these categories. The only two differences between the designs were in the method of attachment of the milling spindle and the positioning of the tool on the robot flange.

In the end, the two factors which determined his choice of design were lower production costs and the addition of lateral threads for extra fixings.

Security

A key concern for this type of tool is security. The robot used was a collaborative robot, so it had its own safety features. However, custom tools can introduce additional safety issues.

Gosedopp focused on two aspects of security:

1. Danger from flying objects — Wood chips and dust could easily fly away from the engraving operation and harm humans. To combat this, he introduced a brush around the tool to catch flying wood chips and a vacuum to extract the dust.
2. Danger from people entering workspace of milling spindle — Although collaborative robots themselves are generally safe, this does not mean that their tools are safe. The spinning engraving tool could cause damage to a human if, for example, their hand was to get in the way. The brush around the tool would help avoid this to some extent. However, Gosedopp felt that further security was required so he added a pane of safety glass and a laser scanner.

The Final Design

After assessing the two designs, Gosedopp arrived at the final design of the robot engraving end effector. It contained the following components:

• Milling head — the “business end” of the tool for milling workpieces.
• Robot arm — the UR10 collaborative robot.
• PC — the program was generated in RoboDK and exported to a robot program.
• Controller box — performed signal processing and ran the robot program produced by RoboDK.
• Vacuum — performed extraction of the dust and chips.
• Security system — a laser scanner was used to detect if someone entered the workspace and stop the robot.

Finally, Gosedopp was able to achieve the following wood engraving application, as shown in this video:

What could you do with a dust-free engraving robot? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post How One Engineer Achieved Dust-Free Robot Engraving With RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.

What do you think is the most important part of aircraft manufacturing? The issue of safety is probably going to be top of your list of concerns.

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is using multiple robots and RoboDK to automate and streamline the inspection of aircraft fuselages.

We first reported on this project a couple of years ago when the team started using RoboDK. At that point, they were only using one UR10 robot for an infra-red inspection system that uses short pulses of heat. At the time, they were only creating the first proof-of-concept:

“[We wanted] to show that we can do as good a job or better than we can do manually using the robotic system, with less labor involved.”

The project has certainly advanced in the past two years! The team is now using dual robots, combined with an external axis, and a more complex type of infra-red inspection.

Here’s how NASA uses RoboDK and why they’re now using multiple robots.

Explaining NASA’s New Inspection Task

The inspection task that the team performs is a type of “non-destructive evaluation.” This term refers to a large group of testing processes which are used to detect flaws in a manufactured product without destroying the product, as the name suggests.

In particular, the team at Langley performs infra-red detection, which involves heating the fuselage and then using an infra-red camera to detect flaws in the heated material.

As branch head Elliott Cramer explained:

“In conventional tomography, you heat a large area and then you inspect one area at a time. Currently, most inspections are done on a point-by-point basis. You’ll inspect a small area, you’ll move that inspection system over the surface of the system either manually or with some kind of a scanning system.”

Using dual robots has allowed them to change the method that they use to “line scan tomography.” This involves moving a heating element and an infra-red camera in a consistent line.

He said:

“This is actually a moving inspection that’s very well suited to the use of robotics.”

The Benefit of 2 Robots Over 1

When we last caught up with the project, they were using only one robot with one sensor. This new inspection method requires two robots working together collaboratively.

The two robots (both UR10s) perform the following functions:

1. The first robot holds a heating element, which it moves in a consistent line along the fuselage.
2. The second robot holds a FLIR infra-red camera. This moves along the fuselage immediately behind the heating element. The captured image is used to form a scan which the team analyzes to detect defects in the material.

To increase the workspace of the task, the two robots are fixed onto a Festo 7th Axis external axis. This allows them to move along a much longer length of the fuselage and ensures that the robots move at exactly the same speed.

Why NASA Needs Robotic Inspection

Elliot Cramer explained that there are several benefits to using robots in this type of inspection, compared to performing the scans manually.

