Basic Guide

https://robodk.com/doc/en/Basic-Guide.html#Start

RoboDK is software for Simulation andOffline Programming. Offline Programming means that robot programs can becreated, simulated and generated offline for a specific robot arm and robotcontroller.

Tip: When you press F1 from RoboDK, the Help topicrelated to the item currently selected or active is displayed.

This document is a basic guide to theRoboDK documentation. The RoboDK documentation is based on the Windows versionof RoboDK. Mac, Linux and Android versions are also available.

A shortcut is created on your desktop when RoboDKis installed from thewebsite. Doubleclick the shortcut to start RoboDK.

The RoboDK window contains a Main Menu, aToolbar, a Status Bar and the Main Screen. The Station Tree in the Main Screencontains all the items available in the station, such as robots, referenceframes, tools, programs, etc. More information available in theInterface Section.

Select File➔

Open to load one of the RoboDK station examples provided by default(RDK files). Alternatively, drag & drop a file to the RoboDK main screen toload it.

Alibraryof industrial robots is available online or directly from the RoboDKapplication.

Throughout all RoboDK documentation, clickson the screen are represented by the following icons:

Left click

Right click

Double click

3D Navigation

It is recommended to use a 3-button mouseto navigate in 3D. Alternatively, it is possible to use a combination of Ctrl,Alt and Shift keys with a simple mouse left click perform Pan, Rotate or Zoommotions:

Select

Pan

Rotate

Zoom

Left click

Hold mid button

Hold right click

Move mouse wheel

Hold Ctrl to select more than

one object

Hold Ctrl + Alt

and

select

Hold Ctrl + Shift

and

select

Hold Shift

and

select

Tip: Thedefault behavior for 3D mouse navigation can be changed in Tools➔Options➔General tab➔Mouse 3Dnavigation.

Right click on the main screen to see thesame 3D navigation commands.

Tip: Rightclick on the toolbar area and check View and Selection toolbar todisplay these commands in the toolbar:

Getting Started

TheGettingStarted section shows how to build a simple project offline for a robot paintingapplication in RoboDK using a UR10 robot. The example provides a generaloverview of some of the key features of RoboDK for Simulation and OfflineProgramming, including:

o  How to Load a Robot from the

 Online Library

o  How to

 Add Reference Frames

o  How to

 Load Objects

o  How to

 Add Tools

o  How to

 Add Targets

o  How to

 Create Programs offline andsimulate them

o  How to

 Generate a program for the robotcontroller and select a post processor

o  How to

 Export a simulation to share themas in3D HTML or 3D PDF

This example is available in the RoboDKlibrary by default as Tutorial-UR-Painting.rdk (located by default inC:/RoboDK/Library/).

Toolbar Menu

The Toolbar contains graphical icons thatallow quick access to frequently used actions in the menu.

Tip: Select Tools➔ToolbarLayout➔Set Default Toolbar to set up thedefault toolbar.

The following commands are available in thetoolbar by default.

Open

Load a new file (RoboDK RDK Station) or a supported file type (robot, tool, STEP, IGES, STL, …)

Open online library

Show the online library (robots, tools and sample objects)

Save Station

Save the RoboDK station (RDK file)

Undo

Undo the last command (Ctrl+Z)

Redo

Redo the last command (Ctrl+Y)

Add a reference frame

Reference frames allow placing objects with respect to each other

Add a new target

Robot targets record robot positions with respect to a reference frame or in joint coordinates

Fit All

Update the 3D view to display all items

Isometric View

Display the default 3D isometric view

Move reference Frames

Move a reference frame by dragging it on the screen (hold Alt)

Move TCP (robot tool)

Move a robot TCP by dragging it on the screen (hold Alt+Shift)

Check collisions

Activate or deactivate collision checking. More information available regarding collision checking in theCollisions section

Fast simulation

Accelerate thesimulation speed (hold the space bar)

Pause simulation

The simulation can be resumed by pressing the space bar

Add Program

Add a new robot program for simulation and program generation

Add Python Program

Add a new Python macro

Move Joint Instruction

Add a new joint movement instruction

Move Linear Instruction

Add a new linear movement instruction

Export Simulation

Export a program or simulation as a 3D PDF or 3D HTML file.Example.

