1

MotoSoft
MotoCal 3.0.1
Users Manual
Part Number: 140724-1

Revision: 2
Motoman, Incorporated
805 Liberty Lane
West Carrollton, OH 45449
TEL: (937) 847-6200
FAX: (937) 847-6277
24-Hour Service Hotline: (937) 847-3200
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The information contained within this document is the proprietary property of Motoman, Inc., and may not be
copied, reproduced or transmitted to other parties without the expressed written authorization of Motoman,
Inc.
2007 by MOTOMAN
All Rights Reserved
Because we are constantly improving our products, we reserve the right to change specifications without
notice. MOTOMAN is a registered trademark of YASKAWA Electric Manufacturing.
Contents
Contents
About this Manual............................................................................. 1-1
Overview........................................................................................... 1-1
Getting Started Chapter 1:

Equipment Description .................................................................... 1-2
MotoCal Components ...................................................................... 1-2
Standard items.................................................................................. 1-2
Optional items .................................................................................. 1-3
Care of Components ........................................................................ 1-3
System Requirements ....................................................................... 1-3
Reference to Other Documentation ................................................. 1-3
Customer Service.............................................................................. 1-3
Standard Conventions ...................................................................... 2-1
Safety Chapter 2:
General Safeguarding Tips ............................................................... 2-2
Mechanical Safety Devices ................................................................ 2-2
Installation Safety ............................................................................. 2-2
Programming Safety.......................................................................... 2-3
Operation Safety ............................................................................... 2-3
Maintenance Safety........................................................................... 2-4
Hardware Setup................................................................................ 3-1
Encoder Shipping Protection ........................................................... 3-1
Installation Chapter 3:
Selecting Encoder Location.............................................................. 3-2
Mounting the Encoder ..................................................................... 3-2
Connecting the Cables ..................................................................... 3-3
Connecting to the Robot Controller ................................................ 3-4
Software Installation......................................................................... 3-4
Updating Your .CLB File ................................................................... 3-5
Introduction ..................................................................................... 4-1
Encoder Location and Orientation................................................... 4-1
MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

Contents
Procedures Chapter 4:
Special case: Positioners ...................................................................4-2
Robot and Tool Calibration...............................................................4-3
Using Taught Alignment to Clone Jobs from Real to Real ................4-9
Using Taught Alignment to Clone Jobs from CAD to Real..............4-15
Cloning Jobs from Real to Real using Automatic Alignment ..........4-21
Cloning Jobs from CAD to Real using Automatic Alignment ..........4-28
Cloning (General)...........................................................................4-35
Cloning Between Real Robot/Positioner Cells Using Automatic Align-
ment ................................................................................................4-37
Cloning from CAD to Real Robot/Positioner Cells Using Automatic
Alignment........................................................................................4-45
External TCP Calibration for Real to Real Robot Cloning ..............4-52
External TCP Calibration for CAD to Real Robot Cloning ..............4-59
Six Degrees of Freedom TCP Calibration........................................4-66
Creating a New Project......................................................................5-1
Operation Chapter 5:
Using an Existing Project ..................................................................5-3
Master Robot Project Organization ...................................................5-3
Measuring Calibration Points............................................................5-4
Selecting Calibration Points..............................................................5-5
Attaching the Measurement Adapter.................................................5-6
Measuring Calibration Points with the MotoCal Encoder ................5-6
Measuring calibration points with other measurement systems ......5-8
Calibration ........................................................................................5-9
Robot Calibration............................................................................5-11
End-Effector Calibration .................................................................5-12
Fixture Calibration ..........................................................................5-14
Calibration Results ..........................................................................5-19
Calibration with the Robot..............................................................5-21
Fixture Calibration ..........................................................................5-25
Filters ..............................................................................................5-26
Clone...............................................................................................5-26
Creating Alignment Files.................................................................5-26
Avoid Large Alignment Adjustments ...............................................5-27
Do not clone jobs between Masters................................................5-27
MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

Move ............................................................................................... 5-32
Maintenance ................................................................................... 5-36
CAD................................................................................................. 5-39
Special Functions............................................................................ 5-43
Add Files ......................................................................................... 5-43
Delete files ...................................................................................... 5-43
Save................................................................................................. 5-43
Appendix A: Calibration File (.clb)

Appendix B: Parameter File (.prm)
Retraction of Measurement Cable ....................................................C-1
Appendix C: Cable Replacement

Reattaching the Metal Eyelet ............................................................C-2
Reattachment of Measurement Cable...............................................C-2
Appendix D: Trigger Cable Kit

Appendix E: ASCII Measurement Files
Soft Limit Errors Caused by Finesync.jbi............................................. 3
Display Preferences ............................................................................. 3
Appendix F: Troubleshooting
Glossary
Index

Contents
NOTES

1-1 1
Chapter 1: Getting Started
M otoCal 3.0 is a fully integrated robot

calibration solution, comprised of both
hardware and software components.
Chapter 5: Operation
Provides detailed information about MotoCal and its
components.
MotoCal provides the robot controller with superior
Path Accuracy and Tool Center Point (TCP) control Appendices
and enables effective Off-Line Programming (OLP). The appendices provide additional information
about various MotoCal features.
About this Manual
Please read this manual for safety precautions, Overview
installation instructions, and other important Todays fast-paced manufacturing environment
information before using the MotoCal calibration requires the use of fast and reliable Off-Line
package. Programming (OLP) techniques. These include but
This manual is intended as an introduction and are not limited to:
overview for personnel who have received operator Robot Cloning
training from Motoman, and who are familiar with
the operation of their Motoman robot model. This Cloning between robots when different robots are
manual contains the following chapters: performing the same job.
Chapter 1: Getting Started Maintenance

Provides general information about MotoCal and its Maintenance functions used to adjust robot jobs after
components, a list of reference documents, and motor replacement and/or crashes.
customer service information. OLP (Off-Line Programming)
Chapter 2: Safety Downloading OLP jobs from MotoSim or other
Provides information regarding the safe use and software.
operation of the MotoCal system. Calibration (Mastering)
Chapter 3: Installation Calibration of a robot and its tool.
Provides instructions for set up and installation of the Fixture Alignment
MotoCal system. Automatic Fixture Alignment, External TCP
Chapter 4: Quick Start Calibration and Six Degrees of Freedom TCP
Provides instructions for basic operation of the Calibration are available.
MotoCal system. This section provides procedures Positioner Calibration
for starting new projects, measuring calibration Cloning jobs between cells with Positioners.
points, calibrating the robot, and filtering jobs,
including jobs using positioners.

1 1-2 Getting Started
The most basic robotic cell consists of three items: a The Calibration phase consists of three steps:
robot, end effector, and fixture. Each of these items 1. Strategically determining static positions within
can be represented mathematically using Computer the robot cell.
Aided Design (CAD). These models can then be 2. Physically measuring positions with appropriate
manipulated using OLP techniques to create and measurement system.
transfer robot programs: from one robot to another 3. Mathematically determining relevant actual
(cloning), from a robot (before maintenance) back to parameters.
itself (after maintenance), from a master robot to
In the Filtering phase, MotoCal mathematically alters
all new robots (setup), and from simulation software
the robot path using a filter algorithm, taking into
(MotoSim) to a physical cell.
consideration the difference between the nominal
The computer models of the robot cell used for OLP parameters of the model robot cell and those of the
manipulation are based on nominal dimensions (i.e. actual physical cell.
design intended dimensions). When compared with
actual dimensions (i.e. real production dimensions),
deviations are apparent. These deviations occur due Equipment Description
to inherent manufacturing tolerances. Because of The MotoCal robot calibration package includes the
these deviations, the computer model may not be an following major components:
accurate representation of the physical cell. This can
cause unpredictable results when performing the Software
Calculates calibration values and allows upload and
following functions: download of data to and from the robot controller.
Positioning of the Tool Center Point (TCP) Encoder
Shift functions Takes position measurements of the robot using a
PMT functions thin metal cable.
Parallel Shift Data cables
Relative Job transformations Enables communication between the encoder and
PC and between the PC and robot controller.
Robot-to-robot transfer
CMM-calibrated measurement tool
Teaching Off-Line Programs via MotoSim, etc. Calibrates the robot T-axis (optional).
Transferred robot programs may not follow intended
paths, resulting in potential collisions and/or poor
accuracy and robot performance. MotoCal Components
Motocal compares the actual dimensions of the robot Standard items
cell with the nominal dimensions of the robot model
to correct the downloaded robot programs. This is The following items are included with the MotoCal
accomplished in two phases: the Calibration phase package:
followed by the Filtering phase. MotoCal Users Manual
Motoman Software CD
FDEWin Version 2.6
Hardware Security Key for MotoCal and FDEWin

