ArcTool

Application Software
Basic Description
The ArcTool application software package, integrated with a FANUC Robot and SYSTEM R-J3 Controller, provides the user with a unique process solution to robotic arc welding requirements.

Robotics

The ArcTool Application Software package is designed to simplify and standardize the setup and operation of FANUC robot arc welding applications. Built-in arc welding functionality and point-andshoot position teaching allow the operator to program the robot easily. With ArcTool, the operator has full control over the welding process. Arc welding instructions are written in easy to understand English rather than coded commands.
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resulting in faster arc starts and increased productivity. Power fail recovery capability increases production by allowing program and data recovery in the event of power loss. Configurable to work with all major brands of welding equipment. Interfaces with most types of servo driven or indexing positioners. TurboMove advanced servo control features allow quick, smooth point-to-point motion, which increases arc on-time and cycle speeds. Independent control of up to five motion groups supports overlapping motion of servo controlled peripheral devices.

Full functionality is provided at the teach pendant for welding process setup, operation and troubleshooting, including diagnostics, status reporting and error recovery information.

Arc welding specific software makes it quick and easy for users to setup, teach and operate their system. Easy-to-use teach pendant editor allows quick setup and programming using common welding terminology. Arc and weave schedule data can be entered directly at the instruction or in an easy-to-use schedule data table; users are provided the most appropriate level of flexibility for their needs. Hot edit of positional data allows program position adjustment while production is running; this results in more robot uptime and part throughput. The on-the-fly feature permits changing of weld process data while the program is running production; operators can fine tune process data on-the-fly, improving weld quality without unnecessary downtime. I/O menu utilizes English labels on dedicated weld process I/O and peripheral device control I/O; this capability speeds up troubleshooting and repair.

Features
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Full interface and control through an arc welding specific, easy-to-read teach pendant with large display for full view of programs and data allows total application functionality. Plug and play simplicity with Lincoln Electrics PowerWave 455, 450, or STT (Surface Tension Transfer) power sources. Multi-tasking capability reduces execution time and allows control of external devices usually controlled by a programmable logic cell controller. Arc process and motion control improves weld process quality with the ability to look ahead,

Benefits
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Scratch start function reduces arc start faults with an automatic recovery process. Easy-to-load software is prepackaged to match the robot configuration for ease of setup.

Sinusoidal, circular and figure 8 weave patterns improve weave performance, weld ability and quality. Process feedback (voltage, current and wirefeed speed) is displayed in large characters on the teach pendant. This allows more flexibility in weld equipment placement.

ArcTool Setup and Teaching: Arc welding specific teach pendant hard keys provide single key stroke access to most frequently used functions.
Arc Welding Application Keys
ENABLE/ DISABLE WELDING PROCESS

ALARM HOLD STEP BUSY RUNNING WELD ENBL ARC ESTAB

WIRE INCH KEYS WIRE INCH KEYS MAN FCTNS

Sensing Options
Thru-Arc Seam Tracking (TAST) tracks weld seams by monitoring changes in welding signals and automatically adjusting the robot path to improve finished part quality. TAST can be used to compensate vertically and/or laterally to maintain the desired arc length and wire placement. SuperTAST option enhances the TAST package by providing additional setup and diagnostic information to increase tracking speeds and track on thinner lap joints.
Vertical tracking Lateral tracking

DRY RUN JOINT XYZ TOOL OFF ON POSN STATUS

3 Arc welding status indicators

DISPLAY WELD STATUS

Teach Pendant

3 Screen Access Keys

Torch

MIG EYE is a laser-based tracking sensor designed specifically for arc welding metal stampings. MIG EYE provides real time control of the robot path, maximizing weld travel speeds and quality. MIG EYE features include: adaptive bias, adaptive weld schedules and ROOT Pass Memorization (RPM). Example of Search Offset

Stickout Metal Groove Resistance

Motion Options
TorchMate II builds on the highly dependable TorchMate option by reducing the cycle time and increasing the accuracy of each adjustment cycle. TorchMate II automatically adjusts for changes in the tool center point, improving system uptime. Works with all major brands of torches to compensate for bent torch barrels and worn contact tips. It also reduces weld repair requirements.

Arc

Weave

TAST Function Touch Sensing quickly locates each part (up to 75 mm/sec search speed), stores position information and offsets the robot path. The ability to search for part movement in 1, 2, or 3 dimensions allows compensation for part variation and reduces the need for trimmed parts or expensive fixtures. Easy to use search patterns find parts shifting with parallel and rotational motion. Touch Sensing is highly accurate by quickly stopping the robot motion upon completion of a search and therefore reduces wire bend.

Coordinated Motion simplifies setup and reduces expense when applying auxiliary axis positioners. The Coordinated Jogging feature allows quick program creation by enabling the programmer to jog the robot and positioner simultaneously, maintaining relative gun angles and stand-off distances.Weld travel speed remains con-stant while the robot moves in conjunction with the auxiliary axis. Coordinated Motion works with most multi-axis positioner configurations, eliminating the need for specialized or standardized mechanisms. With this option, users can achieve high quality welds with minimal taught points.

Automatic Voltage Control (AVC) tracks voltage during welding and adjusts the robot path to compensate for part distortion or irregularity. Designed for GTAW or PAW welding. The AVC option can be used with constant or pulsed current welding.

Collision Guard protects not only end-of-arm-tooling, but also protects part tooling and the entire robot arm. It does this by instantly stopping robot motion when a collision is detected, reducing downtime associated with collisions. Collision Guard also minimizes the costs associated with tool, part and torch replacement.

