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robot arm integration and path motion question.

dsergison

Diamond
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Location
East Peoria, IL, USA
My question is about integrating a standard welding or similar robot within a larger system

Is there a way to constantly update a vector to a standard weld arm? I want it to follow a path with constant velocity while mounted on an unsteady moving base using laser or similar location feedback.

I wish to avoid developing an arm and just buy and interface with a standard inexpensive arm then just feed it a constantly updating vector. Is that a possibility with any off-the-shelf controllers?
 
A lot of manufacturers have the option to run a 7th axis (or more) through the robot controller. Off the top of my head, I know Fanuc and Denso can both run a 7 axis system without any trouble, and I'm pretty sure Denso robots and controllers can integrate an 8th as well, without any expansions/additions.

What I don't know is how many axes they can do simultaneously - your best bet is to talk to your robot supplier on this one, because you're talking about a dynamic 8 axis system, and I'm not sure any of the industrial robot manufacturers have an off the shelf solution for this. (A couple of guys here - Tony, MotionGuru - might know differently.)

If you're talking a 6 axis robot moving dynamically in 2 or more dimensions, don't discount the complexity of finding your relative positions either - a laser sensor for distance is fine, but that only gives you location in one direction, and you'll need it in 2 or more, depending on your system and what it is you're trying to do.

Are you trying to figure out a 'walking' robotic welder system of some sort? Or do you just want to mount a 6-axis on a 7th that runs at close to the same speed as an adjacent product conveyor?

If you're getting into robotic welders, definitely take a look at ABB robots. They have a cool system for their weld robots that automatically guide them to follow uneven material, crooked joints, out of square setups, and a couple of other normal situations, all by monitoring the current through the welder. Very tricky stuff :)
 








 
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