Repeatability

One of the major problems with manual scanning is that you can never position the sensor in exactly the same place every time. Re-positioning the sensor by hand to double check a reading would take forever.

Using robots removes this problem.

Cramer explained:

“The main advantage is repeatability. If you need to go back to an inspection location again, either to re-inspect or with another technique. Having the robots do it allows you to go back very accurately.”

Speed and Accuracy

Another issue with manual inspection is that it takes a long time. Improving this speed was a core aim of this application:

“The goal of this project is to increase the rate of inspection and the accuracy of inspection that’s currently going on, whether that’s done in the manufacturing environment right after the fuselages have been made or if it’s done at a later time during in-service inspection of the aircraft.

“You can now cover large areas, you can handle the complex curves of the aircraft, but in a much more rapid fashion. This is designed to speed that process up but still get the same accuracy.”

Autonomy and Coverage

The team’s previous manual inspection required several technicians working together. This was quite inefficient. However, even with multiple people, it wasn’t certain that they would achieve full coverage of the aircraft fuselage due to the inaccuracies caused by manually placing the sensor.

Cramer explained that both of these problems have been overcome by using the robotic system:

“It can autonomously go off and do the inspection once it’s been programmed and we are ensuring 100% coverage.”

How NASA Uses RoboDK

RoboDK plays a key part in NASA’s inspection application. It’s easy to combine multiple robots with RoboDK as well as to incorporate external axes into the programming.

Here’s the process that they use for the inspection:

1. With a Creaform optical scanner, the engineers first create a surface map of the fuselage. This is carried out manually.
2. Using the scanned data, they are able to accurately locate the fuselage in space and relative to the robots.
3. They create the path in RoboDK which automatically generates robot code.
4. The robots perform the inspection task and build an infra-red scan of the fuselage.
5. Using Matlab, the engineers then analyze the scan for defects.

As you can see, this is a perfect example of a multi-software workflow, which RoboDK is designed to facilitate.

What’s Next for the Project?

The team has achieved an impressive improvement of their inspection process using multi-robots and RoboDK.

But, they have further plans for the application.

Elliott Cramer explained:

“One of the other things that we’re working towards is the ability to automatically map the data that we collect to an image of the fuselage. That will ensure the long term durability of those vehicles as they fly. And have a long-term digital record of that.

“The ultimate goal is to increase the safety of air travel. “

Which parts of your inspection processes could benefit from multiple robots? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or in the RoboDK Forum.

The post How NASA Uses RoboDK For Multi-Robot Inspection appeared first on RoboDK blog.

But, there’s one thing which causes a problem: it does not integrate well with offline programming software. In many cases, if you wanted to use offline programming, you’d have to give up the benefits of the Polyscope programming and use text-based SCRIPT files.

However, what if we want both the advantages of offline programming and Polyscope’s user friendly programming?

With RoboDK we’ve made it simple!

Robot Programming options for Universal Robots

You can program Universal Robots (UR) using one of the following two methods:

• URP Programs— URP files are created using the teach pendant’s touch screen, using the Polyscope GUI (Graphical User Interface). These programs are easy to generate or modify and they do not require any robot programming experience. A URP program can also include one or more SCRIPT files as subprograms to expand the functionality.
• SCRIPT Programs — Script files use the UR Script programming language. Like any other programming language, UR Script has variables, types, flow of control statements, function etc. Furthermore, UR Script programming language has built-in variables and functions which control the I/O and the movements of the robot.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages: While you can create URP files from the teach pendant with no programming experience, Script files allow extending their functionality with some programming. Furthermore, Script files can also be streamed through UR’s Remote Control protocol (TCP/IP) to move the robot remotely.

The main issue with Polyscope is that it saves its programs to binary URP files. Most offline programming software could only export to UR robots using the more tricky SCRIPT files.

Offline Programming to URP Programs

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have the advantages of offline programming, but with the ability to update our programs using the Polyscope GUI?

This is possible with RoboDK!

