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Access common commands such as New, Open, Save, Export, set global Options, and so onand open About to view license and version information.
Device tab and Task tabThe pane on the left is divided into two tabs: tabs
As you work in Robotmaster, you will use these tabs to switch between Device and Task sides in Robotmaster. The Device tab side is used for robot cell programming. When the Device tab is active, the viewport, controls, and panels in the Robotmaster window are device-specific.
The Task tab side is used for adding parts and creating paths and operationsoperations. As you add or select tasks in a Robotmaster session, the Task side will become active, with a task-specific viewport, controls, and panels.
Scheduler and simulation
The time-based scheduler is used to simulate and schedule operations for the part program in Robotmaster.
Viewport and Viewport menutoolbar
The viewport is the main work area in Robotmaster where you will view and interact with 3D models of cells, robots, and workpieces.
Point list, Joint list, and Frame editor
Use this area to view and In the Point list, you can view points, edit points, and add non-motion events. The Joint list displays robot joint positions, and coordinate frames. The Frame editor is used to transform frame position and orientation.
Add a new task
At this point in the walkthrough, let’s add a new task.
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When a task tab is active in Robotmaster, several task-specific panels appear on the left:
Parts: This is where CAD parts in the task are listed. You can import, manipulate, and manipulate export parts in this area.
Operations: Operations added in the task are listed here. You can create operations and tool paths for parts in this area.
Custom frames: One or more reference frames for the CAD part task are listed here.
For now, we’ve created a task. Next, let’s add a part to the task.
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In the Parts panel, click the expand button next to the part to view CAD model detailscontents.
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You can explore the CAD for any part in this tree view. Depending on the source CAD file format and how the part was drawn in the CAD file, it might consist of wires, mesh, points, surfaces, and solids.
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Right-click Solid#2, then select Move geometry to new part.
A new part called Large_Dome 1 will be created in the Parts panel. This is the work table.
Right-click Large_Dome 1 and change the type to Fixture.
The work table solid body is now classified as a Fixture. Note that it now has a fixture icon.
Double-click the new part and rename it into something that will make it easy to identify, like “Base Fixture.”
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In Robotmaster Options (Main Menu > Options), you can choose different 3D navigation styles. For example, if you are more comfortable with SOLIDWORKS mouse controls in the 3D space, you can use that style instead of the default.
The Viewport menu taskbar contains task-specific viewport controls, including:
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Next, we will add a simple contouring operation and define tool paths for a few holes on the part. Contouring is a general operation that can be used for profile following tasks such as cutting or deburring.
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On the Task 1 tab, select Operations > [+] > Contouring.
In Contouring mode, in the Paths panel, select [+] > Auto Path.
Select the surface on the part that contains the three holes that need contouring.
The selected surface will be light blue. Note that paths can be automatically applied to all edges on this selected surface.
Click Refresh from selected surfaces.
Potential paths will be added on the edges (shown in orange). There are paths on the edges of the holes and a large path added around the perimeter of the surface. Next, let’s exclude some of the paths we don’t need using the path slider.
Drag the path slider one unit from the right.
The largest potential path will be removed. Dragging from the right will remove paths, starting with the largest path.
Drag the path slider from the right again until the orange path for the next largest hole disappears.
Drag the path slider from the left to eliminate the paths for the four smallest holes.
With paths remaining on only the three medium-sized holes, select Add to path list.
Edge Paths will be added to the Paths list.
Click OK.
At this point, the three paths are added to the Contouring operation.
Click Apply.
When you click the Apply button:
Robotmaster generates a preliminary tool path and displays the tool and path in the viewport.
The “Contouring 1” operation is added in the simulation at the bottom of the window.
The Point list on the right now shows points for the operation.
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At this stage, you can view and edit path length, sequence, entry / exit points, direction, and more. You can also set
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speeds and parameters for the operation.
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For this walkthrough, we will use the default values for the entire operation
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Click Apply and then OK for the Contouring operation
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. Next, we will run the simulation for the task.
Simulate the tool path
At the bottom of the window, click the Play button (▶) to run the simulation for the task.
As the simulation plays, review the tool path created by Robotmaster. At this stage, if you make changes to the tool path (such as reordering paths), click Apply to update the simulation with your changes.
When you are finished editing and reviewing the tool path, click OK.
The operation is fully created in the task.
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Next, we will load a robot device and program it with the operation.
Simulate the tool path
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Load a device
In Robotmaster, an entire robot cell is considered a “device.” Robotmaster comes pre-loaded with several default devices, which include robots and cell components like tables, rails, and fences. For this walkthrough, we will use a simple device.
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ROBOTMASTER_2.7 is a fictional 6-axis robot that is used only for demonstration purposes. Your installation of Robotmaster will likely contain one or more real-world devices that correspond to the physical robot(s) you will be programming.
With the robot device loaded and the Device tab active, a model of the robot cell will appear in the viewport.
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In On the Device modeside, device-specific panels appear on the left:
Operations: Shows the currently loaded device (cell), setup, and program. Assigned operations appear here as well.
Unassigned operations: Any operations that are not yet assigned to a program are listed here.
Frames: Reference frames for the device appear here.
When in the Device modetab is active, the viewport menu toolbar contains many of the same options as Task mode. There are several additional device-related options as well.
For example, you can visualize the reach limits of the robot:
In On the viewport menutoolbar, select the Workspace settings button > Display workspace.
This can help when positioning the workpiece relative to the robot and when resolving Out of reach issues. Note that the reach of the robot wrist (Joint 5) is used as the limit of the workspace.
Let’s turn off this option before we continue:
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At this point, we have a device loaded. A task is created with a contouring operation. This operation now needs to be assigned.
If a device is already loaded before a task is added, the operations for the task will automatically be assigned to the device.
Assign an operation to a program
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The workpiece and fixture are moved to align with the path mounting frame of the robot.
The tooling is now visible and mounted on the robot.
Home positions operations are added before and after the assigned operations.
Program 1 appears in the scheduler simulation at the bottom of the window.
The Point list on the right is empty, because the program has not yet been calculated.
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Robotmaster will fully calculate the points needed for the operation. Note that the Point List If you select the robot in the pane on the right shows , a full list of points for the program will be displayed.
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Simulate the program
Once a program is calculated, the scheduler at the bottom of the window can be used to simulate robot motion for the entire program.
Click the Play button (▶) to run the simulation.
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Notice the green markers next to the Home and Contouring 1 operations. These markers indicate that there are no kinematic issues encountered by the robot in the course of this program.
At this point, Program 1 will be ready to output as robot code. This step requires a valid post processor package to be loaded. Creating machine-readable code is beyond the scope of this guide.
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