Waypoints

Each movement of the robot consists of waypoints which are passed one after the other. All waypoints of a movement are determined by Flex Cell CAM, but most of them can be adjusted. Points that are directly related to the tracking during the bending process cannot be changed. Various settings used to control the waypoints are listed below:

Change the position of a waypoint
Insert a new waypoint or remove an existing waypoint
Adjust the motion properties such as speed and interpolation
Add a new waypoint at desired position

To access the Waypoints panel:

Press E W to open the Waypoints panel for the current stage.
Click the Waypoints link from Pickup panel, Bend panel, Regrip panel or Deposit panel.

Waypoints panel

waypointspanelEW

A typical waypoints panel is shown alongside:

Phase: This slider shows the step by step movement of a waypoint. Each phase reflects a particular robot operation like pickup, bend, regrip and deposit.
Display: Use this option to view the:
- Grip Point: The position and angle of the gripper (i.e. X, Y, Z, W, P, R of Tool Center Point (TCP)) are displayed and can be edited.
- Wrist Point: The position and angle of the wrist (i.e. X, Y, Z, W, P, R of End of Arm Tool (EOAT)) are displayed and can be edited.
- Robot Axes: The robot joint (J1 to J6) axes values are displayed and can be edited. The yellow trace shows the path from the previous step to this one, and from this step to the next one (see image above). The 3 small triangles indicate the local X and Y coordinates of the robot (wrist or gripper).
Simulate: This slider is used to move the simulation from the previous phase to the next phase. If this is in the middle, that is the actual phase we are editing.
Configuration: This section shows the current configuration of the robot. It represents the robot’s attitude.
Interpolate: This setting is used to switch between linear and axis-oriented interpolations.
Speed and Rounding: These settings are used to edit the speed and accuracy setting for this step.
Insert: This option is used to create new waypoint by entering new values.
Remove: Newly added waypoints can be removed by clicking this option.
Prev and Next: Use these buttons to go to the next or previous steps (or you can also use the Left and Right arrow keys). Clicking on Next button will show each step in a phase. At the end of the phase, next corresponding waypoint panel is displayed.

Properties of waypoints

Depending on the state of the process, each waypoint is given a set of attributes pertaining to the kind of interpolation, the speed, and the precision of movement. If required, these attributes can be changed.

These settings are controlled in the Advanced section of the waypoint panel.

Configuration

The configuration panel shows the current joint placements of the robot.

waypointconfigpanel

Table 1. Interpolate
Interpolate type	Description
Linear	Linear movement of the TCP along a path
Axis	The movement from the starting position to the end position is as quick as possible, regardless of the path. No TCP linear movement.

Table 2. Speed
Speed type	Description
Max.	Maximum speed
Fast	75% of the maximum speed
Medium	50% of the maximum speed
Reduced	30% of the maximum speed
Slow	20% of the maximum speed

Table 3. Rounding
Rounding type	Description
Max.	Rounding starts at 50% of the shorter path length
Large	Rounding starts at 35% of the shorter path length
Medium	Rounding starts at 20% of the shorter path length
Reduced	Rounding starts at 10% of the shorter path length
Fine	Rounding starts at 5% of the shorter path length
Exact	The calibration point is approached exactly without overlaying

Rounding is not simulated in Flex Cell CAM. So, Rounding simulation is always "Exact". Users must be careful during the run-in of the part at the machine.

Path length between the waypoint and the endpoint
Executed length
Path length between the start point and the waypoint
Waypoint 3 (end point)
Waypoint 2 (rounding point)
Waypoint 1 (start point)

Display waypoints

When a bend part is tooled, all the waypoints are automatically calculated for each movement phase. These points can be simulated phase by phase with a corresponding description.

Below images shows the waypoint phases of first bending operation (in side view):

Modify waypoints

A waypoint’s location can be changed if needed, for example, to prevent going over the axis.

Among other aspects pertaining to collision avoidance, unwanted waypoints can be eliminated or new waypoints can be added.

When an existing waypoint position is changed, Flux shows a warning message. Click OK to proceed with changing the waypoint.
Clicking the Insert button will add new waypoints.
Newly added waypoints are denoted by +1,+2,ect., in the phase name as shown below:

Simulate waypoints

By default the simulate slider is in the middle position. Movement of the robot from one waypoint to the other is seamlessly simulated using this slider.