Measuring distances along curved surfaces

BStephens

I work in the thermal spray coating field where we coat parts with unusual surface curvature. Our process requires keeping the spray tool normal to the surface within a +/- 10 degree tolerance, and an offset between passes of 12 mm.

I was wondering if there is a feature in Robot Studio that will allow me to plot points at 12 mm intervals along a path on the curved surface of the part, or if there is any other software that can?

PerSvensson

Hi
There aren't any functions for this in the standard product but it's possible to do this using VBA and the method CreateTargetOnCurve.

PerSvensson

And if you like to create curves on a surface you could use the functions CurveAlongU and CurveAlongV.
AutoCad Mechanical desktop has functions for creating curves(wires) on a surface that you can import to RS(as iges) and use to generate targets.