Robotic Trajectory Autogeneration in Thermal Spraying

Abstract

Abstract The quality of thermal spray coatings depends not only on the spray parameters but also on the gun trajectory. When using a robot, trajectory generation represents an important part of the work. Different workpieces require different spraying trajectories and even a same workpiece will require different spraying trajectories versus different spraying techniques. The purpose of this study was to develop a software toolkit to auto generate the spraying trajectory. Thermal Spray Toolkit is an add-in software of Robot Studio® which is a simulation and off-line programming software of ABB Company. This toolkit provides several projects of trajectory generation: spraying on a quadrilateral piece; spraying on a circular piece; spraying on a curved surface; etc. Furthermore, all the parameters of the trajectory are adjustable, such as traverse step; distance of overstep; etc. The results show that this development is reliable and applicable.