Trying to model one of our lab robots in RS

Volaric

I'm a grad student asked to evaluate and use Robot Studio for some upcoming research.

I've installed it and have been messing around with it for a few months and I'm running into trouble with working with external axises. What I would like to do is have one of the arm robots suspended upside down on a cartesian plane allowing the robot to move in any location.

Here is the robot I am trying to model that is in our lab:

http://i.imgur.com/NbR2THB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GCN5BS5.jpg

What I would like to do is build the frame and structure in CAD then import it into RS. From there I would like to make the beams movable to where I can attach an robot to the bottom beam. That way I can move the tool to any location and the robot and beams follow accordingly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Volaric2013-01-23 21:26:07

Henrik Berlin

If you are using ABB robots that are run by the IRC5 controller, you can use the RobotStudio add-in External Axis Wizard to generate the required motion configuration for the the controller.

Volaric

Is there any documentation on the use of the External Axis Wizard?

I've downloaded the add-in and it does show in the add-in tab, but I don't know how to access the program. 

I looked over the sticky on working with add-ins from the internet and I haven't seen any errors when Robot Studio starts. 

AndersJ

Hi,

 

You will find documentation in the RS help file. (Home tab>Robot System > External Axis Wizard)

Volaric

So I found this video on the add in page and this is what I am trying to accomplish. 

https://robotapps.robotstudio.com/Details.aspx?fileId=88

Are there any tutorials on how to build this system?

V

Henrik Berlin

You don't need the External Axis Wizard to configure a gantry like in the video. It can be run using the StandAlone Controller (SAC). Configure a system with the system builder and add the Stand Alone controller as an additional option. Then you need to select the corresponding kinematic model in the options list. For a gantry like in the movie, you can select the model below (then name might have changed in RobotWare 5.15, the documentation snapshot below is from an earlier version of the documentation, see here.

 

 

 

 

However, if you want to attach a robot to the gantry, and use the gantry as an external axis, then you need the External Axis Wizard. Its documentation is available in the RobotStudio operating manual.

Volaric

So I attempted to make a SAC and have been running into multiple roadblocks. I think I made the SAC correctly but when I goto add it to the original system I come up with an error of 'The library of type 'ROB_11XYZC(Z)' for the mechanical unit 'ROB_11' in robot system 'Gantry_Test_1' is not defined. You must manually search for the library." What I attempted to do then was to say that that robot, I'm assuming it is a motor, is the X_Movement_Bar for the gantry system that I'm trying to make. When that happened a copy of that bar was made, and I assume that it then can be manipulated. 

I've added a dropbox link of the system I'm working on to kinda show where I am at with this project. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rqf1mwc8172nd24/xDkk_N95EG

Volaric

I've been working on this project again and I'm still stuck at where I was. I have been able to put together a stand alone controller by following what you had mentioned earlier. When I go to add it to the system I have already made I run into an error where there is a missing library. What I did do is say that the library was a beam that I am using to move the suspended robot. When I did that a copy was made of that beam. I think that when it copied it gave it the ability to be manipulated by the controller. Which raises the next question of how do I limit which direction a piece can move, say if I wanted it to only move in a x or  direction?

The link is to the system that I have been working on for the past few months. Any help would be great.

V

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rqf1mwc8172nd24/xDkk_N95EG