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Robot libraries

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visose edited this page Oct 28, 2022 · 43 revisions

Install an online library

  1. Place a Load robot system component in the Grasshopper canvas.
  2. Click on the Libraries button.
  3. On the opening window select a library from the list.
  4. Click the Install button.

    The cached copy of an installed library is not placed in the same location as local libraries.

If the library shows as Local override, it means that a library with the same name exists in your local documents folder, and will ignore the online version. To use the online version, delete the XML and 3DM files from the local library path (see below for the location).

Install a local library

  1. Download at least one pair of XML and 3DM files from the libraries branch.

    You can install multiple libraries.

  2. Place them inside a folder named Robots under the OS's Documents folder.

    In Windows the path will look like C:\Users\userName\Documents\Robots\RobotLibrary.xml.
    In Mac the path will look like HD/Users/userName/Robots/RobotLibrary.xml.

  3. The robots from the library should appear in a value list when you place a Load Robot System component.

Here is a list of robot cell libraries with the configuration parameters of the workshop they belong to. If your workshop is not listed below, you can download any of these and modify them to create your own, or you post a message in the discussion section for help.

Editing an online library

  1. Follow the instructions above to install the online library as a local library.

    The installed version will be ignored if there is a local library with the same name.

  2. Make the changes necessary on the XML using a text editor or the 3DM using Rhino.

Publishing an online library

  1. Create or update a library locally as mentioned above.
  2. Clone the libraries branch of the Robots repo.
  3. Copy the library XML and 3DM files from the Documents\Robots folder to your repo folder.
  4. Commit and create a pull request targeting the libraries branch with the new files or changes.

Add a tool

You can add a tool to the XML file using the following format

<Tool name="ToolName" useController="true" number="1">
    <Tcp x="0" y="0" z="0" q1="1" q2="0" q3="0" q4="0" />
    <Mass weight="20" x="5" y="-100" z="100"/>
</Tool>
  • useControler
    • Is optional, defaults to false when omitted.
    • Currently does not work with UR.
    • When set to true, it will only use values set in the Tcp element for the simulation, but the robot program will use an existing variable from the controller with the same name as the tool. The robot program will error if this variable does not exist in the controller.
  • number
    • Is optional, useController not needed if this is set.
    • Currently only works with KUKA.
    • As above, but rather than a variable, it will read from the TOOL_DATA array.
  • The x, y, z attributes in mass are optional.

Add the tool geometry in the 3DM file by placing one or more meshes in a layer called Tool.ToolName

Add a frame

<Frame name="FrameName" useController="true" number="1">
    <Base x="0" y="0" z="0" q1="1" q2="0" q3="0" q4="0" />
    <Coupling group="0" mechanism="0" />
</Frame>
  • See above for the useController and number elements.
  • The Coupling element is optional and not needed if the frame is static.
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