RobotStudio™ 6.

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Signal Analyzer
 The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a
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Except as may be expressly stated anywhere in this manual, nothing herein shall be construed as any
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contents thereof must not be imparted to a third party nor be used for any unauthorized purpose.
Contravention will be prosecuted.
Additional copies of this manual may be obtained from ABB at its
then current charge.

© Copyright 2016 ABB All right reserved.

ABB AB
Robotics Products
SE-721 68
Västerås Sweden

20165-06-09 ABB
 Table of Contents

1. Signal Analyzer............................................................................................ 4
1.1. Signal Setup ....................................................................................................... 5
1.2. Signal Analyze ................................................................................................... 6
1.3. Data Export ...................................................................................................... 14

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Signal Analyzer

1. Signal Analyzer
Overview
In this module we will go through how to use the Signal Analyzer tool. The tool allows robot
performance tuning and signal debugging.

Unpack
1. Use Unpack&Work to open the Pack&Go file GlueStation_Analyze.rspag
from the Courseware > Stations folder. Unpack it to a new folder in
\Courseware\Solutions\Module_3\myGlueAnalyze_Solution

2. When the station starts up two Verify Smart Component windows may pop up. Check
Always trust this component and click YES if they do.

These message boxes appear because the station contains Smart Components made with
Code Behind.

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1.1. Signal Setup

Overview
When working with the Signal Analyzer the first step is to define what signals we would like
to analyze. The signals we select will be recorded during the simulation so we can analyze
them afterwards. The signals can belong to a Virtual Controller, the station (Station Signals)
or a Smart Component.

Configuring signals
1. On the Simulation tab check Enabled and click on Signal Setup.

2. In the Sources browser open up the IRB4600_GlueAnalyze_system node, then

Mechanical Units, and then the TCP and Target nodes.

3. Check the signals Speed In Current Wobj, Target Changed and Fine Point. Close the
signal setup tab.
4. On the Simulation tab click Play to run the simulation and record the selected signals
(Note that the robot will stand still at the docking station until the doser is filled with
material.)

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1.2. Signal Analyze

Overview
In this section we will analyze the selected signals.

1. On the Simulation tab click Signal Analyzer.

2. In the Signal Analyzer window drag the Time slide bar along the timeline to review the
entire simulation.

3. Below the Time slide bar, digital signals will be displayed (such as the Fine Point).
Place the mouse on the first Fine Point event. The time when the signal (to fill the doser)
went high and then low will be displayed.

4. To zoom in and out along the Timeline click on the plus and minus icon in the toolbar.

If you have a mouse with a wheel, you can place the mouse in the Analog Signals View
and roll the wheel to zoom in and out.
5. Click on Auto-scale in the toolbar to turn off the auto scaling of the vertical axis.

Drag the Time slide bar to verify that the auto scale is turned off.

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6. Left click and drag on top of the Left Axis to move the Analog Signal View along that
axis.

7. Turn on Auto-scale again.

8. Click on a Target Changed event below the Analog Signals View.

This will give you information about the event such as time and what instructions are
being called.
9. Click on the Location link for one of the instructions.

This function opens the Rapid tab and places the cursor at the selected instruction.

Using the Signal Analyzer to improve performance

In the next examples we will look at fine tuning some motion, adding some additional signals
to monitor the process and set up a stop watch to look at the cycle time of our program.

1. Check that the Auto-scale vertical axis is set to ON.

2. Move the Time slide bar through the program to the right. As you do so you will notice
the speed drops as the robot moves from point to point. (In particular at the various fine
points and the beginning of each path. What we are looking for is any noticeable speed
drop in the middle of a path.)

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Signal Analyzer

In the example above there is a slight change in the surface of the part right before the corner
that is causing the tool to reorient several times in a short distance. This is correct motion
based upon how the path was generated on the part surface however it creates a noticeable
drop in tcp speed. This is perhaps undesirable motion in this particular application and as we
are dispensing glue a smoother motion would be preferable.

We will use a function called Path Interpolation to correct this motion.

