Off-Line Programming and Functioning Simulation of Robotic Flexible Manufacturing Cell for Part's Turning

Abstract

This paper presents the works performed by the authors in the field of robotic flexible manufacturing cell offline programming and simulation. The study includes a manufacturing cell structure which includes a part transport system, a CNC lathe / turning centre and an articulated arm type industrial robot. The robot performs the task of loading / unloading the CNC lathe / manufacturing centre and manipulating the parts inside the cell, while the machining operations are performed by the CNC manufacturing centre. After briefly presenting the layout of the cell, the paper focuses on describing the methods used for offline programming and simulation of the tasks performed by the industrial robot. The software package used is ABB RobotStudio. The results of the research work are a process simulation and validation for CNC lathe / machining centre loading / unloading operation and part manipulation performed by the industrial robot and assisted task programming for this application using ABB RobotStudio software. The assisted offline programming and simulation general methods used, as well as the procedures for each stage of the applications are described, in order to illustrate the specific operation for each cell and offline programming aspects.