"Delcam's PowerMILL Robot makes it as easy to program a robot as it is to program a 5-axis machine tool," said a company spokesperson.
Delcam will present its latest developments with machine tools and robots at booth 1415 at WESTEC on Sept. 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "Programs on display will include PowerMILL for high-speed and 5-axis machining, FeatureCAM for quick and easy feature-based CAM programming and PartMaker software for production machining including Swiss turn programming," said a company spokesperson. "Delcam's PowerMILL Robot will be highlighted on the RSI Cobra cell, designed for people who need a milling system that can be quickly moved from one area to another for various reasons.
"The latest release of PowerMILL Robot enables manual and CNC programming of robots to be combined in a single program, providing maximum flexibility. Other enhancements include improved collision checking, automatic avoidance of wrist singularities and the ability to generate robot programs from tape files produced in other CAM software.
"PowerMILL Robot also benefits from the many enhancements made in recent releases of PowerMILL, in particular the Vortex strategy for high-efficiency area clearance. In addition, the range of robots supported by the system has been increased so that it now includes KUKA, ABB, FANUC, Yaskawa Motoman, Stäubli, Hyundai, Comau, Kawasaki Robot, Nachi and Universal Robots equipment, in all cases eliminating any need for third-party translation software."
The new functionality in the 2015 release allows users to duplicate in the virtual environment teach-and-learn programming of the robot for linking moves. The model robot on the computer can be 'jogged' between positions where machining is to take place, in a similar way to the movement of the arm in the real environment. The programmed linking moves can then be integrated with the cutting moves to give the complete sequence of operations.
"This approach will be necessary in any cases where there are additional objects in the real world that are not included in the CAD model of the part to be machined, such as the clamps or fixtures being used to hold the item," said the spokesperson. "In other cases, the user might prefer to move up and over the part, rather than moving around it, even if that is shorter.
"A singularity in robot operation occurs when collinear alignment of two or more axes results in unpredictable robot motion. Singularities must, therefore, be eliminated to maintain smooth, predictable machining. The new release automatically avoids wrist singularities, the most common example of this type of problem.
"The improved collision checking in the 2015 release allows the complete NC program to be simulated in one operation, saving considerable time when compared to the previous method of checking each toolpath individually."
The ability has been added to import existing tape files from other CAM systems. Once imported, the toolpaths can be simulated and post-processed in PowerMILL Robot in the same way as toolpaths from PowerMILL.
"PowerMILL Robot makes it as easy to program a robot for machining as it is to program a 5-axis machine tool," said the spokesperson. "As a fully associated application inside PowerMILL, users have access to all the multi-axis machining strategies within PowerMILL and can use all the system's project management options to manage, store and retrieve data."
With PowerMILL Robot, robots can be programmed for tool-to-part applications, making them suitable for machining large parts, such as composite panels that need to be trimmed, or for part-to-tool applications, such as grinding or linishing. The working area can be extended with linear tracks and rotary tables for flexibility over the size and types of parts that can be manufactured.
For more information contact:
Mary Shaw
Marketing Manager
Delcam
877-335-2261
mes@delcam.com
www.delcam.com/software/robotics/index.asp
WESTEC 2015 Booth 1415