1-3 1
Universal Adapter (used to attach measurement
line to robot TCP)
System Requirements
Data Acquisition Unit with Power Supply IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) with a 90
MotoCal Encoder Unit with Measurement Cable MHz Intel Pentium processor, a hard disk drive
with at least 10 megabytes (MB) available, plus a
Data Cable minimum of 12 MB of available random-access
Robot Cable memory (RAM). At least 32 MB total RAM is
25-pin to 9-pin Cable Adapter recommended.
1 to 2 COM ports (depending on desired mode of
Optional items operation)
The following items are optional and are not SVGA monitor, 800x600 resolution, 16-bit
included with MotoCal: Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0 or later (For NT,
Annual Encoder Recertification Service Pack 4 or later is required.)
Encoder Base Adaptor NOTE: This manual assumes that the user is familiar
T-Axis Calibration Tool (robot specific) with PC usage and robot programming.
Replacement Measurement Line
Digital I/O Measurement Control Hardware Reference to Other
Documentation
Care of Components For additional information, refer to the following:
Keep the Motoman Software installation CD stored
in a safe place away from excessive heat and Manipulator Manual for your robot model
moisture. Motoman Operators Manual for your application
Avoid dropping or impacting the encoder, CMM- Motoman User Functions or I/O and Parameters
calibrated tool, universal adapter, or data Manual
acquisition module. Vendor manuals for system components not
Do not allow measurement cable to become manufactured by Motoman
kinked or knotted.
Be careful not to trip over measurement line while Customer Service
it is attached to robot.
Avoid full extension of measurement line. MotoCal If you need technical assistance, contact the
provides visual and audible warnings when line is Motoman service staff at (937) 847-3200. Please have
approaching its maximum extension. the following information ready before you call:
Be aware of data cables. Tripping on a cable can MotoCal and FDEWin versions
damage the cable and other components.
Operating system ( Windows 95, Windows 98,
Do not release the measurement cable and allow it Windows NT)
to rewind freely.
System configuration (hard disk capacity, memory,
If the measurement cable does not unwind freely, software, etc.)
do not force (see Appendix C).
Description of difficulty (make a note of any error
messages)

1 1-4 Getting Started
NOTES

2-1
Chapter 2: Safety
2
I t is the purchasers responsibility to ensure

that all local, county, state, and national
codes, regulations, rules, or laws relating
Standard Conventions
This manual includes information essential to the
to safety and safe operating conditions for safety of personnel and equipment. As you read
each installation are met and followed. through this manual, be alert to the four signal
words:
We suggest that you obtain and review a copy of the
ANSI/RIA National Safety Standard for Industrial DANGER
Robots and Robot Systems. This information can be WARNING
obtained from the Robotic Industries Association by CAUTION
requesting ANSI/RIA R15.06. The address is as NOTE
follows: Pay particular attention to the information provided
Robotic Industries Association under these headings which are defined below (in
900 Victors Way descending order of severity).
P.O. Box 3724
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
TEL: (734) 994-6088 DANGER!
FAX: (734) 994-3338 Information appearing under the
Ultimately, the best safeguard is trained personnel. DANGER! caption concerns the
The user is responsible for providing personnel who protection of personnel from the
are adequately trained to operate, program, and immediate and imminent hazards that,
maintain the robot cell. The robot must not be if not avoided, will result in immediate,
operated by personnel who have not been
trained! serious personal injury or loss of life in
We recommend that all personnel who intend to addition to equipment damage.
operate, program, repair, or use the robot system be
trained in an approved Motoman training course and
become familiar with the proper operation of the WARNING!
system. Information appearing under the
This safety section addresses the following: WARNING! caption concerns the
Standard Conventions protection of personnel and equipment
General Safeguarding Tips from potential hazards that can result
Mechanical Safety Devices in personal injury or loss of life in
Installation Safety addition to equipment damage.
Programming Safety
Operation Safety
Maintenance Safety

2-2 Safety
In accordance with ANSI/RIA R15.06, section 6.13.4

2 and 6.13.5, use lockout/tagout procedures during
CAUTION! equipment maintenance. Refer also to Section
Information appearing under the 1910.147 (29CFR, Part 1910), Occupational Safety
CAUTION! caption concerns the and Health Standards for General Industry
(OSHA).
protection of personnel, equipment,
software, and data from hazards that
can result in minor personal injury or
Mechanical Safety Devices
equipment damage. The safe operation of the robot, positioner, auxiliary
equipment, and system is ultimately the user's
NOTE: Information appearing in a NOTE caption responsibility. The conditions under which the
provides additional information which is helpful equipment will be operated safely should be
in understanding the item being explained. reviewed by the user. The user must be aware of the
various national codes, ANSI/RIA R15.06 safety
standards, and other local codes that may pertain to
General Safeguarding Tips the installation and use of industrial equipment.
All operators, programmers, plant and tooling Additional safety measures for personnel and
engineers, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and equipment may be required depending on system
anyone working near the robot must become familiar installation, operation, and/or location. The following
with the operation of this equipment. All personnel safety measures are available:
involved with the operation of the equipment must Safety fences and barriers
understand potential dangers of operation. General Light curtains
safeguarding tips are as follows: Door interlocks
Improper operation can result in personal injury Safety mats
and/or damage to the equipment. Only trained Floor markings
personnel familiar with the operation of this robot, Warning lights
the operator's manuals, the system equipment,
and options and accessories should be permitted Check all safety equipment frequently for proper
to operate this robot system. operation. Repair or replace any non-functioning
Do not enter the robot cell while it is in automatic safety equipment immediately.
operation. Programmers must have the teach
pendant when they enter the robot cell.
Improper connections can damage the robot. All Installation Safety
connections must be made within the standard Safe installation is essential for protection of people
voltage and current ratings of the robot I/O and equipment. The following suggestions are
(Inputs and Outputs). intended to supplement, but not replace, existing
The robot must be placed in Emergency Stop (E- federal, local, and state laws and regulations.
STOP) mode whenever it is not in use. Additional safety measures for personnel and
equipment may be required depending on system
installation, operation, and/or location. Installation
tips are as follows:

2-3
Be sure that only qualified personnel familiar with The concurrent I/O (Input and Output) function
national codes, local codes, and ANSI/RIA R15.06 allows the customer to modify the internal ladder 2
safety standards are permitted to install the inputs and outputs for maximum robot
equipment. performance. Great care must be taken when
Identify the work envelope of each robot with making these modifications. Double-check all
floor markings, signs, and barriers. modifications under every mode of robot
Position all controllers outside the robot work operation to ensure that you have not created
envelope. hazards or dangerous situations that may damage
the robot or other parts of the system.
Whenever possible, install safety fences to protect
against unauthorized entry into the work Improper operation can result in personal injury
envelope. and/or damage to the equipment. Only trained
personnel familiar with the operation, manuals,
Eliminate areas where personnel might get electrical design, and equipment interconnections
trapped between a moving robot and other of this robot should be permitted to operate the
equipment (pinch points). system.
Provide sufficient room inside the workcell to Inspect the robot and work envelope to be sure no
permit safe teaching and maintenance procedures. potentially hazardous conditions exist. Be sure the
area is clean and free of water, oil, debris, etc.
Programming Safety Be sure that all safeguards are in place.
Check the E-STOP button on the teach pendant for
All operators, programmers, plant and tooling proper operation before programming.
engineers, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and
Carry the teach pendant with you when you enter
anyone working near the robot must become familiar the workcell.
with the operation of this equipment. All personnel
Be sure that only the person holding the teach
involved with the operation of the equipment must pendant enters the workcell.
understand potential dangers of operation.
Test any new or modified program at low speed for
Programming tips are as follows: at least one full cycle.
Any modifications to PART 1 of the controller PLC Incorrect use of MotoCal for robot calibration may
can cause severe personal injury or death, as well cause incorrect robot calibration resulting in robot
as damage to the robot! Do not make any crash and /or rpersonal injury or death.
modifications to PART 1. Making any changes Incorrect use of MotoCal for job Filtering or
without the written permission of Motoman will Downloading, may cause robot crash and/or
VOID YOUR WARRANT Y! personal injury or death.
Some operations require standard passwords and
some require special passwords. Special passwords
are for Motoman use only. YOUR WARRANT Y Operation Safety
WILL BE VOID if you use these special
passwords. All operators, programmers, plant and tooling
engineers, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and
Back up all programs and jobs onto a floppy disk
whenever program changes are made. To avoid anyone working near the robot must become familiar
loss of information, programs, or jobs, a backup with the operation of this equipment. All personnel
must always be made before any service involved with the operation of the equipment must
procedures are done and before any changes are understand potential dangers of operation.
made to options, accessories, or equipment. Operation tips are as follows:

