What are the advantages of robot teaching pendant that can make engineers inseparable from it?
The first is safety. To program a non cooperative industrial robot, it is necessary to use a disable switch. This is a switch that can automatically act when the operator loses his ability to act, such as death, unconsciousness or leaving the control equipment. It is generally used as a form of failure safety to stop the machine to avoid possible dangers. The teaching pendant enables the user to switch the operation mode of the robot from the teaching mode to the unrestricted operation by using the key, thereby controlling the disable switch.
For cooperative robots, there are also some emergencies that require robots to stop working by themselves. The robot teaching pendant has the function of ensuring safe and protective shutdown. All systems may fail, so the operator needs to be able to control the robot and switch its behavior mode to the safe mode, so as to enter the work unit or move the robot to any desired position. The teaching pendant is the most effective tool to perform these operations.
The second advantage is monitoring. The robot teaching device can be used to monitor whether the robot and all the devices in the work unit have behavior errors and give an alarm, or even judge the possible behavior errors of the robot. When the program is running, the teaching pendant is a window to understand the robot operation and the control position of the whole program.
The third advantage is testing. Robot teaching pendant is also a good tool and method for testing new robot programs, and it is convenient and fast. Of course, in addition to testing with the teaching pendant, you can also complete the testing through a third-party tool (such as an OLRP application). Compared with OLRP, the teaching pendant can complete some simple programming tasks faster and more conveniently. OLRP's software tools are ideal for applications with hundreds or thousands of points, such as complex paths required for welding. However, many jobs do not involve such complex actions. For example, robot stretching, picking and placement, linear welding, dispensing and other programming. These operations are very simple and need to be completed quickly, especially in the production environment with high complexity and small batches, so as to reduce the impact of switching time. Of course, no matter what tool is used, it must be carried out at a slow speed under the supervision of the operator to prevent hardware damage caused by errors. During this test, the operator checks the gap between the robot and the hardware in the work unit, such as the machine tool. Other test activities performed with the teaching pendant include teaching the basic framework and tool framework. The operator can run the robot slowly to confirm how it moves in the work unit, and also verify the scope of action of the robot and its tooling in the work unit.
The fourth advantage is that the teaching pendant can adjust the robot program in real time. Sometimes the robot may drift a certain distance in one direction by mistake for various reasons, resulting in reduced accuracy; Another example, there is a common problem that the end of arm tooling (EOAT) is misaligned or cannot reach the part. In addition, when the simulation state does not completely match the real world, such as when the robot moves on the seventh axis guide rail (i.e., moves manually through the teaching pendant), the simulation basically expects that the motion is perfect without shaking, but it is not the case. Like this, the teaching pendant can play a role of compensation. Although the role is very small, even if the compensation is 1 mm, it is possible to optimize the welding results to a satisfactory degree.
The fifth advantage is that the robot teaching pendant can reliably and actively prompt the operator to make the required input. In particular, when starting a new task, the operator may want to pause the program to check parts or check other blocks of the application. When the application is running, it can also use the teaching pendant to interact with the task. Such operations cannot be performed in OLRP software.
The sixth advantage is that the robot teaching pendant can integrate many components in the work unit, such as laser scanner, stack lamp, etc. The operator loads the program onto the robot, and then writes a subroutine to coordinate the motion of the robot with the activities of other components in the work unit. The coding of these subroutines is also performed by the teaching pendant. Many factories have specially developed subroutines, such as the subroutine for removing parts from shelves, which can be easily retained in the teaching pendant. In OLRP, the corresponding work cannot be done.
The seventh advantage is that it allows the user to add control logic. Once the operator has created and tested his program, he needs to run dozens of parts. Using the teaching pendant, he can add control logic so that the application can run unattended, which can usually be used with other robots or devices in the work unit. On the contrary, most OLRP software neither has built-in control logic structure nor allows it to be added.
Finally, the robot teaching pendant provides a high degree of interaction between configuring applications and executing applications. Because there is no need to transfer programs from other devices, operators can perform tasks quickly and effectively.
In a word, robot teaching pendant has been and still is a key part of the robot ecosystem. We need to learn and understand it so that it can serve us better.