When you program a Universal Robot using RoboDK, you can export the program to both a SCRIPT file and a URP file.

You can then load the URP program to the robot and update it using the Polyscope GUI. You can even send it remotely via FTP and/or start the program remotely!

As an example, let’s assume we are planning to create a program for automated inspection. In this case we could split the main task in the following sub-tasks:

1. Safe approach (movement) to the inspection part
2. Turn ON inspection (a Digital Output signal)
3. Move along the inspection path
4. Turn OFF inspection (a Digital Output signal)
5. Safely Move back to the home position

You can easily set this up in RoboDK and it allows generating modular programs. Splitting programs this way makes it easier to maintain the application if we have to make modifications in the future.

How to Create a URP File in RoboDK

Follow these steps to generate a URP robot program with RoboDK. If you haven’t got a copy of RoboDK yet, download it here.

I’m going to assume that you have a simulation ready in RoboDK. If you need some help doing this, make sure to check out our Getting Started Guide.

1. Right-click the robot and select Select Post Processor.
2. Select the Universal_Robots_URP Post Processor (you should update RoboDK if you don’t see it).
3. Select Program-Generate Program(s) (F6). This procedure will generate a Script and a URP program for each program selected or available. These program files are generated on the Desktop folder by default (this setting can be changed in Tools-Options-Program-Robot Programs folder).
4. Copy the generated URP file(s) to a USB drive. Alternatively, select Explore to transfer the program using FTP transfer (if the robot and the computer are connected).

    

Then, head over to your UR teach pendant and follow these steps on the robot controller to load the programs.

5. Select Program Robot from the main menu in the teach pendant screen.
6. Select Load Program.
7. Locate the URP file and select Open (make sure that required subprograms are in the same folder and they’ll be automatically linked).

 

The program will be displayed on the main screen showing the same sequence that was created in RoboDK. You can select the “Play” button to start it.

You can also trigger the program directly from RoboDK if the computer is connected to the robot. This is useful for debugging. You can accomplish this by connecting the robot and using the Send Program to Robot (Ctrl+F6) option.

How to Modify Your Program in Polyscope

Now that you have loaded the URP program into Polyscope, you can easily modify the targets (as we call them, or “waypoints” as UR calls them) directly using the teach pendant or change the sequence of motions.

If you don’t know how to use the Polyscope GUI, it is a bit beyond the scope of this blog article for me to explain it. However, you can find the latest Polyscope user manual at this link.

Universal Robots also has their UR Academy, where you can learn to program using an interactive online tutorial (it requires you to sign up for a free account).

Which other programming guide would you like us to write? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The post How to Modify RoboDK’s Robot Programs with a UR Teach Pendant appeared first on RoboDK blog.

Time is our only truly limited resource. As long as your business runs reasonably successfully, almost every other resource can be bought, borrowed or bargained for. But — and I know this is a cliche — there are only ever 24 hours in a day.

In the past, we had much less than 24 hours of production time per day. In the past, operations were fully manual, which meant losing many hours — here and there — to breaks, mistakes and other headaches.

With robots, your process has the potential to be productive for almost all 24 hours of the day. However, this is only possible when your robot is up and running, and performing productive tasks.

There are three basic time losses which reduce the effective production time of your robot:

1. Initial Setup Time — The time it takes to design your robot cell then get it up and running in the first place.
2. Programming Time — The time it takes to program a new operation into the robot.
3. Changeover and Alteration Times — The time it takes to change the robot setup for a new product or update the programming following changes to an existing product.

Offline programming can help you to tackle all three of these time losses. Software like RoboDK streamlines the programming of your robot and allows you to improve the efficiency of the entire robot cell.

10 Excellent Ways to Save Time With Offline Programming

Here are 10 excellent ways to save time by using offline programming with your robot.

1. Shorten Start-Up Times

A huge portion of unproductive time occurs when you first set up your robot cell. It takes time to install the robotic hardware, build fixtures, calibrate the software, etc. However, hardware installation is not even the longest part of the setup process.