2-4 Safety
2
Be sure that only trained personnel familiar with
the operation of this robot, the operator's
Maintenance Safety
manuals, the system equipment, and options and All operators, programmers, plant and tooling
accessories are permitted to operate this robot engineers, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and
system. anyone working near the robot must become familiar
Check all safety equipment for proper operation. with the operation of this equipment. All personnel
Repair or replace any non-functioning safety involved with the operation of the equipment must
equipment immediately. understand potential dangers of operation.
Inspect the robot and work envelope to ensure no Maintenance tips are as follows:
potentially hazardous conditions exist. Be sure the
area is clean and free of water, oil, debris, etc. Do not perform any maintenance procedures
before reading and understanding the proper
Ensure that all safeguards are in place. procedures in the appropriate manual.
Improper operation can result in personal injury Check all safety equipment for proper operation.
and/or damage to the equipment. Only trained Repair or replace any non-functioning safety
personnel familiar with the operation, manuals, equipment immediately.
electrical design, and equipment interconnections
of this robot should be permitted to operate the Improper operation can result in personal injury
system. and/or damage to the equipment. Only trained
personnel familiar with the operation, manuals,
Do not enter the robot cell while it is in automatic electrical design, and equipment interconnections
operation. Programmers must have the teach of this robot should be permitted to operate the
pendant when they enter the cell. system.
The robot must be placed in Emergency Stop (E- Back up all your programs and jobs onto a floppy
STOP) mode whenever it is not in use. disk whenever program changes are made. A
This equipment has multiple sources of electrical backup must always be made before any servicing
supply. Electrical interconnections are made or changes are made to options, accessories, or
between the controller, external servo box, and equipment to avoid loss of information, programs,
other equipment. Disconnect and lockout/tagout or jobs.
all electrical circuits before making any Do not enter the robot cell while it is in automatic
modifications or connections. operation. Programmers must have the teach
All modifications made to the controller will pendant when they enter the cell.
change the way the robot operates and can cause The robot must be placed in Emergency Stop (E-
severe personal injury or death, as well as damage STOP) mode whenever it is not in use.
the robot. This includes controller parameters,
ladder parts 1 and 2, and I/O (Input and Output) Be sure all safeguards are in place.
modifications. Check and test all changes at slow Use proper replacement parts.
speed. This equipment has multiple sources of electrical
supply. Electrical interconnections are made
between the controller, external servo box, and
other equipment. Disconnect and lockout/tagout
all electrical circuits before making any
modifications or connections.

2-5
All modifications made to the controller will

change the way the robot operates and can cause 2
severe personal injury or death, as well as damage
the robot. This includes controller parameters,
ladder parts 1 and 2, and I/O (Input and Output)
modifications. Check and test all changes at slow
speed.
Improper connections can damage the robot. All
connections must be made within the standard
voltage and current ratings of the robot I/O
(Inputs and Outputs).

2-6 Safety
2 NOTES

3-1
Chapter 3: Installation
T his chapter provides information for setting up

the MotoCal hardware and installing the
MotoCal software. Follow all established safety
Robot Cable
25-pin to 9-pin Cable Adapter
2. Inspect components for shipping damage.
3
procedures at all times throughout the installation
Note: If damage is found, notify shipper immediately.
process. Failure to use safe work practices can result
in damage to the equipment and injury to personnel.
Encoder Shipping Protection
Shipping protection is provided for the MotoCal
WARNING! Encoder to prevent the measurement cable from
Installation of MotoCal hardware is not being damaged or slipping off the drum, due to
a task for the novice. The MotoCal vibrations during shipment. When transporting the
equipment is fragile. It is a highly system over long distances, re-install this protection.
Two different types of protections used.
sophisticated robot calibration system.
Handle components with care. Rough Protective Tape:
handling will damage system 1. Remove side plate cover from MotoCal Encoder.
2. While slowly pulling measurement cable, gently
components. remove protective tape from measurement
drum.
Hardware Setup 3. Once tape is removed, pull measurement cable
several times so it unwinds and winds on drum,
This section provides installation information for the without disengaging it from the drum.
MotoCal encoder and peripherals. 4. Reverse this procedure to re-install protective
1. Carefully remove shipping material from the tape.
MotoCal system components and verify all parts Protective Spring Connector:
are present.
The following items are standard and are As an alternative to protective tape, which requires
included with the MotoCal package: the removal of the side cover plate, the MotoCal
MotoCal Users Manual Encoder is sometimes provided with a small external
Motoman Software CD (CD containing all spring connector replacing one of the screws holding
Motoman software including MotoCal and the side cover plate. When transporting the MotoCal
FDEWin). Encoder, simply attach the metal eyelet of the
Hardware Security Key measurement cable to this spring connector instead
Universal Adapter (used to attach measurement of the normal metal post used for referencing. Before
line to robot TCP) starting to measure, do not forget to place the metal
Data Acquisition Unit with Power Supply eyelet back on the metal post.
MotoCal Encoder Unit
Encoder Cable
Data Cable

3-2 Installation
The spring connector can remain in its position on

the MotoCal Encoder at all times even during normal
usage, i.e. during measurements. However, to be
effective during transportation, the spring connector
3 and the attached cables metal eyelet should not be
obstructed, so they are free to move and thus absorb
shocks and vibrations of the Measurement Drum.
270
Selecting Encoder Location

The following are some simple guidelines to follow
to ensure the encoder is mounted in the best
possible location. Mounting the Encoder
1. The encoder mount must provide a rigid link
between robot base and encoder. Bracket Mounting
The slightest relative motion between the robot base The MotoCal Encoder may be mounted to a
and encoder will cause serious calibration errors. customer-supplied metal bracket. A one to two foot
Motoman recommends the encoder and robot share piece of angle iron is an excellent choice. Threaded
a common mount (i.e. robot common base, concrete and dowel holes located on the side and bottom of
floor, or any other surface that will prevent relative the encoder housing enable the encoder to be
motion between the two components. mounted to the side or top of the bracket.
M6 TAP HOLE (2X) 4 mm DOWEL
(10-32 TAP HOLE) (1/8 in. DOWEL)
25.4 mm
RIGHT WRONG (1.0 in.)
ENCODER MOUNTED ENCODER NOT MOUNTED
SECURELY - NO MOVEMENT SECURELY - ENCODER MOVES
WHILE ROBOT IS IN MOTION WHILE ROBOT IS IN MOTION 50.8 mm
(2.0 in.)
2. Position the encoder to allow the maximum

range of motion within its 270 envelope.
Motoman recommends the encoder be mounted 45
cm (approximately 18 in.) to one side of the robot
PARK PIN
base and approximately the same height as the base. and SPINDLE
This location permits the largest working envelope, (SPINDLE HIDDEN)
reduces interference with robot components, and
Side of MotoCal Encoder
increases calibration accuracy. Depending on existing
obstructions, another location may be needed.

