Robotic tool-path generation for complex and overhang-angled parts through offline programming

Abstract

This study presents the applicability of the offline programming a professional robotic arm to generate the nozzle path for complex and small overhang angled (OA) geometry parts. The software environment considers the wire-feed robotic laser additive manufacturing (WRLAM) experimental setup to introduce offline programming for complex shapes parts and parts with smaller overhang angles. The experimental setup consists of a KUKA KR6, 6-DOF robotic manipulator with a laser head attached to the end-effector of robotic arm. This setup has a customized wire feeder to incorporate wires with different sizes. The wire is fed to the nozzle of the laser head using a hose pipe for laser-wire interaction. This study includes the simulation of the robot travel path using path command and python script approach to generate program files for the process. The proposed approach will help to study the better performance of AM and welding processes in a lab environment and overcome challenges while performing experiments.