Industrial Robot Offline Programming Simulation Software (OLP) is a revolutionary tool in the manufacturing world. It allows users to program and simulate robot movements without the need for the actual robot. This is extremely convenient as it reduces downtime and risk of errors during real – world operations.
With OLP, operators can create, modify, and test programs in a virtual environment. They can accurately plan complex robot trajectories, such as those in spray – painting tasks. This software also enables collision detection, ensuring that the robot won’t crash into obstacles in the real – world setup. Moreover, it helps in optimizing cycle times, leading to higher productivity. Overall, OLP is a key enabler for efficient and safe industrial robot operations, making it an essential part of modern manufacturing processes.
Industrial Robot Offline Programming Simulation Software (OLP) is a powerful tool that allows robot programs to be written and tested without interrupting the production line. The use of this software can not only improve programming efficiency, but also significantly reduce downtime, thereby saving costs and improving production efficiency. The main functions, mainstream software and features of OLP software are described in detail below.
1 Main functions
Digital twin creation: Using 3D CAD models, digital twins of robots, tools, fixtures and entire production lines are recreated in the software. Through these digital twins, programmers can define the robot’s movements, tool commands and logic.
Generate and review programs: After the program is completed, it can be reviewed and necessary modifications can be made. After that, the program can be downloaded to the robot controller, similar to the process of programming CNC machine tools with CAM software.
Compatibility and calibration: OLP software generally supports robots of multiple brands, can import specific robot models, and generate programs in dedicated languages. At the same time, the software also supports parameter settings for tools and end effectors to ensure that I/O calls in simulation can be made according to the requirements of tool manufacturers.
Track motion speed adjustment: In the software, the speed of track motion can be adjusted to make the simulation more in line with the actual process requirements.
Track creation: The motion trajectory of the industrial robot can be created through the geometric features of the part model or the self-drawn space curve.
2 Main software
(1) Visual Components
A global leader in the manufacturing simulation industry, it has further expanded its OLP product portfolio through the acquisition of Delfoi Robotics. VC 3D factory simulation software is well-known and provides mature solutions in many fields.
Visual Components OLP has wide compatibility and flexibility, suitable for most industrial processes and robot layouts. It supports 17 post-processors including KUKA, ABB, YASKAWA and FANUC, ensuring that users can reliably, accurately and efficiently program various industrial robot brands. Visual Components OLP provides 3 versions for users to choose from.
(2) OCTOPUZ
OCTOPUZ provides process-specific add-ons for process-specific paths and programs, such as welding. Once these paths have been generated, there are several tools within the platform that allow you to analyze and subsequently solve or manually find solutions to potential errors in the paths. These errors include, but are not limited to, singularities, joint limits, reach limits or acceleration limits.
Currently, OCTOPUZ supports 15 brands of robots. For brands that use two programming languages, such as KUKA (which uses KRL for its main product line and Java for its collaborative robots) OCTOPUZ supports both languages. The generated code is exported to a USB stick, which is then used to upload the program to the robot controller. OCTOPUZ is UR+ certified by Universal Robots.
(3) RoboDK
RoboDK is a unique option on the market as it offers a 30-day free trial. Users can continue to experiment with the software after the trial expires, but saving projects will be disabled. RoboDK has a huge library of more than 800 robot models and supports robots of various brands and models, such as ABB, KUKA, Fanuc, etc. It allows users to program robots outside of the production environment, eliminating production downtime caused by workshop programming. An interesting feature of RoboDK is the ability to import CAM tool paths and convert them into robot programs for applications such as robot machining. NC programs can be simulated and converted into robot programs (G code or APT-CLS files), automatically optimizing robot paths to avoid singularities, axis limits and collisions. It supports multi-platform robots of different brands and models to be simulated in the same scene, and other equipment and fixture models can be added.
(4) PDPS
If you are familiar with Siemens’ robot simulation software, you may know the company’s traditional OLP tool Robcad. Robcad is still supported and used, however, Process simulation is a newer product, and Siemens NX has robot machining capabilities.
Siemens PDPS (Process Designer & Process Simulate) robot offline programming functions include robot home point teaching, transition point teaching, and workstation simulation operation, etc., which are designed to improve production efficiency and reduce on-site debugging time. By integrating rich tools and functions, efficient offline programming and simulation verification of robots are achieved. Its powerful functions not only improve the programming efficiency of industrial robots, but also reduce rework and maintenance time in actual production through precise simulation operation.
(5) Delfoi
Delfoi is a leader in robot welding offline programming. It has been acquired by Visual Components and includes a robot library of more than 1,300 models, providing post-processing for each robot brand. Delfoi offers three main products: arc, cutting and painting. One thing to note about Delfoi is that it cannot generate code for universal robots, although it can simulate them. This is because UR robots are not usually used in their main process focus areas: arc welding, metal cutting or painting.
(6) SimPro
KUKA.SimPro is a powerful industrial robot simulation and offline programming software designed specifically for KUKA robots. The software provides users with an efficient and accurate programming and simulation platform by integrating a wealth of KUKA-specific models and peripheral equipment models.
As software officially sold by KUKA, it integrates a lot of KUKA-specific models, such as grippers, bases, and welding equipment. It is suitable for various types of KUKA robots, from small to large robots. It can estimate the time required for a robot to complete a job, helping users optimize production rhythm. Users can create and edit robot programs completely offline to reduce production line downtime. It supports the simulation of complex work unit concepts, including the interaction of multiple robots and peripheral equipment.
The above are some of the mainstream software currently used, in addition to ABB’s RobotStudio, Yaskawa’s MotoSim, FANUC’s Robguide, and so on.