<title>Offline programming of 3D laser systems</title>

Abstract

Because of its process quality and high flexibility, the high power laser has become established in many different fields of material processing. In order to reduce the time required for the programming of 3D laser systems computer based offline-programming systems are necessary. An offline- programming module is being developed to enable a swift generation of high processing quality programs for 3D-laser systems. Offline-programming is possible for gantry systems and industrial robots, with robots being more and more important for 3D laser processing, because of their lower investment cost. In order to achieve a high process quality, the aim is to generate technologically adapted NC/RC- programs. With offline-programming for robots, it is significant to consider the robots cinematic properties already in the process of program generation. As the motion behavior and the accessibility significantly depend on the position of the workpiece, it is an important task to place the workpiece appropriate. For that purpose a layout optimization module takes into account the properties of the machine and the influence of the process itself. The offline-programming module is based on a 3D-graphical simulation system, so that by means of realistic simulation, the real production situation can be considered.