Simulating of Meca500 without coding
As technology has become more and more advanced, mastering a programming language to program the robot is unavoidable.
Author: Ho Xiu Ting 
Date: 8th March 2021
Speaking of programming, how many people can confidently write a program without any error and succeed on the first try? The answer is no one. Even if they have mastered any programming language like C++, Java, ROS, or Python, they can still make mistakes like syntax error or the misuse of the robot language. Hence, it is not easy to pick up these skills in a short period of time.
Subsequently, the engineers will have to go through training by the robot manufacturers and do some practices before putting it in the chain of process. By the time the engineers get the hang of using the robot, it will be a few months later, which will affect the Return of Investment (ROI) value.
With Artiminds Robot Programming Software, simulation can be done offline to examine if the program is replicated to real-world scenarios. In this post, I will mention how to save both time and money by using Artiminds with Meca500.
Fast Integration
Artiminds is hardware-independent programming and it has fast integration of grippers, cameras, and sensors. Keep in mind that Artiminds only support gripper for Meca500 for at the time of writing. Functions that required vision and force-torque sensor will not be given.
Robot - Not only it can simulate Meca500, but Artiminds can also simulate other robots like ABB, Denso, Fanuc, KUKA, and UR.
End effector - Custom-made fingers can be imported and attached to the Artiminds-provided gripper.
Vision - Either stationary or mounted on the robot to localize the workpiece.
Force Torque Sensor - Allowing force sensing to do a specific task like inserting a block inside a hole.
Function Blocks
Artiminds software has the interchangeability of robot programs between different systems. With this software, users can simulate their program by dragging a block of function in the Program Editor.
Using function blocks can be deemed as visual programming which helps to simplify configurations and parameter settings. If Artiminds spots any issue when debugging, most likely the parameters set in the block had exceeded the joint limit.
Once you are satisfied with your programming, the script can be downloaded in your C drive. This is a common way engineers reduce their programming time with the Meca500. If they want to run it outside of Artiminds, they will have to translate from robot to the programming language of their choice.
Importing CAD files
As mention previously, the end effector can be customized (ee_link) if the default gripper is not what you want.
Furthermore, you can import more CAD files to imitate the environment and the workspace for any further experiment on the position of each object. Although Meca500 does not support any vision system in this software, Artiminds can still simulate the path taken.
Simulation
Reality
Plotting the coordinates
Can you imagine plotting a series of points to simulate a complex path? The points must be set in a correct spot to allow the robot to move smoothly without any disturbance. Artiminds have a setting that enables the users to extract any edges in the CAD file with different orientations to choose from. Subsequently, the path will be jogged down automatically to the system and create a path in the simulation. Know that while the 3D model might not be at the right spot, the coordinates of the path will follow as the model moves.
Parameters can be predefined either by editing the values in the configuration or by dragging the reference point at TCP.
Please contact us if you are interested to see demo of Artiminds or Meca500.