DELMIA Version 6 Release 2013x

V6 Robotics Spot Welding Solution

DELMIA Robotics Spot Welding (RSW) is a comprehensive, V6, automotive body-in-white robotics programming solution that generates and manages robot spot welding programs. Advanced capabilities for robot path planning, weld gun selection and analysis aid the robot programmer to react quickly to new or changing product designs. When product designs change, impacting the location or orientation of the spot weld, DELMIA Robotics Spot Welding automatically updates the robot program by adjusting the robot’s trajectories.

DELMIA Robotics Spot Welding provides a virtual 3D environment, including shop floor resources and layout. Robot programmers are able to plan, optimize, and validate the robotic spot welding program in the context of the manufacturing setting.

• Gun Search and Weld Analysis
• Tools to perform weld gun accessibility and assist the user in picking the right weld gun from the catalog
• Optimize the spot welding trajectory by adding via points and approach/departure points
• Ensure product, fixtures, tools, and robots are in the correct and optimum positions
• Generate spot welding tasks and sequences for spot weld trajectory
• Generate accurate simulation to predict/minimize process cycle times and product throughput
• Download robot programs defined in the simulation or upload existing production programs for analysis and modification

• Tools to perform weld gun accessibility and assist the user in picking the right weld gun from the catalog

  Automotive OEMs have a large number of weld-gun styles, shapes, and designs. Finding the right weld-gun for a specific part design, weld locations(s), planned welding path, and desired robot can be a time consuming and daunting task. Users of RSW have the distinct advantage when using the automatic Tool Selection Assistant functionality, which automatically searches the desired weld-gun library, checks each weld-gun against the part and weld-points assigned and presents to the user a 3D based "list" of weld-guns that can have collision-free access to all the weld-points in the defined trajectory. Tool Selection Assistant also helps the user to pick the right weld gun by providing tools to generate a cross section at weld point location, perform manual weld gun accessibility check and to optimize the welds.

• Optimize the spot welding trajectory by adding via points and approach/departure points

  Essential to a welding robot path is the definition of "via points" and "approach/departure points". Via Points are used to optimize the robots motion path as it moves the weld-gun toward the next weld-point. Approach/Departure Points are points in space near the weld that are used to position the end-of-arm tooling (weld-gun) precisely for collision free access to the parts to be welded and allow for slow motion into or away from the part. Traditionally, these via-points and approach/departure points were manually defined. Using the capabilities of RSW, users will be able to check for reachability of the robot and define these points.

• Ensure product, fixtures, tools, and robots are in the correct and optimum positions

  Using RSW layout tools makes optimal positioning of workcell components quick and easy thereby minimizing workcell build tome while at the same time optimizing positions and limiting floor space requirements.

• Generate spot welding tasks and sequences for spot weld trajectory

  Generation of a Robot Task to weld all the spot welds, via points, Approach/Departure points in the spot weld trajectory is an important but tedious task. RSW provides excellent functionalities to efficiently generate the spot weld task from the spot weld trajectory.

• Generate accurate simulation to predict/minimize process cycle times and product throughput

  Accurate cycle-time prediction is an essential aspect of planning for the Body-in-White domain where fractions of a second can result in increased/decreased production costs. Additionally, when defining workcells with multiple robots descending on a single set of expensive fixtures and work pieces simultaneously, knowing where each robot is and at what time is critical to the proper choreography of the overall process for each workcell . Using RSW's built in RRS capability, users ensures that the simulated robot cycle times and motion path calculations match the real world giving the user the most precise planning and validation tool available.

• Download robot programs defined in the simulation or upload existing production programs for analysis and modification

  While having the most advanced technology available to plan, optimize, and validate the robot spot welding workcell gives users of RSW a competitive advantage - it all comes down being able to deliver the simulated robot programs to the robot controllers on the shop floor for production implementation. RSW delivers the capability to translate the simulated set of robot tasks to a Fanuc TPE program and download it to the robot's controller. Additionally, there are times when a re-defining of the robot's program is necessary due to changes in workcell layout, tooling modifications, or product design changes. In these cases, RSW allows the user to upload the robots program for analysis and modification using all the capabilities described above.