Note: Moreinformation about other commands in theInterfacesection.

Shortcuts

The following list provides usefulshortcuts and their equivalent buttons in the toolbar:

Alt

Move a reference frame

Alt+Shift

Move a TCP (tool)

F1

Show this help guide

F2

Rename item

F6

Generate selected program(s)

F7

Show/hide selected item(s)

Alt+0

Fit to selected item(s)

Ctrl+1

Load last file or RoboDK station

/

Show/hide text on screen

+

Make Reference frames bigger

−

Make Reference frames smaller

*

Show/hide robot workspace

Tip: Pressthe + key or – key multiple times to make the reference frames bigger orsmaller respectively. Setting an appropriate size of the reference frames helpsgrabbing them properly when they are moved using the Alt key.

Reference Frames

A Reference Frame definesthe location of an item with respect to another item with a given position andorientation. An item can be an object, a robot or another reference frame. AllOffline Programming applications require defining a reference frame to locatethe object with respect to a robot to update the simulation accordingly.

Drag & drop any reference frame orobject within the Station Tree to define a specific relationship, such as the nestedreference frame shown in the following image.

It is common to define the location of oneor more reference frames with respect to the robot by touching 3 points. Thisallows placing objects in the virtual space. The procedure can be accomplishedusing the robot teach pendant or RoboDK (more information available in theCalibrate Reference Frame section).

Tip: Holdthe Alt key to move reference frames with respect to each other.Alternatively, select the corresponding button in the toolbar:

.

With RoboDK it is possible to manuallyenter the translation and rotation values, including different rotation ordersof the Euler angles.

Note: Therelationship of one reference frame with respect to another reference frame isalso known as pose (position and orientation). A pose can berepresented by the XYZ position and Euler angles for the orientation, by theXYZ position and Quaternion values or by a 4x4 matrix.

By default, RoboDK displays therelationship as the XYZ position and the Euler angles in the X➔Y➔Z format.This means the rotation is made in the following order:

1.    First: a rotation is made around the X axis (light blue case)

2.    Second: a rotation is made around the static Y axis (pink case)

3.    Third: a rotation is made around the static Z axis (yellow case).

Fanuc and Motoman controllers use the previouslydescribed format, however, other robot manufacturers handle the rotation orderin a different way.

Note: RoboDKautomatically selects the right format for each robot.

It is possible to select among differentorientation formats from the dropdown list of the reference frame detailswindow (double click a reference frame).

Tip: When aprogram is generated, RoboDK will automatically generate the correctorientation values required by your robot controller (using apost processor).

For example, Staubli robots use the X➔Y’➔Z’’ order, orKUKA and Nachi robots use Z➔Y’➔X’’. On the other hand, ABB controllers use Quaternion values, whichrequire 4 values to define the rotation:

It is also possible to manually enter acustomized format. For example, the following command is displayed when theCustom option is selected:

Tip: Selectthe buttons on the right to copy/paste the values from/to an array of values oras a 4x4 pose. It is also possible to invert a transformation (pose inverse) orreset it (set the identity).

Note: Selectthe default Euler orientation in theOptionsmenu: Select Tools-Options-General tab-Default Euler Angles mode.

Set Default Settings

Select Tools➔Options and select Set Default Settings to set the default settings.More information available in theOptionsMenu Section.

Select Tools➔Language and select English to change the language to English.

Select Tools➔ToolbarLayout➔Set Default Toolbar to set up thedefault toolbar.

Select Tools➔Options➔Other➔Set defaultPython Settings to set up the default Pythonsettings and copy the robolink and robodk modules in the Python path. Moreinformation in theRoboDK API section.

Important:RoboDK requires updated graphic card drivers with support for OpenGL v3.2 orlater.

Having trouble starting RoboDK?

RoboDK might not start when using a RemoteDesktop connection or if you are running RoboDK on a virtual PC. To solve thisproblem, start RoboDK by double clicking the following file:

C:/RoboDK/RoboDK-Safe-Start.bat

Starting RoboDK with this command does notrequire a graphic card as it uses a software emulated OpenGL. This solves anyproblems when running RoboDK using a Remote Desktop connection or a Virtualconnection.