MTD USER GUIDE

Anonymous · ‎11-06-2017

hello sir,

i want mtd user guide for power mill robot. i am not finding it in power mill 2018.

i want to add a kuka kr150 robot to the robot library but i am not able to do it because of .dmt to .mtd file conversion.

so can u send me the link form where i can download it.

thanks and regards,

kishan panchal

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎11-07-2017

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the PowerMill forum.

The generic mtd user guide for PM (machine tools) can be found as per image below.

For PM Robot we have a specific and separate document, as the mtd files for robots have some differences and so require some very specific settings.
DMT files are the same, exported from your 3D CAD file.

Attached is a pdf that explains how to open PM Robot help. Once you have done this please refer to the following documents:

- PowerMill Robot - How to build a robot simulation.pdf

This will guide you through the setup of the CAD file of your cell to the dmt export and mtd file creation.

- Robot Setup - KUKA.pdf - has all KUKA specific information you might need.

This has specific information you need to update in the robot Configuration form, pictured below.

location of the 6th axis workplane is very important.

- The pdf PowerMill Robot - Training Manual.pdf will have detailed discription of the robot configuration menu

We do not recommend you create a mtd file from zero, please open the KUKA robot from that library that has the same configuration as yours.

example - if you cell has robot only, use KR300 mtd file as your starting point. Edit this file to suit your robot.

To open the location of the active (selected) robot see image below, this will allow you to copy & paste the mtd you want to base your work from.

After you have copied the mtd file, just edit it with your specific robot data/settings.

I hope this is clear.

Any questions please ask.

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎11-07-2017

thank you sir,

the way you described i was able to add the robot to the robot library.

but i have to edit the .mtd file to best suit my robot's configuration.

but finally it worked..

thanks and regards,

kishan panchal

Anonymous · ‎10-03-2018

HEY kishan,

i’ve you been able to import a KUKA Kr150, would you please be kind to share at least the step cad file of the robot, i’ve been struggling to finalize this and start working.

Please help

i’ll Later send you my email.

Thanks in advance.

starskYU8WP · ‎12-01-2019

Hello.

could you explain this to us? how to set up the cad robot for powermill? In the documentation explain, but it was not illustrated where to add or split the parts of the robot. as well is not clear if I have to change the coordinates here. It is not clear for me.

Thanks for your help

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎12-02-2019

Hello,

What exactly is your issue?

The document you detail contains step by step instructions on how to organise and prepare your CAD data. The section you highlight is referring to the creation of levels to store each CAD part of the robot (using PowerShape CAD software).

As each CAD part or axis components must be exported individually we save them separately and name them according to the diagram on page 18.

The mtd files available in the library should be used as a starting point, so you do not have to create a new file, just update it. That is why the names that have been given follow the mtd.

Does this help?

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎02-12-2020

G'day, following this conversation and reading through "How to build a Robot simulation" from Autodesk 2018 I understand the basic concept of MTD files and robot simple simulation generation. It all works fine for simple 6 axis robots with some additional pistons perhaps in linear movement.

I have a trouble though in generating a MTD for Kawasaki ZX165U. This model has 6 motor driven axis' with 3 free rotaries attached to a block which in turn is attached to J3. Is there any way to generate a MTD so the movement of J2 (the arm) will automatically move all 3 free rotaries within their free movement capabilities?

Without this link the simulation will never be accurate as the movement of J2 affects movement of J3 in non rotary / linear way.

Please see the general robot overview screenshot to visualise my jibbrish above.

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎02-13-2020

Hi ,

I am not sure we can support this correctly.

We might be able to get a close simulation, but I am certain that the axis limits will not be 100% correct. Axis limits of both Axis 2 and 3 vary depending on the position of each axis. As they are linked, position of axis 2 will change the limit of axis 3 and vice versa. And we do not support this in PM Robot.

I have a working example of ABB IRB4400-45, and this has a link between axis 2 and 3, but the mtd file would need some editing to work for your model.

I am happy to give yours a go and share how I did it if that helps you, not sure it will work though.

Can you please share your simulation data with me ?
mtd + robconfig file + folder containing all the dmt CAD parts

Alex

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎02-13-2020

Alexandre,

please find attached. The MTD file might be a litle bit messy, but that's my test file.

The limits are arbitrary for now so please don'r worry about them.

At this stage the simulation fails. I think it could work if MTD would allow me to apply two links to one model, unfortunately it's impossible.

The desired kinematics seem to be similar to what Richard presented in his short video on the following post:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/powermill-forum/defining-mechanism-in-the-mtd-simulation-file/m-p/811...

It would be a treat if you could solve this.

Patryk

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2020

Alex,

would you be able to share the ABB IRB4400-45 MTD so I can analyse the structure and try to work on it as well?

