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This year, China Taiwan Taipei InternationalautomationindustryDazhan takes “intelligent manufacturing” as theExhibitionfocus,industryrobotThe large-scale index factories are gathered and the grand occasion is unprecedented, and the transformation of the manufacturing industry to intelligent manufacturing is obviously the general trend. One of the exhibitors, ABB, a major Industrial robot manufacturer, also displayed a variety of latest Industrial Robot applications on the spot. It was the first in the industry to operate physical Robots in a virtual reality (VR) environment to perform painting operations, and also provided automation solutions and “” The internet of Things+” technology helps the manufacturing industry to improve production efficiency and promote the development of intelligent manufacturing.

　The robot combines VR and force feedback control to subvert the traditional processing technology

At the COMPUTEX exhibition in June this year, ABB integrated its own industrial robot software and hardware technology into the VR system for the first time to show the virtual factory operation scene. This time, ABB used VR to directly control the physical robot to complete the workpiece spraying operation for the personnel.The live Display screen presents the simulated appearance in the virtual environment, and through the HTCVIVE head-mounted VR Display, you can further see the virtual three-dimensional scene.controllerYou can operate the simulated spray gun, and then simulate the painting action within the preset range. When the physical robot receives the instruction, it will accurately reproduce the spraying path.

Using VR to control the physical robot painting, the operator’s hand movements and angles can be immediately converted into the motion control path of the industrial robot, just like “teaching” the painting process directly to the robot, which not only shortens the hours of programming time to a short time In just a few minutes, the operator’s spraying technique can be accurately reproduced, and even difficult to program movements such as flicking the wrist can be easily achieved.

▲ Through the HTCVIVE display and controller, you can simulate the painting action within the red frame

Using virtual reality to control physical robots can assist operators to perform difficult or dangerous tasks. In addition, offline programming is also available. After adjusting the best path for painting, samples can be made on site. Zou Renjie, senior business manager of ABB Industrial Robots, said that in the past, there was a high probability of failure when making workpiece samples, and the re-recycling time was long and cost-intensive. Now it can not only save cycle time, but also reduce scrap rate and cost. It is also the world’s first example of VR combined with on-site manufacturing.

▲ The Robotic arm accurately reproduces the operator’s spraying path and technique

▲ Programming time can be reduced to minutes

ABB is also optimistic about the grinding and polishing needs of castings in Taiwan, China, and integrates its own six-axis robotic arm with a Force Control to perform grinding, polishing, and edge trimming for precision workpieces. The robot arm will operate according to the set force (Newton), torque, rotation, etc. It is suitable for various materials, and it is also suitable for the processing of curved surfaces or complex shapes.

▲ ABB robot arm integrates force feedback control to polish and grind workpieces

▲ Suitable for castings of various materials or complex shapes