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KUKA

This page is a guide to help users understand the requirements of setting up a KUKA robotic welding system for use with AutoaWeld. Autoa also offer consulting and training services to assist with the calibration and setup of a welding system - please contact us for pricing.

TCP Calibration

The real world TCP should be calibrated using the KUKA calibration tool. After calibration, it is then suggested that the rotational values are overwritten with theoretical values (that can be supplied by Autoa) as rotational values are difficult to calibrate using this method.

Care should be taken to ensure that the the Z axis of the tool is pointing outwards along the wire direction.

The TCP calibration should use the expected stickout specified in the workcell model file supplied by Autoa for the cell and the wirecut routine should be written to cut the wire to this length prior to touch sensing.

Program Generation

Autoa will two KRL programs (both .src and .dat) files to be loaded on to the robot controller. These contain functions which are used by generated AutoaWeld programs.

  • VB_USER - contains code that you will edit to implement custom functionality.
  • VB_SYS - contains Autoa calculation routines that are used between multiple programs.

You will need to populate the code within the following functions in the VB_USER program:

  • VB_CLEAN_TORCH
  • VB_CUT_WIRE

You can also edit the following functions if required for custom functionality. This is commonly used to interface with safety equipment for example.

  • VB_BEFORE_RUN and VB_AFTER_RUN
  • VB_BEFORE_WELD and VB_AFTER_WELD
  • VB_BEFORE_SENSE and VB_AFTER_SENSE

ArcTech

AutoaWeld currently supports ArcTech Basic for interfacing with your welding power source. Please contact us if you would like to explore support for other packages such as ArcTech Advanced.