RoboDK is software for Simulation and Offline Programming. Offline Programming means that robot programs can be created, simulated and generated offline for a specific robot arm and robot controller. RoboDK can help you with manufacturing operations involving industrial robots.

This document is a basic guide to the RoboDK documentation. The RoboDK documentation is based on the Windows version of RoboDK. Mac, Linux and Android versions are also available.

You should see the RoboDK shortcut on your desktop when RoboDK is installed from our website. Double click the shortcut to start RoboDK.

The RoboDK window contains a Main Menu, a Toolbar, a Status Bar and the Main Screen. The Station Tree in the Main Screen contains all the items available in the station, such as robots, reference frames, tools, programs, etc. More information available in the Interface Section.

Select File➔ Open to load one of the RoboDK station examples provided by default (RDK files). Alternatively, drag & drop a file to the RoboDK main screen to load it.

A library of industrial robots is available online or directly from the RoboDK application.

Throughout all RoboDK documentation, clicks on the screen are represented by the following icons:

3D Navigation

It is recommended to use a 3-button mouse to navigate in 3D. Alternatively, you can use a combination of Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys with a simple mouse left click perform Pan, Rotate or Zoom motions.

Right click on the main screen to see the same 3D navigation commands.

Getting Started

The Getting Started section shows how to build a simple project offline for a robot painting application in RoboDK using a UR10 robot. The example provides a general overview of some of the key features of RoboDK for Simulation and Offline Programming.

The getting started section includes:

●   How to Load a Robot from the  Online Library

●   How to  Add Reference Frames

●   How to  Load Objects

●   How to  Add Tools

●   How to  Add Targets

●   How to  Create Programs offline and simulate them

●   How to  Generate a program for the robot controller and select a post processor

●   How to  Export a simulation to share them as in 3D HTML or 3D PDF

This example is available in the RoboDK library by default as Tutorial-UR-Painting.rdk (located by default in C:/RoboDK/Library/).

Toolbar Menu

The RoboDK Toolbar contains graphical icons that allow quick access to frequently used actions in the menu.

The following commands are available in the toolbar by default.

Shortcuts

This section provides useful shortcuts and their equivalent buttons in the toolbar.

Reference Frames

A Reference Frame defines the location of an item with respect to another item with a given position and orientation. An item can be an object, a robot or another reference frame. All Offline Programming applications require defining a reference frame to locate the object with respect to a robot to update the simulation accordingly.

Drag & drop any reference frame or object within the Station Tree to define a specific relationship, such as the nested reference frame shown in the following image.

It is common to define the location of one or more reference frames with respect to the robot by touching 3 points. This allows placing objects in the virtual space. The procedure can be accomplished using the robot teach pendant or RoboDK (more information available in the Calibrate Reference Frame section).

Tip: Hold the Alt key to move reference frames with respect to each other. Alternatively, select the corresponding button in the toolbar: .

With RoboDK it is possible to manually enter the translation and rotation values, including different rotation orders of the Euler angles.

By default, RoboDK displays the relationship as the XYZ position and the Euler angles in the X➔Y➔Z format. This means the rotation is made in the following order:

1.First: a rotation is made around the X axis (light blue case)

2.Second: a rotation is made around the static Y axis (pink case)

3.Third: a rotation is made around the static Z axis (yellow case).

Fanuc and Motoman controllers use the previously described format, however, other robot manufacturers handle the rotation order in a different way.

It is possible to select among different orientation formats from the dropdown list of the reference frame details window (double click a reference frame).

For example, Stäubli robots use the X➔Y’➔Z’’ order, or KUKA and Nachi robots use Z➔Y’➔X’’. On the other hand, ABB controllers use Quaternion values, which require 4 values to define the rotation:

It is also possible to manually enter a customized format. For example, the following command is displayed when the Script (Custom Pose) option is selected:

Set Default Settings

Select Set Default Settings in the Tools-Options menu to set the default RoboDK settings. More information available in the Options Menu Section.

Select Tools➔Language and select English to change the language to English.

Select Tools➔Toolbar Layout➔Set Default Toolbar to set up the default toolbar.

Select Tools➔Options➔Python➔Set default Python Settings to set up the default Python settings. More information in the RoboDK API section.

Troubleshoot Issues

RoboDK may not start when using a Remote Desktop connection or if you are running RoboDK on a Virtual Machine. To solve this problem, you can start RoboDK by double clicking the file RoboDK-Safe-Start.bat located in the C:/RoboDK/ folder.

Starting RoboDK with this command solves any problems when running RoboDK using a Remote Desktop connection or a Virtual Machine.

Visit the robot connection troubleshoot section to fix issues related to the communication between your PC and the robot.