With traditional robot programming (e.g. using a teach pendant), you lose a lot of time integrating your application. With offline programming, you can develop the program while robot is being installed, or even before you have bought it! You can then load the program as soon as the physical installation is complete. This significantly shortens the startup time of the cell.

2. Speed Up Robot Selection

Choosing the right robot is difficult. You don’t necessarily know which robot specifications you will need while you are designing the cell. Offline programming lets you speed up the robot selection process by allowing you to test various robots on the same task and pick the best one for your needs. You can compare different robots via the RoboDK Robot Library.

3. Program Faster

Offline programming can be faster than online programming methods, particularly for programming-heavy tasks like welding. As The Fabricator magazine explains “offline programming is infinitely faster than jogging a robot around the part in a weld cell […] The software can trim weeks off the programming and implementation times.” This means you can get your robot cell up and running very quickly.

4. Tweak Programs Quickly

Traditional robot programming is a headache to debug and update. Even small changes can lead to hours of re-programming. With offline programming, it’s easy to tweak your program until it’s just right. In the early days of your robot cell, this can save you days of debugging time.

5. Reduce Quoting Time

As engineers, we usually focus on the operational benefits of a technology, don’t we?

We ask “Will this software make my job easier?” or “Will I be able to produce more product by using this software?”

However, we occasionally forget to consider the impacts of the technology on the rest of the business. For example, offline programming makes it easier to give fast, accurate quotes for jobs. With the software, we can quickly determine if a job will be achievable using our robot cell and how long it will take. Then, we can work out how much to charge for the job.

6. Quickly Change for High Mix Products

According to a Deloitte consumer survey from 2015, customization is changing the way that people buy products. Consumers and businesses are beginning to expect personalization and are willing to pay a premium for it.

This news is great for those of us who use robots. Robots are inherently flexible, you just have to change their programming. However, reprogramming takes a long time with some programming methods.

With offline programming, you develop the program first then load it onto the robot. This reduces changeover time and makes customization more feasible.

7. Reuse Your Code

One huge time waste is when you reprogram the same, or similar, functionality multiple times —e.g. when you program the same functionality on two distinct robots. Wouldn’t it be much better to program one robot once, then just tweak your code to represent any changes?

Researchers from the University of Auckland explain that this is one of the big problems with controller-specific programming languages, which are traditionally provided by robot manufacturers. The same functionality must be programmed from scratch for robots from different manufacturers.

With some offline programming software. RoboDK as an example, it becomes much easier to reuse code.

8. Quickly Change to Another Robot

Imagine you have a pick-and-place application. The robot moves 320kg, loaded pallets from one conveyor to another.

You spent a long time choosing the right robot and settled on the ABB IRB 650, with its 450kg payload. You spent a long time integrating the robot using ABB’s RAPID programming language and tweaking the code until it was just right.

But then your application changes.

Suddenly you aren’t moving 320kg pallets, you need to move 1100kg pallets. The robot’s payload isn’t enough. You look for another robot but the only one you can find which ticks all the boxes is a KUKA KR 1000 Titan, with its payload of 1200kg.

Does that mean you have to start from scratch? Does that mean you have to throw out all of your hard work and program it all again in KUKA’s KRL programming language?

With offline programming software like RoboDK, you can use your previous code as a starting point for your new program, so the new robot will be up and running much quicker.

9. Reduce Downtime

This one is simple. Very simple.

By programming your robot offline, the robot can continue to do productive work while you iron out any problems in the code.

This means less downtime.

I told you it was simple.

10. Reduce Cycle Time

Slightly less simple, but no less important, is the fact that offline programming can help you to reduce the robot’s cycle time.

How? Well, it’s really an extension of the previous point. Offline programming doesn’t impact downtime, so you have more time to tweak the program.

With online programming, every minute of downtime means lost production. With offline programming, there’s less pressure to get the program up and running so you can spend the time necessary to properly optimize the program. An optimized program means shorter cycle times.

