Running your Program Files on the Kuka Robot

Digital Media Tutorial

Written by Eric Kurzenberger

Now that you’ve creating your milling toolpath in Powermill and created the program files in
Codebreaker using the previous Milling with Powermill on the Kuka Robot tutorial, you’re
ready to copy those .src program files to the robot and run them.

I. Turning on the Robot

If it’s not already on, turn on the Kuka robot using the two large switches on the wall to
the left of the robot computer, turning on the far left switch first. Make sure the robot
is on before logging in to the robot workstation.

Once the robot has powered on, you’ll see the Navigator screen on the robot
controller (also known as the pendant), along with a message in the bottom pane of the
Navigator screen saying “PowerOn finished.”

The Navigator Screen

II. Copying your Program Files to the Robot
Log in to robot workstation with your net ID and password. If the robot is on, you’ll see
the Kuka Drop folder mapped to the K drive. This is the shared drive that is used to
pass files to the robot.

Navigate to the the “Kuka Drop” folder on the K drive and delete any files currently in
the folder, then copy your .src files outputted from Codebreaker into the folder.

Your program files are now on the shared drive of the Kuka’s embedded computer, but
you’ll need to copy them to the Kuka’s NC Programs folder to run them.
Using the Pendant

On the Kuka pendant, the

controller buttons around the
screen correspond to the
menus and buttons displayed
directly next to them on the
screen. For example, to select
the File menu, which is at the
top left of the screen, you
would press the leftmost
button in the row of control
buttons that runs along the
top of the pendant face.

The arrow buttons at the

bottom right of the pendant
face are used to navigate
through menus, and the yellow Enter button next to
the arrows is used to select. In the menus in the
Kuka interface, if a number is displayed next to a
menu item, you can use that number in the keypad to
select that item as well.

The blue Tab button is used to cycle through the

three panes of the Navigator window.

Setting the User Mode

To see the mapped Kuka Drop folder in the Kuka interface, you need to make sure
you’re in Expert user mode. To put the Kuka in expert mode, select Configure from
the top menu using the corresponding top control button, then use the arrows to select
Configure > User Group to open the User Group window.

In the User Group window, select the bottom control button that corresponds to
Expert and enter the password “kuka” when prompted.

Copying files to NC Programs

In the top left pane of the Navigator screen, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Kuka
Drop folder in the KUKA_DATA (D:\) drive. Using the Shift key, highlight all of your files
and select Edit > Cut to move them from this folder.

Navigate to the Programs folder in the R1 directory. Select the files currently in the
Programs folder and delete them using Edit > Delete, then copy your files into the
folder using Edit > Paste.
III. Homing the Kuka and Changing the Tool

Homing the Kuka

Before running any programs on the Kuka robot, you should
always send it to its home position to avoid problems or
collisions.
Navigate to the NC Utilities folder, highlight the gohome
program, and press the yellow enter button to open it. Once
the program opens, squeeze the grey deadman switch until
it’s partially (but not completely) depressed. You’ll know the
deadman is active when the red letter I at the bottom left of
the screen becomes green.
Press the uppermost green button on the left
side of the pendant to run the program (the
letter R will also turn green, showing the
program is running).
The robot should now move to its initial home position. You
can change the speed settings on the right side of the
pendant screen by toggling the corresponding button. The robot in home position

Once the Robot is at the home position, select Program >

Cancel Program to cancel out of the program and close that program window.

Changing the Tool

In the NC Utilities folder, open the changetool program. In the program, use the
arrows keys to move the cursor to the line in the program which precedes the line for
your tool change and press Line Select. (For example, if you’re using tool #5, scroll
down to the line above the line for tool 5,1).
With the proper line is selected, hold down one of the deadman buttons on the
underside of the pendant and press the uppermost green Start button to start the tool
change. Note, the deadman needs to be continually held down when running any
program, including tool changes, unless you’re in auto mode. Releasing the deadman
will immediately cause the robot to stop.
Once the robot moves to the toolbox and the toolbox opens, press the Start button
again, all the while holding down the deadman. The robot will exchange the tool it’s
currently holding with your desired tool, then measure the tooltip using the laser. This
will take anywhere between 30 and 60 seconds and require the tool to move up and
down in the laser bracket several times. It is important to make sure you do not let go
of the deadman or the go button during this time.
Once the tool is measured, cancel the changetool program to close it.
IV. Setting Your Base
Next, you need to tell the Kuka where your base point is located. Remember, your
base is the fixed point where all movements in your toolpath are measured from, so it’s
crucial that this is set correctly.

To set your base, you’ll need to manually move the robot using the control buttons.

Moving the Robot Manually

Change to manual control mode by toggling the control button in the upper
left corner until the robot icon looks like the picture to the right (by default,
manual control of the robot is turned off, and this icon will have a red X
through it).

