Caterpillar Decatur goes faster on robot cell simulation
Caterpillar’s Decatur, Illinois plant reckons it got up and running faster, with its recent upgrade of robotic paint production lines, as a result of using Dassault Systèmes’ Delmia Igrip robotic solution with its UltraPaint add-on for programming the new robots.
Igrip is a robotic simulation system for graphical modelling and off-line programming (OLP) of complex, multi-device robotic work cells for applications such as painting, welding, dispensing, material removal and machine tending.
The OLP capability allows users to accurately program robotic systems without tying up physical resources on the factory floor, hence reducing man-hours and process engineering lead-time.
At Decatur, each existing part paint program was simulated in the cell, taking into the consideration the new robots to check for reach ability and clearances.
With the simulation capability, existing programs could be optimised to gain efficiencies. For example, any unnecessary helicopter moves – where the wrist wraps around in a 360° move and is typically a waste of motion and time – were quickly identified and eliminated.
