Introduction to RobotStudio

An Offline Robot Programming Tool

Dr. Richard A. Wysk

rwysk@psu.edu
http://www.engr.psu.edu/cim
October 15, 2005
 Outline of Activities
• Sequence of activities required to create
an offline program
• Designing robot worlds in RobotStudio
• Defining robot motions
• RobotStudio features
• Advantages of offline robot programming
 References
• RobotStudio tutorial >>
http://130.203.243.91/Lab%20Manuals%20Test%20Site/
Frameset.htm

• www.robotstudio.com
> Product
> Downloads > Movies >
- Station layout demo
- Path definition demo
- Program Generation demo

• RobotStudio documentation files

 Objectives
• Become familiar with RobotStudio
• Learn the sequence of Operations in the
use of RobotStudio
• Understand the design methodology used
in designing robot worlds in RobotStudio
• Understand how robot actions are
described in RobotStudio
• Appreciate advantages of offline robot
programming
 RobotStudio
What is RobotStudio ?
An offline robot programming software
package by ABB for programming all robots
that run on S4 and S4C controllers.

Where is it loaded at?

Computer Integrated Manufacturing and
Robotic Lab
Room 244 Leonhard Building
 RobotStudio
Write lengthy robot programs without using
the teach pendant

In robot studio we define a “Robot World”

and the paths the robot takes in these
worlds to complete its tasks. This is done
though a graphical interface. The software
then generate the RAPID code in a file
Steps in using Robot Studio
Design

Define Path

Generate Program

Simulate Graphically & Verify

Optimize
 What do we Design?
The model may have any or all of the following entities:

Robot
Robot Workspace – Envelope & Table
Fixtures
Robot Tools
Parts
Other Interacting Entities
Design all of those?

No, Fortunately we don’t have to design all

of those.
There are libraries of each of these objects
and most times we just go to the
appropriate library and select the robot,
workspace, tools etc that we might need.
 Design Libraries
Some of the objects that are available are
complete assemblies of smaller links,
joints and end effectors
An obvious example is the robot
For the program to be practical a robot has
be modeled as an assembly and not as a
rigid body

….illustration>>
All 3 pictures are the same robot in different
stages of a pick operation
 Design Libraries
Similarly we have to assemble the tool onto the
robot during the design phase
Robot with
Tool Robot Tool

+ =
 Design (contd..)
For the objects that are not in the library we
have the following options:
• Design them using a standard CAD
application and import the drawing in
RobotStudio.
• RobotStudio has a built in CAD utility which
can be used to design different things.

Tip: Before going in to design standard parts check

with www.robotstudio.com & goto 3D-models link
 Menus

Toolbars

Browser

Property Browser

Output window Graphics window

Status bar
 How do I create designs in
RobotStudio?

Designs in RobotStudio are created by:

1. Drawing simple shapes (select from toolbar)

2. Possibly applying simple edit operations like
rotate, translate etc.
3. Assembling together these simple shapes.
 What Next?
• Make sure you have all the designs of all
the items needed to describe the robot
world that you want to program.
• Assemble all components together exactly
the way they are in the real world (to exact
dimensions and orientation).
– RobotStudio lets you translate and rotate
objects easily using a mouse as well as by
specifying the absolute or the incremental
coordinates of the new position or orientation.
Gosh that might be a
lot of Work!

Yes it might be, but once it is ready then you

can use and reuse it again and again with
or without minor changes.

Eventually it save a lot of work and

increases productivity!
 Path Definition
Ok, so we’ve designed and
assembled everything, now what?

We define the actions of the robot. The

movements that are required of it along
with all the spatial constraints
This is called Path Definition
 How?
To define paths we specify the points in the
robot world and define them as targets
The flexibility of the program will depend on its
modularity.
E.g., - ‘Pick’ action can be broken down into
‘move-to’, ‘grab’ and an other ‘move-to’
actions
Verify that the targets are defined in the correct
sequence (check in Object Browser)
So our program is ready!

Not just yet, we need generate the

program based on our robot world
definition and path definitions

We need to switch the power on!

 Hold it!
Switch on the power?
Weren’t we in the programming phase.

Yes we still are, but RobotStudio is an offline

programming tool and it is designed to
look and feel as similar to ‘online’ robot
programming
 So what?
So, we need to switch on the robot controller
before we can proceed.

This is the ‘VIRTUAL Robot Controller’

One of the things that this affords is that it

allows the user to ‘Verify’ the robot
program quite a lot like MasterCam
displays an animation of the NC program
that it generates
 Voila!
We are now ready to go. The
program is saved onto a floppy
and is transferred from the PC to
the ‘physical’ robot controller,
ready to run!

Note: Keep saving your work, along the way, as you create or make changes to
the program
 Still More

RobotStudio has a host of features

which can be applied to program
special situations and also to
enhance the existing program.
 RobotStudio
• Do collision detection by checking spatial
interference
• Add conditional checks and other code to
expand RobotStudio functionality using Visual
Basic Scripting
• Use a ‘virtual’ teach pendant to add to the
program
• Optimize locations of various objects and thus
reduce cycle times
…….more >>
 RobotStudio
• Visualize and Simulate movements and
actions of objects other than the robot
itself
• Collect simulation data in an Excel
Spreadsheet
 Advantages of Offline Programming

• Reduces risk by visualization and confirming

solutions
• Introduce new parts and methods without
interrupting production
• Optimize robot programs to increase productivity
• Generate higher part quality through creation of
more accurate paths
• Check for and avoid singularities