Top 5 Challenges of Robotic Welding Programming

Until now, robotic welding has been restricted to high production applications because of the length of time it takes to program a change in product lines. Set up robot welder required in-depth knowledge in programming and the actual methods are not intuitive even for programmers. Here is the top 5 of robotic welding programming challenges.

To be efficient and productive, programmers must learn how to: the length of time it takes to program a change in product lines. Set up robot welder required in-depth knowledge in programming and the actual methods are not intuitive even for programmers. Here is the top 5 of robotic welding programming challenges.

1. Work with programming tools from various robot manufacturers.Computer control systems for robots vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. Although a teach pendant can be used to move the robot welder around with a joystick or arrows; it is not an intuitive method of teaching the robot because each linkage can only be moved one axis at a time. 
2. Program the path plan and trajectory of each linkage. Programming a welding robot would be easier if only the tip of the robot arm, or the end-effector position, had to be considered. However, the positioning of each joint and segment of the arm needs to be programmed to consider changes in arcs and joint angles. 
3. Designate the accelerations and decelerations of each linkage. The speed for each coordinated movement needs to be specified with an appropriate acceleration and deceleration of each joint. 
4. Define sensor inputs and outputs. Additional programming needs to be learned so a robot can use sensors as inputs and outputs as a binary signal to select robot programs and perform specific actions.
5. Gain experience by trial and error. Programming a robot welder well could take years to master and training requires a significant amount of trial and error.

When programming a robot become intuitive

At Automate 2013, Robotiq gave an insight a new robot accessory, Kinetiq Teaching, which allows the welders to freely the robot arm through its workflow and adjust welding parameters on-the-fly via the teach pendant, then test it live. This process results in a simple and intuitive approach to programming welding trajectories.

See the video and visit our website for more about this robotic welding solution.