Interpolate the path

1. In the Home tab expand the tree for GluePath3 and right click on the first instruction to
set View tool at Target.

2. Move through the path using the up/down arrows to watch the tool at the various
instructions.
3. In this case you should find that the reorientation is happening between the targets
pGlue180 and pGlue230.
4. Once this has been verified right click on GluePath3 and select Path then Interpolate
Path.

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 Signal Analyzer

Note: Despite the fact that the problem area begins to appear at target 180 the
interpolate function cannot start with a target that is part of a circular move
instruction. For this reason we will select target 170 as the starting position.

5. Make selections as shown in the box below. In this case we select a Start and End target
so as to only affect the targets in the problem area. Also we will leave the Lock Axis
Orientation set to None in order to allow the targets to be free to move in all axes thus
giving us the smoothest motion.

6. Click Apply then Close.

7. Synchronize the corrected* path to the RAPID and play the simulation again. Although
the Signal Analyzer still shows a slowdown (as it is still a corner) the speed is slightly
over 150mm/sec whereas before the change was somewhere near 20mm/sec. Verify this
by switching between the saved recordings and using the Cross-hairs.

*Note: Only synchronize GluePath3. This is due to the fact there is a procedure call
within Main that calls a procedure within a system module not visible in the paths and
targets browser.

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Cross-hairs

Add more signals

1 Select the Signal Setup tab.
2 In the IRB4600_GlueAnalyze_system - I/O System node and check the signal
doEqu1Gun1. In SC_DockingStation > I/O System node, check the signal
aoDoserVolume.

3. Close the Signal Setup window and make sure you are in the Simulation tab.
4. Go back to the Signal Analyzer window and click on Show live data in the toolbar.

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5. Right click on the Signal Analyzer tab and select New Vertical Tab Group.

Now you should see both the Station and the Signal Analyzer window.

6. Run the simulation again to see how the signals are updated during the simulation. The
signal doEqu1Gun1 will open (DispX\On) and close (DispX\Off) the glue flow, which
you can see on the analog signal aoDoserVolume which displays the current amount of
glue in the doser.
7. Close the Signal Analyzer window.
8. On the Simulation tab click on History.

In the Signal History window all saved recordings are displayed. From here you can
analyze, export, delete or rename recordings.
9. Right click on the latest recording and select Analyze.

10. In the Signals table select the signal aoDoserVolume and change Axis to Left. Select the
Speed in Current Wobj and set Axis to Right.

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Now the aoDoserVolume value will be displayed on the left Axis while the Speed in
Current Wobj will be displayed on the right Axis.
11. Save the station as \Courseware\Solutions\Module_3\myGlueAnalyze_Solution\Stations\
myGlueStation_Analyze.

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Using the Stopwatch function

The Stopwatch function can not only be useful in determining an overall process time but
also in helping to analyze individual paths and even segments of a process.
1. Start by clicking on the Stopwatch icon found on the Simulation tab ribbon and then on
Add twice so we have two stopwatches. One will record the entire simulation and the
other will record the time to execute GluePath3 only.

2. On Stopwatch_2 change the Start and End Triggers to target changed. You will also
have to specify the Mechunit as the system that is currently running and then select the
target you want as the triggers.

3. Play the simulation.

Challenge

Try Stopwatch settings for different paths or use I/O for the start and end triggers.

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1.3. Data Export

Overview
The recorded data can be saved as an Excel file for use outside RobotStudio.

1. Click on Save data to file in the Signal Analyzer toolbar and save the file SignalData.xlsx to the
folder \Courseware\Solutions\Module_3\myGlueAnalyze_Solution\Analyze Data.

2. Now Excel will be opened (if it’s installed on your computer) and the data from the last simulation
will be displayed.

Challenge
Try to get a more even TCP speed by modifying speed data, zone data and reorientations etc.
in the glue paths. Also change the bead data to see how that influences the glue flow (the glue
flow is dependent on bead data and TCP speed).

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 Signal Analyzer

© Copyright 2016 ABB All right reserved.

ABB AB
Robotics Products
SE-721 68 Västerås
Sweden

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