Is There a Maximum Duration for Path Recording?

Context

The Path Recording feature in Robotiq’s Copilot allows you to guide the robot by hand to capture complex trajectories. This is especially useful in applications like polishing, gluing, sanding, or deburring, where freehand motion provides more flexibility than programming points one by one.

A common question is: How long can a path recording be?

1. Limitation

There is no strict maximum time limit for path recording.
The only constraint is the available memory of the robot controller.

• Longer recordings require more memory.

• Excessively long paths may slow down the program start-up or create performance delays.

2. Why Shorter Paths Are Better

Even though you can record long paths, it’s often better to break them into shorter segments.

Advantages of shorter path segments:

• Faster program load and execution

• Easier debugging if a section needs correction

• More flexibility to adjust specific parts of the trajectory without re-recording everything

3. Best Practices

• Segment long operations: Record multiple shorter paths instead of one long path.

• Organize logically: Divide by operation type (e.g., roughing path vs. finishing path).

• Reuse modular recordings: Save and reuse path segments across different programs.

• Validate each segment: Test performance before combining them into a full workflow.

4. Additional Resources

Check the Path Recording module in Robotiq’s eLearning platform for detailed video demonstrations.

Conclusion

While there is no hard maximum duration for path recording, practical performance depends on robot controller memory. To maintain reliability and efficiency, use shorter, segmented paths instead of one long trajectory.