3-3
To mount the encoder, proceed as follows: Connecting the Cables

1. Drill holes in mounting bracket according to
desired mounting orientation (top or side). Several connections must be made between various
MotoCal components.
2. Attach encoder to bracket using appropriate size
bolts and dowel pins. To connect the cables, proceed as follows: 3
(2X) M4 TAP HOLE (2X) 4 mm DOWEL
1. Connect 9 pin data communication cable
(6-32 TAP HOLE) (1/8 in. DOWEL) between encoder and Data Acquisition Unit.
Note: Either 9-pin connector on Encoder may be used.
2. Connect power cord to Data Acquisition Unit
and plug into outlet. Encoder LED lights.
9.525 mm
(0.375 in.) 3. Connect 9-25 pin communication cable between
25 pin, female connector on Data Acquisition
Unit and 9 pin male serial port on PC.
12.7 mm
PARK PIN
and SPINDLE
(0.5 in.) Note: Some Data Acquisition Units have the 9 pin cable
built in. If this is the case with your unit, connect this
cable to the 9 pin male serial port on the PC.
4. Connect Software Security Key to parallel port
of PC.
9.525 mm
(0.375 in.) NOTE: Parallel port can still be used as normal (e.g.
printer).
Bottom of MotoCal Encoder
ENCODER COMPUTER
Clamp Mounting 9-PIN
SERIAL PORT
WARNING! 9-PIN
If anchoring the encoder using a clamp
DATA
or weight, avoid putting pressure near ACQUISITION 9-PIN
UNIT
the top center of the encoder as this 9-PIN 25-PIN
may cause misalignment of the optical

encoder. POWER CORD
No strong forces are typically aplied to the emcoder,

therefore, tight clamping is not necessary. Place the
encoder on a stable, flat surface, and hold in place
with a modest weight or clamp. Test the stability of
the mounting by pulling the measurement cable out
several times in different directions. The encoder
should remain in place and not move.

3-4 Installation
Connecting to the Robot Controller

MotoCal can be configured using one, or two COM COMPUTER
ports. However, the calibration procedure is simpler
3 if two COM ports are used. The robot cable must be COM1 COM2
switched with the communication cable if only the
COM 1 serial port is used.
Note: If a modem or other device is connected to a COM
port, you will be unable to use that port for MotoCal
unless you first remove the device. This may not be
COMMUNICATION
obvious if the device is installed internally. Consult the CABLE
documentation that came with your computer if unsure ROBOT CABLE

how many ports your computer has or how many are
used. Multiple COM port setup
Single COM port
Use this setup when only one COM port is available. Software Installation
1. Unplug communication cable from COM 1 serial To use MotoCal, you need:
port. An IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) with a
2. Connect 25 pin robot cable to 9 pin COM 1 serial 90 MHz Intel Pentium processor, a hard disk drive
port of PC using 25 to 9 pin adapter. with at least 10 megabytes (MB) available, plus a
3. Connect other end of robot cable to RS-232C minimum of 12 (MB) of available random-access
serial port located on the Mainboard ( JANCD- memory (RAM). At least 32 MB total RAM is
NCP01) of the NX100 controller, bottom of XRC recommended.
programming pendant, or the subpanel of the 1 to 2 COM ports (depending on desired mode of
MRC playback box. operation)
SVGA monitor, 800x600 resolution, 16-bit
Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0 or later (For NT,
COMPUTER Service Pack 4 or later is required.)
9-PIN NOTE: This manual assumes that the user is familiar
SERIAL PORT
with PC usage and robot programming.
To Install MotoCal, proceed as follows:

1. Insert Motoman CD Browser disk.
2. Follow the self guided instructions to complete
COMMUNICATION
installation.
CABLE 9-PIN ROBOT CABLE 3. In addition to MotoCal, FDEWin must also be
installed from the Motoman CD Browser.
Single COM port setup
Once installation is complete, load encoder
calibration file (.clb) onto PC.

3-5
To load the encoder calibration file (.clb) on 3. Modify this file by deleting the seventh line 0.0,
your PC, proceed as follows: and adding two additional lines to the bottom of
the file; -17.000, and 2500.
1. Insert encoder calibration Disk into disk drive. 101.473
2. Copy calibration file (.clb) to MotoCal Templates 0.020915638
folder, C:\Program Files\Motoman\MotoCal 0
3
Templates. -0.0026915521
1.09558e-006
To Start MotoCal: 9.525
From Windows, click on the START button. Select 0.0
Programs and then select MotoCal from the list of 0.000
0.000
programs. To start MotoCal from a shortcut on the 0.000
desktop, simply double click the MotoCal software -17.000
icon. A screen with the software name and version 2500
number appears.Press the space bar to proceed. 4. Be sure there are no extra spaces or empty lines
and save the file.
5. The calibration file must now be copied from
Updating Your .CLB File the old MotoCal directory to MotoCal 3.0. Copy
Encoder calibration files shipped before MotoCal the modified .clb file and paste into the MotoCal
version 3.0 must be updated for use with MotoCal 3.0 Templates directory (i.e. C:\Program
3.0. To update your calibration file, proceed as Files\Motoman\MotoCal\Templates).
follows:
1. Locate and open your calibration file. The
encoder calibration file is named [serial
number].clb (i.e. 335.clb) and is located in the
MotoCal directory (i.e. C:\Program
Files\Motoman\MotoCal). The serial number
must match the number physically stamped on
the encoder you are using.
2. Your .clb file should look similar to this:
101.473
0.020915638
0
-0.0026915521
1.09558e-006
9.525
0.0
0.000
0.000
0.000

3-6 Installation
NOTES

4-1
Chapter 4: Procedures
Introduction
This chapter provides basic procedures for some of Measurement Methods
the more common MotoCal operations. These For simplicity, all of the procedures in this section
include: robot and tool calibration, external TCP specify the measurement type as Manual. However,
calibration, six degree of freedom calibration, and job Auto and Digital measurements are also available.
cloning. For more detailed information on MotoCal Any of these measurement types can be used with
operation, refer to Chapter 5: Operation. these procedures. It may be appropriate to use one
Do you want to Re-zero the Robot? of the automated measurement types if a large 4
number of measurements must be taken.
The first procedure explains how to calibrate the
robot arm and its tool. All other procedures explain If Auto measurement is chosen, the Bound Limit and
how to make Filters for the robot arms and Delay must be set. A measurement is then taken
Alignment files for the workpiece. These other when the Encoder reading is steady within the
procedures suggest answering No to the question Bound limit for the Delay interval. The Digital
Do you want to Re-zero the Robot?. If your robot is method requires a relay and cable connecting the
not already calibrated, you may want to answer Yes Encoder to the robot controller. The required Trigger
instead. If you select Yes, be sure to enter the new Cable hardware is available as an option This method
TCP data in the controller and run the finesync.jbi to is more reliable than the Auto method.
set the new home positions in the controller. This is Encoder Location and Orientation
explained in the first procedure.
MotoCal uses the encoder alignment, relative to the
With and Without CAD robots world frame, to calculate the varying length
MotoCal can clone jobs between robot cells of string wrapped around the final (outside) wheel of
consisting of real equipment and between CAD cells the encoder when measurements are taken.
and real equipment cells. Procedures are provided If no data is entered, a default encoder alignment is
for both of these two types of cloning, one using only used. The default alignment assumes that the Main
real equipment, and one using a CAD cell. swiveling axis of the encoder is parallel to the Z-axis
When cloning between real equipment, the fixtures of the Robots world frame. If the encoder is
must be manufactured as accurately as possible. mounted in an orientation other than the assumed,
However, the actual dimensions of the parts do not the orientation needs to be entered into Motocal.
need to be entered in MotoCal.
When cloning from a CAD cell, the parts must be
modeled in CAD, so their dimensions must be
known. Because MotoCal cannot measure the CAD
cell, the user must supply this data from the CAD cell
to MotoCal.

4-2 Procedures
The orientation of the encoder is entered in the The Left model is used when the Positioner is to
Fixture screen found in the Calibration window right the left of the robot with its axis parallel to the X-axis
before you click Start Calibration. In the fixture of the robots world frame. The model assumes a
window, there is a section called Measurement base. rotation of 90 degrees about Z. So when you start
The R1, R2, and R3 boxes in the MB1 (Measurement the procedure above, begin by matching the robots
Base 1) section hold the Rx, Ry, and Rz values world frame. Rotate about Z by 90 degrees, and then
required to translate from the robots world frame to determine the angles that need to be in R1, and R2
the encoders mounted orientation. In cases where (Rx and Ry). R3 will still typically be 0.
more than one encoder location is used, you will also The Right model is used when the Positioner is to
have MB2, MB3, and MB4, which correspond to the the right of the robot with its axis parallel to the X-
second, third and fourth mounting positions of the axis of the robots world frame. The model assumes a
4 encoder. rotation of -90 degrees about Z. So when you start
To determine the values required for the orientation, the procedure above, begin by matching the robots
use the right hand rule, with your thumb as the z- world frame. Rotate about Z by -90 degrees, and then
axis, your index finger as the x-axis, and your middle determine the angles that need to be in R1, and R2
finger as the y-axis. Align your hand with the robots (Rx and Ry). R3 will still typically be 0.
world frame. The goal is to align your thumb with the
Main Swiveling Axis of the Encoder.. Begin by rotating
about x if necessary, then about y if necessary.
Typically Rz will remain 0. The degree amounts you
had to move about X and about Y (forefinger and
middle finger) are the degree amounts you need to
enter in R1, and R2. The more accurate the angular
measurements the better the results of the
calibration will be. It may help to use a digital level.
Accuracy to +/- 1 degree is close enough.
Special case: Positioners
First, run the Positioner to its home position, where
its pulse position is zero.
There are three different Positioner model types,
Left, Front, and Right, for each supported
Positioner.
The Front model is used when the Positioner is in
front of the robot with its axis parallel to the Y-axis of
the robots world frame. Determine the alignment
angles for the encoder as described above.