Toggle the control button corresponding to the running man icon until the
running man is red (if he’s not already). This isn’t necessary for manually
controlling the robot, but is necessary for running your programs later.

When in manual mode, the icons on the right of the Navigator screen will
change. These icons represent the speed and manner in which the robot will
move. For setting your base, you want to set the robot to world mode: toggle
the fourth control button down on the right until you see a globe icon with
arrows on it (as shown in the diagram on the right).

Since this is your first time running the robot, you’ll want to run it at half-speed
or slower. Adjust the manual speed control button (the bottom icon in the
diagram on the right) until the icon reads 50%.

Activate the deadman. When the deadman is active, the icons on the right
will change again to read X, Y, Z and A, B, C with +/- signs (if they say
something like A1, A2, etc., you’re not in world mode). X, Y, Z correspond to
the axes of the robot (hitting +X will move the robot in the positive X axis) and
A, B, C correspond to the drill head.

Experiment with moving the robot manually by holding down the deadman
and toggling these buttons. Make sure you’re running at half-speed or slower,
and take extreme care not to hit anything.

Now that you’re comfortable with moving the robot, you can measure your
base.
Measuring your Base
Select Setup > Measure > Base > 3 Point

You will be asked to choose a base number and

name. Set the base number to the same base
number you set previously in Codebreaker. If you’ll
be using this base again later, you can give it a name
for identifying purposes, then select OK.

Next, you’ll be asked to enter your Measurement

tool number, which is the number of the tool you’ve
changed to and will be using in your milling job.
Enter the number, then select OK.

Next, you’ll be asked for your origin. Using the

manual controls, jog the robot to where the origin of
your block would be. If you’ve set the base to a top
corner of your block, this will just be an
approximation to verify your toolpath, so the
placement doesn’t need to be exact. If you’ve set the base to a bottom corner of your
block, you should mark this point on the floor or workbench so that you can align your
block exactly to this point when you set up your block.

Select OK once you’ve moved the tool to the right location.

NOTE: it’s crucial that your base point is set to this same point on your block in Powermill. If your
base point is set to a bottom corner of your block in Powermill, you should move the tool to where the bot-
tom corner of your block will be placed; if you used a top corner, you should move the tool to the point in
space where the top corner of your block will be. If your base in Powermill is set incorrectly, the robot will
begin milling in the wrong location.

Next, you’ll be asked for a positive X sampling. Jog the robot a few inches in the
positive x direction and select OK.

Next, do the same for positive Y and select OK.

Once you have input this information, select Save. Then send the robot home using
the gohome program as described previously.
V. Testing and Running Your Job

The next step will be to run a test of your job without using any material, to verify that
your toolpath starts correctly without running the risk of damaging your block.

Because this is a test, set the program speed to 30% or lower. If there’s an issue with
the base point or model orientation in your program, the robot could attempt to go
somewhere unexpected and cause damage, so you want to run the program at a slow
speed when starting so that you can stop it if necessary (the robot moves faster than
you might expect).

Navigate to your job in the R1 > Programs folder and find the .src file that is labeled
Main. This is the main “control” program which calls the other sub-programs as
needed. Highlight the Main program and open it using the yellow enter button.

Hold down the deadman, then hold down the green Start button to start running your
program. While holding the deadman you may have to press the Start button a couple
of times after the robot’s initial plunge move.

Continue to hold the Start button and the deadman as your program runs and verify
that the robot is running your toolpath properly.

Load your block and begin cutting

Now it’s time to begin cutting your model. Load
your block, making sure to clamp it down securely
on all four sides. Also make sure that your clamps
are not in the cutting path of your model. If you
set your base to a bottom corner of your block,
make sure to align your block to the base your
marked previously. If not, set the base point again
following the instructions outlined above, making
sure to bring the tool tip right to the surface of your
piece so it’s touching.

Again, make sure this corresponds to your

model’s base point in Powermill.

Launch your program as described above and run

it again. The robot will begin cutting your block.

Once you’re sure the cut is going properly and

your feeds and speeds are correct, you can
increase the speed to 100% and put the robot in
Auto mode so that you don’t need to keep holding the deadman.
Switch to Auto mode
Let go of the deadman: the job will stop and so
will the spindle.

On the lower left side of the robot cabinet, there

is a key which is in T2 mode. Turn it one notch
to the right to AUTO.

Next, reset the invisible fence by pressing the

blue Reset button on the robot cabinet. When
pushed, the button will light up blue. If the
fence becomes tripped again by someone
moving through it, the blue light will turn off and need to
be pressed again.

On the pendant, tab down to the bottom

window and press Acknowledge All” to
acknowledge operator safety, then press
the Auto-mode Acknowledge button with
the vertical line at the top right corner of
the pendant.

A red message will pop up asking if you would like to

restart the spindle: click YES.

Once the spindle has started, press the green Go button

on the pendant once to start milling again.