Buy old robot, programing, 2D/3D file, first buy

I've done this with Fusion 360, and 2D paths for plasma cutting. I wrote a custom post processor to output a Rapid program with the points. I hard coded the quaternion portion of the moves always be up though.

I've got an M98 controller (S4C) with a 6400 arm.

Quote from Swebot

I werd thatit is not a simpel solution to this.

There's no simple solution b/c it's not a simple task. Generating a robotic milling path is much more complicated than generating one for a CNC machine. Robots have much more complex kinematics.

Of course, if you want "simple," you can just pay the going price for RobotMaster or another professional-grade tool that handles this task. Of course, it won't be cheap.

Quote from Swebot

thanks for reply, is it so with all controllers? Even S4c+? It not easy to make it run, i vill lock in to it, your way.

Was looking att robotDK but i did not find my robobots there.

Is it any way els?

I werd thatit is not a simpel solution to this.

Yeah, like SkyeFire said, nothing really simple (cheap) is out there. My method does zero kinematic simulation, and relies on the user to place the part in an area of the work space that will be reachable, and update a work object.

I've attached an example of the output of the post processor (torch.txt, renamed from .mod), the post (abb.txt, renamed from .cps), and here is a link to the video of the arm cutting:

https://youtu.be/gi5keYhW-8Y

Also, I hope you plan on milling soft materials without dimensional requirements, as robots are not CNC machines, and will vary by up to several millimeters from a path created offline. There are expensive volumetric calibration routines that will lessen this error, but it will still be there. Also robots are nowhere near stiff as a CNC machine. They will flex under the tooling load that milling anything remotely hard will create.

until now i work on a similar projekt

(incremental sheet metal forming)

i convert gcode files in rapid positions my source gcode file have to many position , maybe min 20.000 positions or more than 1 million.

The thing is really the stiffness of the robot kinematic

Quote from Swebot

Nation , i looked att your files and it a lot of movement. But yoy must need som software to generate all the "jmove" or do you use a pensil and a paper under?

I use the manufacturing mode in fusion 360 with the plasma/laser mode when selecting profiles to cut.

Fusion 360 then uses the post processor to create robot code. None of it is hand written.

Quote from Swebot

I thougth a robot like IRB 6400r had better precision without any special add-on programs.

Robots have good precision, in general. However, they have poor accuracy. CAD/CAM programming generally assumes good accuracy, which CNC machines are made for.

https://sketchplanations.com/accuracy-and-precision

Quote

#robiman

How du do you convert from gcode to rapid?

I write a rapid programm for read the gcode file

( use a positions array ,1000 robtargets, for save the positions)

the programm runs in a offline station because it need some times, depends how many positions are inside

If your part geometry changes little, this might be possible without additional software. It's not for the feint of heart - I used to work at Robotmaster, and I have an employee using a post-processor I created to go from MasterCAM to Robotstudio for simulation, and then to milling. Even with my expertise, he's struggling a bit to make it work on a spare 2400 with an IRC5 controller.

I have a hard time recommending a single person or small shop attempt to get a system like this working for milling for anything outside of prototype, concept, etc.

Would it be possible for someone to attach an ABB backup of a system which was used for plasma cutting, I am setting one up and would like to have a reference. Thanks in Advance.

You can use the files from Nation some posts above.

Quote from hermann

You can use the files from Nation some posts above.

Not the rapid code but actual abb backups, I wanted to have a look at the I/O Mapping.

Quote from Vaisakh78

Not the rapid code but actual abb backups, I wanted to have a look at the I/O Mapping.

The IO was a single dry contact relay output to close the "torch on" circuit to the plasma cutter.

I had plans to eventually implement dynamic height control, but I have since sold the arm.