4-3
Robot and Tool YASNAC XRC SK16X
Calibration
SERVO ON MODE EMERGENCY STOP
READY
PLAY TEACH
EDIT LOCK
(OFF) ALARM
(ON) REMOTE HOLD START
ON
TRIP
OFF
ESET
N/ R
PE
O
The following basic steps are used to 26 MEASUREMENTS FROM

calibrate a robot and its tool, without making ENCODER (MANUALLY OR MEASUREMENT.JBI FILE FROM
AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTED) CONTROLLER WITH 26 POINTS.
a filter. It is suggested that new users
calibrate their robot using the following steps
before attempting to incorporate the more
advanced MotoCal features. The How do I FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:
script Calibrate the Arm and Tool MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
illustrates this procedure. MotoCal
4
TOOL XYZ FINESYNC.JBI

Enter these calibrated Run arm to calibrated Home
values on teach pendant. Position and set new Home.
To calibrate a robot and its tool, proceed as follows:

6. Leave Positioner type as (none).
1. From the toolbar, click New Project . The 7. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and
New Project window appears. select the MotoCal tab.
Note: Make sure the displayed .clb file matches the

serial number on your encoder. If it does not,
2. Enter a Project name (e.g. the robots serial copy the file from the Encoder Calibration disk to
number, type, location, or job).
the MotoCal Templates folder C:\Program
3. Leave Location as is. Files\Motoman\MotoCal Templates.
4. Select the Robot type matching the robot arm
you are calibrating. 8. Select the Manual radio button under Type.
5. Select Mastering for Robot application type.

4-4 Procedures
9. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if d) If this test indicates the accuracy of the arm
using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding is good enough, then the calibration
tip adapter, set this field to 12.7 mm. procedure can be stopped at this point.
10. Base Adapter Offset is not used for mastering 17. If there is not already a measurement job on the
projects. Therefore, do not change this field. robot controller, load one or teach one to the
11. Click OK on the Measurement System window controller. To send a job from the MotoCal
and again on the New Project window. project, select Project File Transfer and use
12. Click Save. MotoCal saves your new project. FDEWin. You can also use a Flash card to
transfer jobs. To teach a measurement job,
13. Attach the measurement adapter to the tool on proceed as follows:
the robot arm so the TCP of the adapter is the
same as that of the tool. a) Attach the measurement cable to the
Measurement Adapter.
14. Mount the Encoder so it is stable relative to
4 robot base. b) Consider the work area of the robot and
imagine a rectangular solid approximately
15. Connect the Data Acquisition box to one of the filling this volume. Program a job with four
COM ports on your PC. Connect the encoder points at each of the eight corners of this
and power supply cables to the Data Acquisition shape. After teaching the first point at a
box. Connect the FDE cable if there is an corner, teach three more by making large
available com port. changes in the orientation of the TCP. Be
16. Test the robot and tool calibration before sure the measurement adapter does not
performing a new calibration. bind and the measurement cable does not
a) Select Project Verify Calibration. touch anything while the job is running.
b) Place the controller in Cartesian coordinate c) Use FDEWin to copy the job to the MotoCal
mode. Use the Rx, Ry, and Rz keys on the project. Start FDEWin by selecting Project
programming pendant to roll the tool File Transfer from the menu. Use the
around the TCP, ideally without moving the programming pendant to complete the
TCP. Take measurements at the different save procedure.
tool orientations. Only take measurements 18. You should now have a good measurement job
when the robot at a complete stop. on the controller and the same job in the
However, be sure to keep servo power ON. MotoCal project. If the job does not appear in
The Verify screen displays the total change the Robot Files window of the project, right click
in cable length that occurs during this test. in that window and select Add Files to Project
If you want to repeat this test precisely, and select the job.
create a Cartesian position variable job with
points for each of the orientations 19. Click Measure . The message Make sure
measured. The X, Y and Z coordinates of that the measurement attachment is at the
the position variables of this job should all reference position appears. Be sure the
remain the same. Only the Rx, Ry and Rz measurement cable is attached to the metal post
values should change. on the encoder and click OK.
c) When you have recorded enough
measurements, click OK. The Verify
measurements are recorded under
Measurement files. The generated file
name indicates the test results

4-5
Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data 22. When all measurements have been taken, click
Acquisition Card appears, check the OK. The measurements are recorded in the .msr
connections between the PC COM port and Data file shown in the Measurement Files window.
Acquisition box. Also check power supply Place the measurement cable back in the
connections and try Measure again. Be sure reference position on the encoder.
FDEWin, or some other application, is not 23. Select the Measurement Job in the Robot files
holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When window, the Measurement file in its window,
the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the
and the default filter and alignment files in their
windows. With these files selected click the
Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is
displayed at the bottom of the measurement
Default Calibration Button . The Choose
indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem
Calibration System window appears with the
with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File, selected files. 4
page 3-5). If there is an LED on the encoder, it
should be lighted. Note: If any of these screens is skipped, change the
Projects settings by selecting "Projects->Select
Screens->Preferences". Set checks in all the
boxes to prevent screens from being skipped.
24. Be sure the correct files are selected and click
OK.
20. Attach the measurement cable to the

measurement adapter. Jog the robot to the first
point of the measurement job. The 25. If this is a new project, you are prompted to
measurement screen shows cable length enter TCP values. Next, the Parameters for the
changes. When the robot is stabilized at the first measurement job screen appears. Enter the tool
point, click Measure or use the space bar. The XYZ values from the controller. Leave the User
Measurement screen shows that the point has Frame fields zero. Click OK.
been recorded.
21. Continue to record measurements for each
point in the measurement job.

4-6 Procedures
27. The base of the Encoder has small screw holes

and alignment pin holes in one of its quarters.
The Z-axis of the Encoder points up when the
Encoder sits flat on its base. If the Encoder Z axis
is not parallel to the robot base Z axis this
information must be entered in the Fixture
window. To do this click the Fixture button. In
the R1 field enter the roll around the Robot Base
X axis required to make the Robot Base Z axis
parallel to the Encoder Z axis. In the R2 field,
enter the roll around the Robot Base Y axis
required to make the Robot Base Z axis parallel
4 to the Encoder Z axis. For more information,
refer to the Encoder Location and Orientation
section at the beginning of this chapter.
26. The Calibration screen is displayed with buttons

labeled "Robot", "End-effector" and "Fixture". A
green check on a button indicates that
calibration will include this part of the system.
a) To calibrate the Tool there must be a green
check on End effector. If there is not click
this button and set Calibrate to yes. In the
bottom of the screen the field labled MP1
must give the position of the TCP of the
swivel relative to the TCP of the tool to be
calibrated. If you set the TCP of the swivel
to the TCP of the tool then these values
must be zeroes. Click OK
28. Click Start Calibration.
b) To calibrate the T-Axis, click the End-
effector button and set Calibrate End- 29. If the errors and standard deviations are small
effector to No. Click Enter values from enough,
the Measurement Point section. The TCP a) If you calibrated the tool, click End-effector
values entered previously appear. If these to see and record the calibrated tool XYZ
values are not correct, enter the correct values. You must enter these new tool
values. Select Nominal and click OK. Click values in the controller.
the Robot button and turn on tt6 to include b) Select Save and Close. The FineSync.jbi file
the T-axis in the calibration. Select Nominal is created and appears in the Robot Files
and click OK. window.