Cheers,

Patryk

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎02-24-2020

Hi,

Apologies for the delay in my reply, this took some time to investigate but I can confirm we cannot support this Robot in PowerMill Robot.

Is there anything else I can help with?

Thanks

Alex

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎02-24-2020

Hi Alex,

no worries. This kinemtics seems to be quite unique and therfore I understand it is not easy to simulate.

In the meantime I have managed to simulate the whole thing in Unity environment - for future visual control software. (Please see the video attached to have somewhat better idea of the robot's movement). The change in J2 does not change the arm angle in relation to the base - only its Z elevation.

I've also managed to get the correct kinematics under PowerMill (without the support bar though) - video attached.

As you can see, in the individual axis control - both 2nd and 3rd (virtual) axis are bound together on opposite angular values and fully depandant 1:1. Is it possible to maintain this dependency (desired kinematics) in the toolpath simualtion as well?

I've tried some simple toolpath simulations and it seems like these two axis move there independently which is an undesired effect. JT3 is marked as STATIC and configuration setting of simualtion has 2nd and 3rd axis connection turned on.

Regards,

Patryk

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎02-25-2020

Hi Patryk,

looking at how you created this robot with 6 axis plus external is a bit confusing to be honest. I would have never created the mtd as you have done as you will experience undesired motion when simulating the toolpath.

If you select any FANUC and try the same axis 3/2 movement you will see that they also drive together. The way we achieve this is by setting a simulation option "on".

What you need is to open the Robot configuration form, and on the simulation menu select "simulate linked motion between axis 2 and 3".

That will do the trick, I hope this is what you need.

Alex

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎02-25-2020

Hi Alex,

this is exactly what I've done - "simulate linked motion - ON" - otherwise it wouldn't work. The J3 axis was added additionally (there is no actual motor there) to simulate the kinematics resulting from the robot's unique design (support bar and the top offset block).

As the robot has 6 axis by design, the rotating head was thrown out as external axis due to adding virtual J3 in between. Would this have any effect on toolpath simulations? Is it the coorect approach to this kinematics and simulation?

On another note, my initial question was about the toolapath simulation itself. As you can see by moving J2 (with simulated linked motion ON) in robot control I can achieve desired kinematics - both axis are dependant to each other 1:1. That's all good - exactly as in reality!

However, when I simulate a random toolpath on a model, the J3 axis (even though it's marked as STATIC) starts to move independently from J2.... which ruins the kinematics and simulation validity. Is this normal? When the robot follows a toolpath is he simulating each axis movements individually regardless of the settings in the robot cell?

Attached is the mtd and robconfig for your review. Should work with the previously sent dmts.

Cheers,

Patryk

Anonymous · ‎02-25-2020

Can't attach for whatever reason. Link to the filebin below.

https://filebin.net/a0nq98i7x9sb2qo3

Regards,

Patryk

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎02-26-2020

Hi Patryk,

As I mentioned before we do not support these robots due to the complexity of the kinematics.

I would NOT add any extra axis to simulate the extra joints as this does not solve the simulation inaccuracy, it will break the simulation solver and give you incorrect results. The solver expects one 6 axis robot plus external axis that are not on the robot.

I would keep it as a simple 6 axis robot with "simulate linked motion - ON", and not change any axis priorities. I tested you latest mtd and it seems to work fine in simulating a simple toolpath.

I was a bit confused by your questions, does this answer all of them?

Alex

The issue is the limits

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

Anonymous · ‎02-26-2020

Alex,

apologies for my slightly confusing (maybe unnecesarily overcomplicated) questions... that's probably because the kinematics is confusing here as well! Thanks for the support and answering anyhow - it helped me a lot.

Regards,

Patryk

jindrich_kozak · ‎07-12-2023

Hello, are you providing support of ABB IRB1660ID robot in combination with ABB IRBP250A positioner? Is it supported or could I some how add it into the Powermill? We have this configuration and I would like to try some additive manufacturing using this configuration. Thank you for your response.

alexandre.pintoAGNAU · ‎07-12-2023

Hi @jindrich_kozak

If you open up PowerMill Robot you will see that you have an installed library of robots.
if not let me know.

From this library you can see that we have an ABB folder and in that folder we have a few hardware configurations, this is what we support. So YES, Robot + positioner is supported.

I would say the best is to read the help documentation provided located in the path detailed below.
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk PowerMill Robot Plugin 2023\Help

the document you need to look at for digital twin is
PowerMill Robot - How to build a robot simulation.pdf this describes the steps to organize the CAD data and edit the mtd file to replicate your machine.

please re-use the data supplied as your starting point.
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk PowerMill Robot Plugin 2023\Library\Robots\ABB\IRB 6640-185-280

both mtd and robconfig file should be edited, not created from scratch.

For the PriPost file the same applies. look at PowerMill Robot - PostProcessors.pdf

I hope this helps to get you stared.

Alexandre Pinto
Process Specialist

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