Initial configuration of industrial robot controller: Using offline programming tool

Abstract

Integrating a robot system as part of larger scale system requires vast knowledge on different device interfaces and network technologies. Robot system commissioning procedure is a small task compared to scale of the whole project, thus it is advised to minimize time spent to the task by standardizing the procedure. This study deals with robot use scenario in industrial manufacturing and offline programming functionality aiding the commissioning and configuration procedure. Aim of this study is to produce a documented guide on configuration of a virtual ABB IRC5 series industrial robot controller.

this study is in form of a literary review based on manuals of ABB robot products and user experience on ABB software as well as other literature on the field. Thesis will answer to questions regarding use of robot solutions in automation hierarchy and both how to use RobotStudio software in configuration of virtual robot system and how to configure I/O communication interface for ABB robot controller using Profisafe protocol.

the study focuses on the interfaces of industrial robot controller enabling communication with external devices. Additionally, communication technologies and safety functionality are a key part of this study. Offline programming tools are also covered in this thesis, since offline programming has potential time saving features. The product of this thesis is included in appendix A. The initialisation instruction in itself is written from application specific point of view to simplify the process of robot configuration to its reader by filtering unnecessary information compared to original manuals reviewed during the writing process.