4-7
Note: Be sure the robot is at the last position of the

FineSync job and servo power remains on during this
entire procedure. If servo power is removed, the positions
may drift by a few pulse counts.
Setting Robot Home Position (XRC)

a) Place controller in Teach mode.
Note: Steps b-h are not necessary if teach pendant is
already in management mode.
b) Press AREA key until cursor is at top menu.
c) Press SECURITY.
4
30. Use FDEWin to load the FineSync.jbi to the d) Press SELECT.
controller. Run the FineSync job and set this e) Press MANAGEMENT MODE.
position as the new home position. This sets the f) Press SELECT.
home positions of each joint to the calibrated g) Enter the password. (The default password
value. is 99999999.).
31. Delete the finesync.jbi file. Using the same h) Press ENTER.
finesync.jbi file more than once causes the robot i) Press ROBOT.
calibration to deteriorate.
j) Press SELECT.
32. Document new home position data.
k) Press HOME POSITION
Setting Robot Home Position (ERC) l) Press SELECT.
a) Place controller in Teach mode. m) Press AREA key until cursor is at top menu.
b) Choose OPR2. n) Press EDIT. Select all axes.
c) Enter password. o) Press SELECT.
d) Choose Calibrate. p) Press YES for Create Home Position.
e) Choose Setting Values. Setting Robot Home Position (NX100)
f ) Choose All Axes.
a) Press Main Menu.
g) Cycle power.
b) Go to System Info under the Main Menu
Setting Robot Home Position (MRC) and press Select.
a) Place controller in Teach mode. c) Select Security.
b) Press CUSTOMER. d) Under the Security dialog cursor down to
Management Mode and press Select.
c) Press MORE.
e) Type in the Management Mode password
d) Press ORG (F5). (default is 99999999) and press Enter.
e) Enter the password. (The default password f ) Goto the Main Menu and press Robot.
is 00000000).
g) Search for Home Position and press Select.
f ) Press ORG SET (F2).
h) Select the Area Key until the Top Menu is
g) Press ALL (F3). reach..
h) Press EXECUTE (F5).

4-8 Procedures
i) Cursor over to Edit and Select All Axes.

j) Select Yes for Create Home Position
dialog.
Note: Be sure the robot is at the last position of the
FineSync job and servo power remains ON during this
entire procedure. If servo power is removed, the positions
may drift by a few pulse counts.
33. You can check the new calibration with the
Verify function as explained in step 16.

4-9
Using Taught Alignment to Clone Jobs from Real to Real

YASNAC XRC SK16X YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON MODE EMERGENCY STOP SERVO ON MODE EMERGENCY STOP
READY READY
PLAY TEACH PLAY TEACH
If a CAD system will be used, follow

EDIT LOCK EDIT LOCK
(OFF) ALARM (OFF) ALARM
(ON) REMOTE HOLD START (ON) REMOTE HOLD START
ON ON
TRIP TRIP
OFF
OFF
SET
SET
/RE
/RE
N
N
PE
PE
O O
the CAD version of this procedure. R1 R2

If it is necessary to adjust a job to
MEASUREMENT.JBI FILE WITH 48 POINTS MEASUREMENT.JBI FILE WITH 48 POINTS
run in a very different position or TAUGHT ALIGNMENT .JBI FILE WITH 4 POINTS TAUGHT ALIGNMENT .JBI FILE WITH 4 POINTS
using a different robot model,
MotoSim must be employed. The
How Do I script "Real to Real R1 R2
Taught Alignment" illustrates this
48 MEASUREMENTS WITH 48 MEASUREMENTS WITH
procedure. ENCODER MOUNTED AT ONE ENCODER MOUNTED AT ONE 4
STABLE UNKNOWN LOCATION. STABLE UNKNOWN LOCATION.
Note: Calibrate the robot and tool FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:
before performing these steps. MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
To create a job filter, proceed as
follows:
1. Create a new project by FILTER FILE FOR ARM 1, *.PRM
selecting Project New from FILTER FILE FOR ARM 2, *.PRM
the main menu. The New ALIGNMENT FILE FOR ARM 1 TO ARM 2, *.ALN
Project window appears.
4. Select the Robot type matching the robot arm
you are calibrating.
5. Select the Robot application type closest to your
application. Do not select Mastering.
6. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and
select the MotoCal tab.
New Project Window
2. Enter a Project name: (e.g. the robots serial

3. Leave Location: as is.

4-10 Procedures
Note: Make sure displayed .clb file matches the serial c) Teach several other points varying the
number on your encoder. If it does not, copy file from orientation until you have approximately
Encoder Calibration disk to MotoCal Templates folder. fifty points.
7. Set Type to Manual. Note: Use FDEWin to move a job between PC and robot
8. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if controller. Start FDEWin by selecting Project PC<-->
using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding Controller File Transfer from the main menu.
tip adapter, set this field to 12.7 mm. 16. Add the measurement job to the Robot Files
9. The Base Adapter Offset can be set to zero. It is menu. Right click in the Robot Files window,
not used for this calibration. select Add Files to Project and select the job.
10. Click OK on the Measurement System window 17. Click the Measure button. MotoCal prompts you
and click OK on the New Project window. to place the measurement cable in the reference
4 11. Allow MotoCal to save your new project. position. Click OK
12. Attach the measurement adapter to the robot Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
arm tool so the adapter TCP and robot tool TCP Acquisition Card... appears, check the cable connections
are the same. If using a CMM T-axis calibration
tool, this step is complete. If calibrating with between the PC COM port and the Data Acquisition box.
weld torch and Universal Measurement Adapter, Check the power supply cable to the Data Acquisition box
be sure to align the interior point of the Adapter also. When all cable connections are properly made, the
with the TCP of the torch. If the production job Measurement screen appears. The measurement
will run with a mass that is a significant fraction indicator should be blue, a red measurement indicator
of the arms capacity, this mass should be indicates a problem with the .clb file (see Updating Your
present while measurements are taken. .CLB File, page 3-5).
13. Mount the MotoCal Encoder so that it is stable
relative to the robot base.
14. Connect the Data Acquisition box to one of the
COM ports on your PC. Connect the encoder
and power supply to the Data Acquisition box.
15. If you do not have a measurement job currently
loaded on your robot controller, load or teach a
new measurement job. To create a new
measurement job, proceed as follows:
a) Attach measurement cable to Measurement
Adapter.
b) Consider the work area of the robot and
imagine a rectangular solid approximately
filling this area. Program a job that has four
points at each of the eight corners of the
shape. After teaching the first point at a
corner, teach three more by making large
changes in the orientation of the TCP. Be
sure the measurement adapter does not
bind and the measurement cable does not
touch anything during the job.

4-11
18. Attach the measurement cable to the 22. Click OK. If the Cannot find any TCP...
measurement adapter. Run robot to first point in message appears, click OK. The Parameters for
measurement job. The measurement screen the measurement job screen appears. Enter the
indicates the length the cable changed. When tool XYZ values from the robot controller,
the robot is stabilized at the first point, press the regardless of the validity of this data. Click OK.
Measure button. The Measurement screen
indicates the point has been recorded.
20. When all measurements have been taken, click
OK. Measurements are recorded in the .msr file
shown in the Measurement Files window. Place
the measurement cable back in the reference 4
position on the encoder.
21. Select the Measurement job in the Robot files
window, the Measurement file in its window,
and the correct filter and alignment files in their
windows. Then click the Default Calibration
Button. This button has the robot icon. When
the Choose Calibration System window appears,
check that the correct files are displayed. You
may correct any of the fields by typing
corrections directly, or by using the More... 23. The Calibration screen is displayed with green
buttons to the right of each field. checks on Robot and/or End-Effector. The
Note: If any of these screens is skipped, change the checks indicate what will be included in the
Projects settings by selecting "Projects->Select calibration. Click End-effector and set Calibrate
end-effector to Yes.

