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Theme title: Robots in the food industry
Introduction
RobotStudio(TM) from ABB Robotics is a powerful off-line robot programming and simulation tool, unique in that it downloads to the actual controller with no translation stage. The first version was released in 1998, and ABB claims it is five or ten years ahead of rival robot manufacturers' simulation software. RobotStudio supports the whole lifecycle of the robot (Figure 1 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]). It creates the robot movements using graphical programming, edits and debugs the robot system, and simulates and optimises existing robot programs. It is widely used in universities to educate engineering students in the capabilities and applications of robots, and throughout the automation industry by mechanical designers and robot programmers. It is even used in remote maintenance and troubleshooting, connecting to the live system to take an instant virtual copy, and then going off-line to enable the situation to be studied in depth.
One of the advantages of robots in manufacturing plants is their ability to adapt to different tasks when requirements change. However, if production had to shut down to allow reprogramming, it would wipe out that advantage. So ABB developed off-line robot programming back in 1981, and this is one of the functions of RobotStudio. Robot programming proceeds in parallel with the building of new production system and tooling. The simulation verifies reach, accessibility and cycle time, preparing accurate robot operating paths that function correctly as soon as the whole system is put into operation. It checks for collisions at the programmed points and also along the interpolated paths between them (Figure 2 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]). This greatly reduces production downtime.
I visited RTS Flexible Systems Ltd, one of ABB's integration partners, to learn how RobotStudio helps in the design and implementation of real-life application solutions. Developing bespoke engineering solutions to automation applications is a risky business, as unexpected performance of any part of the system can involve a lot of extra problem solving and associated cost, or even make the solution unworkable. So integrators build test rigs and use simulation tools to assess feasibility during the proposal and design stage. RobotStudio is one such simulation tool, and its accuracy and realism is very important in this situation. "We use...