Implementation of a RecurDyn® and LabVIEW®-based 2-axis additional axes (tilting/rolling) strategy on a 6-axis articulate robot for improving process efficiency of welding

Present industrial sites need not only robots for simple repetitive works and welding but also industrial robots to perform diverse functions in combination with machine tools. Welding works require soft and accurate route movements of robots. It is not too much to say that it is indispensable to add additional axes to a process requiring these precise movements. Therefore, this paper aims to realize 2-axis additional axes, which increases processing efficiency of a robot by controlling in harmful environments or design fields beyond human reach. Ultimately, this is to create temporal and efficient profits in industrial processing sites including welding and assembling 6-axis articulated robot (RS2). Also, using RecurDyn®, a simulation-based technique is applied. And the motion paths of the welding rod will be compared for two cases in order to verify the necessity of the 2-axis additional axes: 1) when there are no 2-axis additional axes and 2) when there are 2-axis additional axes during welding using the RS2. For this purpose, the angle variations of RS2 axes required for a simulation are compared, on the assumption that each of the four points of the welding bed installed in the 2-axis additional axes of the welding rod in Solidworks® is point-welded. Then an actual 2-axis additional axes equipment will be grafted on to RS2 and the process times depending on the existence of 2-axis additional axes are compared using a PC-based robot control program, LabVIEW®. The comparison will imply that grafting a 2-axis additional axes equipment on to a 6-axis articulated robot make it possible to control a robot easily, to decrease the process route and the process time drastically, and to maximize robot efficiency.