4-12 Procedures
If the TCP will carry mass that is a significant fraction 26. Click Start Calibration. If the resulting errors and
of the arms capacity and this mass was present while standard deviations are small enough, click Save
measurements were taken, enter information about Calibration and Close. If these values are not
this mass in the Tool Center of Gravity and Mass box small enough (see the close: heading at the
near the center of the screen, within the End- end of the Calibration Results section in the
effector parameters box. Enter the XYZ coordinates next chapter.) you have not saved the All.prm
file from the controller to the PC. With FDEWin
in millimeters of the center of gravity using the tool started, use the teach pendant to save All.prm to
flange coordinates. Enter the mass attached to the your project. If using an XRC controller, this will
tool flange in kilograms. This data is most important take several minutes. After All.prm has been
when jobs taught in CAD will be run on heavily saved to the PC, enter a name for the Filter file
loaded arms. to be created. By default, it will be written over
4 24. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off the Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal
tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and values. Choose another name that is meaningful
Mass data in the End Effector window you may to you.
want to turn on more of the k parameters in 27. From the main menu, select Project->Create
the Robot window. The parameters k1 Directory -> Clone. You can change the name
through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm of the project to be created by changing the
joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3 Project Name field. Click OK. The clone project
are turned ON. You may want to turn ON k4 and is created with many of the same files that are in
k5 also. You should only turn ON k6 if the mass the Master project you started with.
on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis. 28. You must have an accurate copy of the Master
You should only turn ON k1 if the robot is fixture for each Clone Cell. Set up the Clone Cell
mounted on a wall. so that it is as similar to the Master Cell as
25. The base of the Encoder has small screw holes possible. This will decrease the likelihood of
and alignment pin holes in one of its quarters. unreachable points in the cloned job.
The Z-axis of the Encoder points up when the
Encoder sits flat on its base. If the Encoder Z axis
is not parallel to the robot base Z axis, this
information must be entered in the Fixture
window. To do this, click the Fixture button. In
the R1 field(s) enter the roll around the Robot
Base X axis that is required to make the Robot
Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis. In the
R2 field(s) enter the roll around the Robot Base
Y axis that is required to make the Robot Base Z
axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis. For more
information, refer to the Encoder Location and
Orientation section at the beginning of this
chapter.

4-13
29. Take measurements in the Clone cell

as you did in the Master Cell. If you
must change the measurement jobs to 1 2
use them in the Master cell then you JOB TAUGHT ON ROBOT 1 JOB TAUGHT ON ROBOT 2
must replace the measurement jobs (CAD OR REAL) FOR FIXTURE 1,
TOUCHING FOUR ACCURATE
FOR FIXTURE 2, TOUCHING
FOUR ACCURATE POINTS
that were copied into the clone cell POINTS ON THE FIXTURE. ON THE FIXTURE.
with the jobs that you changed.
30. Proceed to create the Filter in the FILTER FILE FOR ROBOT 1 FILTER FILE FOR ROBOT 2
Clone cell as you did in the Master cell.
If you changed the measurement jobs
in the Clone cell then before starting FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:
the Calibration in the Clone cell click MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
the Robot button and in the Robot MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
4
Calibration window set Use Error
files to No.
ALIGNMENT FILE, *.ALN, REPRESENTING
THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ALIGNMENT OF FIXTURE 1
TO THE ROBOT 1, AND FIXTURE 2 TO ROBOT 2.
THIS FILE IS ADDED TO ONE OF THE MOTOCAL PROJECTS.
31. When you have made all the settings, select Start 33. Perform a Calibration to create an Alignment file
Calibration. When the reported values are for the difference in the alignment between the
satisfactory, select Save Calibration and Close. As two real robot cells. In the original project,
for the Master Cell, you must use FDEWin to select the Filter file you created. In the Clone
load All.prm from the Clone robot controller project, select the Filter file created from the
into the Clone Project. Be sure that you have Clone cell. From the Clone project, drag the
only one instance of FDEWin running and that it Clone alignment job onto the Master alignment
is directed to the Clone project. job. This will bring up the TCP and Alignment
32. On the Clone robot teach the same four Dialog. ( You can also bring up this dialog from
alignment points in the same order that you the menu by selecting Calibration Calibrate.
taught on the Master robot. Save this job into Select the Robot tab. Make sure the files
the Clone project with FDEWin. mentioned above are used.) This Calibration is
only to make an Alignment of the Fixture, so you
cannot change any settings.
34. Select Start Calibration. You are prompted to
enter a name to save the Alignment file. It will be
given an ".aln" extension to indicate alignment.
35. Enter correct TCP information for the two real
cells. These TCP values must be the ones used
when the alignment jobs were taught.

4-14 Procedures
36. The Successful Filter

message appears followed by 1
the Alignment Results. Smaller
error values are better. This
FILTER FILE FOR REAL ROBOT 1 *.PRM
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL TO REAL FIXTURE 1 2
method relies on accurate ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
teaching and is not expected to TO REAL FIXTURE 2
provide the same accuracy as
methods that do not. The MASTER JOB, MASTER.JBI
Alignment button shows the
calculated X value for the N
FILTER FILE FOR REAL ROBOT N *.PRM
alignment difference. Click this MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
button to see the calculated X, TO REAL FIXTURE N
4 Y, and Z displacements and

standard deviation associated
with each.
37. Selecting OK and Close creates 1 N
the new Alignment file. You can JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 1, ALIGNED JOB FOR REAL ROBOT N, ALIGNED
now clone jobs between the FOR REAL FIXTURE 1, REAL1.JBI FOR REAL FIXTURE N, REALN.JBI
two cells.
2
JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 2, ALIGNED
FOR REAL FIXTURE 2, REAL2.JBI
38. If a Master job is not ready to download, add 40. After you finish with the second Parameters For
one to the Master project now. In the Master screen, the Successful Filter message appears
project, select the job and filter to be and the adjusted job appears in the Robot files
downloaded. In the Clone project, select the window of the Clone project. If there are points
Filter and Alignment files created above. Select that could not be adjusted, a Points not
Reachable message appears before the
the Clone Project Default Filter button. The Successful Filter message. Be careful the first
Setup to filter Jobs screen appears. Make sure time you run the downloaded job on the clone
the correct files are selected. To avoid robot, especially if the Points not Reachable
confusion, change the name of the Destination message appeared.
robot file to remind you that it has been 41. Use FDEWin to transfer the new job to the clone
adjusted for the real robot. This is the name of controller. Run it carefully. Once the filter and
the downloaded job that will be created in the alignment files are created, it will be easy to
Clone project. Make sure the other fields are create and download the next Master job.
filled in correctly. Select OK.
39. In the Parameters For screens, enter the correct
TCP values. The first screen is for the TCP values
you set in the Master robot when you taught the
job. The second screen is for the TCP values to
be set on the Clone robot when you run the job.

4-15
Using Taught Alignment to Clone Jobs from CAD to Real

If it is necessary to adjust a job to run in a TRIP
ON
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
EDIT LOCK
(OFF)
(ON)
PLAY
MODE
REMOTE
TEACH
ALARM
EMERGENCY STOP
HOLD START
OFF
ESET
N/R
PE
O
very different position or using a different

robot model, MotoSim must be employed.
The How Do I script CAD to Real, Taught MEASUREMENT.JBI FILE WITH 48 POINTS
TAUGHT ALIGNMENT .JBI FILE WITH 4 POINTS
Alignment illustrates this procedure.
48 MEASUREMENTS WITH
ENCODER MOUNTED AT ONE ALIGNMENT.JBI FILE WITH
Note: It is a good idea to calibrate the robot STABLE UNKNOWN LOCATION. 4 POINTS FROM CAD
and tool before performing these
steps.
FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:

4
MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
To create a job filter, proceed as

follows:
FILTER FILE FOR ARM, *.PRM
1. From the toolbar, click the New ALIGNMENT FILE FOR CELL, *.ALN
Project button . The New Project

window appears.
4. Select the Robot type that matches the robot
arm you are calibrating.
5. Select the Robot application type: closest to
your application. Do not select Mastering.
6. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and
select the MotoCal tab.
2. Enter a Project name (e.g. the robots serial