Additional process welding I/O integrates multi-channel welding equipment such as 4 channel TIG and 3 channel MIG.

System Options
Error recovery offers the user several options for arc fault recovery. User-defined programs enable the robot to move to a repair position then return and resume welding after repairs have been made, reducing system downtime and scrap. The operator does not have to jog the robot to recover. Password protection restricts user access beyond designated areas, preventing unauthorized users from modifying critical control data. Password protection offers four levels of protection and can accommodate up to 100 users with text strings for each user name. Remote access is also available through an Ethernet connection. ArcTool event logging records operational changes made to the teach pendant programs and system data structure. User login/ logout time is recorded along with any changes each user has made to the system. This information allows system managers to track changes that affect production quality. Programmable Machine Controller (PMC) provides capability to execute Ladder Logic on the robot controller, eliminating the need for some external PLCs. PMC logic executes on the robot processor without any additional boards or hardware and interacts with all robot I/O and programs. Reduced system cost and complexity can be achieved by eliminating extra enclosures, wiring, and PLC components.

Process tracking adds two new variable structures that capture information about arc starts, arc ends, failed starts, scratch starts, aborted welds, burn back events and other pertinent welding information. These statistics can then be displayed on the teach pendant or pulled offline to a PC to give a simplified production status report.

Process Options
Bumpbox provides operators an easy way to adjust weld placement to match minor intermittent changes in joint position. Each adjustment can be maintained for a batch of parts. The operator can shift specified welds within predetermined limits, during production on the robot teach pendant or a separate interface box. Multi-equipment option provides system flexibility by allowing one robot to work with two welding processes, such as Tandem MIG or switching between two different welding processes such as MIG and TIG. Using this option for a Tandem MIG application has shown higher deposition rates, allowing a cycle time reduction of up to 50%. By allowing two complete welding systems to be setup, the operator can easily switch between the two processes, reducing down time between applications. Lincoln Electric PowerWave 455/R welding power source is supported through a DeviceNet Communications Interface. Reduced integration time is achieved from the DeviceNet interface, which performs all setup, scaling and initialization. All weld procedure setup is removed from the power supplys front panel and moved to the robot teach pendant. A weld procedure database on the PW455/R can be queried from the robot teach pendant to select the correct waveform.

Easy-to-use TorchMate II software allows users to redefine the tool center point (TCP) of a welding torch that has become damaged or worn.

Available in both standard and long-arm versions, FANUC Robotics ARC Mate 120i robot sets the standard in robotic arc welding.

ArcTool Specifications
Standard Features
Monitoring functions Welding restart Scratch start On-the-fly weld adjustment Weld from teach pendant Runin Burnback 32 weld schedules Weave instructions 10 weave schedules Program shift utility Reference position utility Multi-tasking utility Mirror image utility Registers Position registers MACRO functions Test cycle functions Plug and play capability Original path resume Dry run mode Jog speed control Path jogging Override select Power fail recovery User frame Tool offset I/O interconnect menus UNDO Controller Backup/Resore Process tracking

Optional Features
TAST Super TAST AVC Touch sensing MIG EYE TorchMate II Coordinated motion Error code output Extended axes Multi-group motion Detached jogging of auxiliary axes PLC I/O KAREL Command Language (KCL) GE Fanuc Genius I/O interface Allen Bradley I/O interface Root pass memorization Multipass welding Analog ramping Password protection FTP TPP condition monitor Collision Guard Event logging Error recovery Wrist axis weave Small circle Data monitor Programmable Machine Controller (PMC) Domain Name Service (DNS) Web server Servo index Menu utilities Servo robot interface Bump box Multi-equipment Accupath DeviceNet Ethernet ControlNet Multi-robot

FANUC Robotics arc welding teach pendant, which features application-specific hard keys, simplifies program-ming and operation.

R-J3 Controller and Teach Pendant Specifications

Items
Standard Integrated and Optional Remote Controller
Process I/O EA Board Input power source Weight Installation environment DI/DO: 40 points and analog in/output (welding interface). Board is mounted in the operation box. 7.5KVA: 440, 460, 480, 500, 550, 575VAC input Approx 100kg (220 lbs) Ambient temperature: 0-45C Ambient humidity Normal 75% RH or less Short term Max 95% RH Vibration 0.5G or less No corrosive gas allowed (No dew or frost allowed) (within one month)

The SYSTEM R-J3 Controller is completely integrated with the ARC Mate i Series robots for flexible work cell layout and easy installation. With no exposed robot connection cables between the mechanical unit and controller, the R-J3 Controller provides an intelligent, compact and reliable design.

FANUC Robotics North America 3900 W. Hamlin Road Rochester Hills, MI 48309-3253 Phone (248) 377-7000 Fax (248) 276-4133 1-800-47-ROBOT

Charlotte, NC Phone (704) 596-5121 Chicago, IL Phone (847) 898-6000 Cincinnati, OH Phone (513) 754-2400 Los Angeles, CA Phone (949) 595-2700 Toledo, OH Phone (419) 866-0788

Toronto, Canada Phone (905) 812-2300 Montral, Qubec Phone (450) 492-9001 Mexico City, Mexico Phone 52 (5) 611-5998 Aguascalientes, Mexico Phone 52 (49) 10-8000 Sao Paulo, Brazil Phone (55)(11) 3955-0599
LITHO IN U.S.A.

www.fanucrobotics.com
2001 FANUC Robotics North America, Inc. All rights reserved. FRNA-5/01 FANUC ROBOTICS