Robot_user_interface_on_Okuma-control.pdf - OKUMA - #1

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Fachartikel / Professional article - 1 - Robot operation easier than ever before In cooperation with PNEUMOTEC, the user interface of a KUKA robot is displayed directly on the controller of an OKUMA machine tool. Machine tools work with CNC controllers, while industrial robots work with robot controllers. This is necessary, as these devices place completely different demands on the control algorithms and functions. Until now, in order to control robot-automated machine tools, the operator had to carry out entries on two separate operator control panels. The main entries for operation of an automated system are made on the machine tool controller. It thus makes sense to integrate operator control of the robot into the user interface of the machine tool. PNEUMOTEC, in Issum, received an order from the European headquarters of machine tool manufacturer Okuma to equip an LB3000 EX lathe with a KUKA robot. An obvious approach was to exploit the fact that the user interfaces of both the Okuma machine tool and the KUKA robot are based on Windows XP. This enabled simplification of work for the operator and implementation of operator control of the robot from the control panel of the machine tool. Direct display of the graphical user interface on the control panel of the machine tool The interface was implemented using the HMI (Human Machine Interface) option package from KUKA. This software makes it possible to create a user interface from existing modules and to link them to functions of the robot controller. This HMI option package has already been used for many years by KUKA customers to provide a graphical representation of input masks and operator control elements for KUKA robots. These graphical user interfaces are normally