Flexible Robot Programming using Solid Edge’s “Alternative Assemblies”

Many assembly processes in small and medium-sized enterprises are still performed by human labour. One reason for this is the need for another expert to program the robot, which would simply not fit into the company structure. To address this issue a solution is developed, which allows to program the robot directly out of the CAD software. The positions of the parts are read out of the CAD file. Specific assembly instructions have to be given by the assembly developer and integrated in the tree structure of the CAD. To avoid collisions and ensure correct insertion angles, additional waypoints are given by alternate assemblies, a functionality within Solid Edge to create and use variations of an assembly.