If You’ve Got Time Now, Try Offline Programming for Yourself

A great way to see the benefits of offline programming is to try it out for yourself. If you’ve got some time right now, you can do this by downloading a trial copy of RoboDK at this link.

If you’ve got less time right now, you could check out some videos of our example applications on our Examples page.

What’s the biggest time loss in your operations? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The post 10 Excellent Ways to Save Time With Offline Programming appeared first on RoboDK blog.

To accomplish this task, NASA built an automated inspection system for composite aircraft fuselages. The automated system speeds up inspection time and reduces costs. A UR10 collaborative robot can do the inspection with just one operator. The robot moves an inspection head to previously programmed locations. RoboDK software is used to simulate and program the inspection pattern, ensuring the robot doesn’t miss any areas.

RoboDK allowed me to easily take advantage of our robot’s performance, and work with the geometrical constraints inherent with the UR10 and all attachments, by providing a user friendly programming interface and simulation environment.

    Joshua Brown
Contractor at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA’s goal is to implement this type of inspection with other technologies as well, such as ultrasound.

The robot holds an infrared inspection camera which acquires temperature data as heat flows into the part. The sensor is a FLIR thermal camera. By analyzing the flow of heat through the composite structure the sensor can detect a faulty area without damaging it.

As described by Elliott Cramer: “In the computer, before you actually start moving the robot, you can develop the inspection pattern. You use a solid model of the fuselage, […] you have a solid model of the robot and the inspection tool (in this case an infrared inspection system). Within the computer you develop the path you are going to go, you develop each of the inspection sites, you test to make sure that it’s the most efficient path and the robot can make all the moves that you need to make.”

The project was fully developed and integrated by NASA Langley Research Center:
https://www.nasa.gov/langley

Learn how to program a UR robot using SCRIPT code, URP programs or run robot programs directly from the computer:
https://robodk.com/doc/#UR

More projects involving Universal Robots available here:
https://robodk.com/blog/category/universal-robots/

The post Automated Inspection at NASA appeared first on RoboDK blog.

We’re delighted to highlight the successful automation of fiber placement on a custom-made leg brace by Saxion University in the Netherlands. Saxion uses RoboDK for Simulation and Offline Programing a UR5 robot arm.

The process begins by 3D scanning the patient’s knee. The 3D scan is then converted to a CAD file and edited using SolidWorks. The mould and fiber placement toolpaths are defined in SolidWorks software. The mould is first printed using a 3D printer.

Glass reinforced polypropylene is printed on the mould using a UR5 robot. The 3D files generated from SolidWorks are converted to robot programs using RoboDK’s simulation and Offline Programming features, which allows Automated Fiber Placement using a robot from a 3D file.

Setting up and using RoboDK was an easy process. It allowed us to complete our project accurately and on time.

Rutger Hofman – Mechanical Engineer at Saxion University

The automated fiber placement takes place using a rotary axis and an industrial robot arm. The custom brace is ready for the patient after the automated fiber placement is completed by the robot.

The research team has been nominated for the Dutch Young Professional Award, YPA 2017. 

Learn more about RoboDK’s in our latest newsletter available here.

The post Automated Fiber Placement appeared first on RoboDK blog.

RoboDK can be used in force-controlled applications. The robot path can be easily created, simulated and programmed using RoboDK’s graphical user interface. Then, the offline programming features of RoboDK allow you to easily adjust robot program generation so that brand-specific force-controlled algorithms can alter the path according to force-control feedback, adding a sense of touch to your robot.

Find out more about what the experts recommend here:
http://dof.robotiq.com/discussion/comment/1458#Comment_1458

Find out more about how RoboDK post processors work to better customize your robot application:
http://www.robodk.com/help#PostProcessor

Visit www.robodk.com for more information.

The post Robot Assembly Application appeared first on RoboDK blog.

The post Conveyor Simulation with RoboDK appeared first on RoboDK blog.