3. Leave Location as is.

4-16 Procedures
Note: Make sure the displayed .clb file matches the b) Consider the work area of the robot and
serial number on your encoder. If it does not, imagine a rectangular solid approximately
copy the file from the Encoder Calibration disk to filling this volume. Program a job with four
the MotoCal Templates folder C:\Program points at each of the eight corners of this
Files\Motoman\MotoCal Templates. shape. After teaching the first point at a
corner, teach three more by making large
7. Select the Manual radio button under Type. changes in the orientation of the TCP. Be
8. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if sure the measurement adapter does not
using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding bind and the measurement cable does not
tip adapter, set this field to 12.7 mm. touch anything while the job is running.
9. You can set the Base Adapter Offset to zero. c) Teach several other points, varying the
However, it is not used for this calibration. orientation, until you have approximately
4 10. Click OK on the Measurement System window fifty points.
and again on the New Project window. d) Use FDEWin to copy the job to the MotoCal
11. Click Save. MotoCal saves your new project. project. Start FDEWin by selecting Project
12. Attach the measurement adapter to the tool on File Transfer from the menu. Use the
the robot arm so the TCP of the adapter is the programming pendant to complete the
same as that of the tool. If using a CMM T-axis save procedure.
calibration tool, this is done. If calibrating with 16. You should now have a good measurement job
weld torch and Universal Measurement Adapter, on the controller and the same job in the
be sure to align the interior point of the Adapter MotoCal project. If the job does not appear in
with the TCP of the torch. the Robot Files window of the project, right click
If the production job will run with mass that is a in that window and select Add Files to Project
significant fraction of the arms capacity, this and select the job.
mass should be present while measurements are 17. Click the Measure button. MotoCal prompts you
taken. to place the measurement cable in the reference
13. Mount the Encoder so it is stable relative to the position. Click OK
robot base. Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
14. Connect the Data Acquisition box to one of the Acquisition Card appears, check the
COM ports on your PC. Connect the encoder connections between the PC COM port and Data
and power supply cables to the Data Acquisition Acquisition box. Also check power supply
box. Connect the FDE cable. connections and try Measure again. Be sure
15. If there is not already a measurement job on the FDEWin, or some other application, is not
robot controller, load or teach one to the holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When
controller. To teach a measurement job, proceed
as follows: the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the
Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is
a) Attach measurement cable to Measurement
Adapter. displayed at the bottom of the measurement
indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem
with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File,
should be lighted.

4-17
Note: If any of these screens is skipped, change the

18. Attach the measurement cable to the

measurement adapter. Run robot to first point 22. If this is a new project, you are prompted to
of measurement job. The measurement screen enter TCP values. The Parameters for the
indicates the cable length change. When robot is measurement job screen appears. Enter the tool
stabilized at first point, click Measure button or XYZ values from the robot controller, regardless
use the space bar. The Measurement screen of the validity of this data. Click OK.
shows the point has been recorded.
OK. Measurements are recorded in the .msr file
shown in the Measurement Files window. Place
the measurement cable back in the reference
position on the encoder.
21. Select the correct Measurement job,
Measurement, Filter, and Alignment files from
their windows. Click the Default Calibration
button . When the Choose Calibration
System window appears, be sure the correct
files are displayed. Correct any of the fields by
typing directly or using the browse buttons to
the right of each field.

4-18 Procedures
23. The Calibration appears with green checks on

Robot and End-Effector. The checks indicate
what is included in the calibration. Click End-
effector and set Calibrate end-effector to Yes.
If the TCP will carry mass that is a significant fraction
of the arms capacity and this mass was present while
measurements were taken, enter this information in
the Tool Center of Gravity and Mass box near the
center of the screen, within the End-effector
parameters: box. Enter the XYZ coordinates (in
millimeters) of the center of gravity, using the tool
4 flange coordinates. Enter the mass attached to the
tool flange in kilograms. This data is very important 26. Click Start Calibration. If the resulting errors and
when jobs taught in CAD are run on heavily loaded standard deviations are small enough, click Save
arms. Calibration and Close. If these values are not
small enough (see Close: at the end of the
24. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off Calibration Results section in the next
tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and chapter.) you have not saved the All.prm file
Mass data in the End Effector window, you may from the controller to the PC. With FDEWin
want to turn on more of the k parameters in started, use the teach pendant to save All.prm to
the Robot window. The parameters k1 your project. If using an XRC controller, this will
through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm take several minutes. After All.prm has been
joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3 saved to the PC, enter a name for the Filter file
are turned ON. You may want to turn on k4 and to be created. By default it will be written over
k5 also. You should only turn on k6 if the mass the Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal
on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis. values. Choose another name that is meaningful
You should only turn on k1 if the robot is to you.
mounted on a wall.
27. From the main menu, select Project Create
25. The base of the Encoder has small screw holes Directory- CAD. Select OK.
and alignment pin holes in one of its
quarters.The Z-axis of the Encoder points up 28. You must have a work piece and/or fixture for
when the Encoder sits flat on its base. If the the robot, and a model of these in your CAD
Encoder Z axis is not parallel to the robot base Z system. The model must be accurate. The
axis this information must be entered in the procedure will work more smoothly if the
Fixture window. To do this click the Fixture alignment of the fixture to the robot in the CAD
button. In the R1 field(s) enter the roll around system is close to the alignment in the real
the Robot Base X axis that is required to make system. If this is not done, the likelihood of
the Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z unreachable points is increased.
axis. In the R2 field(s) enter the roll around the
Robot Base Y axis that is required to make the
Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis.
For more information, refer to the Encoder
Location and Orientation section at the
beginning of this chapter.

4-19
29. This procedure does not include OLP (MotoSim)

Automatic Alignment. Therefore,
you must teach alignment points.
1
Choose four points whose
location on the fixture are
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP 1 2
accurately known. These same ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP 2
four points must be represented
in the CAD model. These points
IDEAL JOB, IDEAL.JBI
should not be in one line. Teach a
job with the robot touching each N
of these points in a particular FILTER FILE FOR REAL ROBOT N *.PR
order. Do not include any via MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP N
points. It does not need to be 4
possible to run this job. Teach the
four points as accurately as you
can. Add this job to the real
project. Teach the same job in the
1 N
CAD system, being sure to teach JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 1, ALIGNED
R REAL EXTERNAL TCP 1, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
JOB FOR REAL ROBOT N, ALIGNED
FOR REAL EXTERNAL TCP N, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
the points in the same order. Add
this job to the CAD project.
2
FOR REAL EXTERNAL TCP 2, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
30. You also need to create the CAD job to 32. Click Start Calibration. You are prompted to
download. If the CAD job is for a test, rather enter a name to save the Alignment file. An
than a real production job, it should go to points ".aln" extension is attached to indicate
and edges so the accuracy of the download can alignment.
be judged. Do not program points at the limits 33. Enter the correct TCP information for the CAD
of the envelope. This can result in points that system and the real system. These TCP values
cannot be reached by the real robot due to must be the ones used in the CAD system and
differences in the alignment of the fixture. When on the real system when the alignment jobs
you have created this CAD job, add it to the CAD were taught.
project. 34. The Successful Filter message appears
31. Perform a Calibration to create an Alignment file followed by the Alignment Results. Smaller error
for the difference in the alignment between the values are better. This method relies on accurate
real robot and CAD robot. In the original teaching and is not expected to provide the
project, select the Filter file you created earlier. same accuracy as methods that do not. The
With the Shift key held down, drag the CAD Alignment button shows the calculated X value
alignment job from the CAD project to the real for the alignment difference. Click this button to
alignment job. The TCP and Alignment dialog see the calculated X, Y, and Z displacements and
appears. This Calibration is only to make an standard deviation associated with each.
Alignment of the Fixture, so you cannot change 35. Clicking OK and Close creates the new
any settings. Alignment file. You can now download the CAD
jobs.

4-20 Procedures
36. If a CAD job is not ready to download, add one

to the CAD project now. In the CAD project
select the job to be downloaded. In the Real
project, select the Filter and Alignment files
created above. Click the Real Project Default
Filter button . The Setup to filter Jobs

screen appears. Make sure the correct files are
selected. To avoid confusion, change the name
of the Destination robot job file to remind you
that it has been adjusted for the real robot. Limit
the name to eight characters. This is the name of
4 the downloaded job that will be created in the
real project. Make sure the other fields are filled
in correctly and click OK.
you set in the CAD robot when you taught the
job. The second screen is for the TCP values you
will set on the real robot when you run the job.
38. After you finish with the second Parameters For
screen, the Successful Filter message appears
and the adjusted job appears in the Robot files
window of the real project. If there are points
that could not be adjusted, a Points not
Successful Filter message. Be careful the first
time you run the downloaded job on the real
robot, especially if the Points not Reachable
message appeared.
39. Use FDEWin to transfer the new job to the
controller. Run it carefully. Once the filter and
alignment files are created, it will be easy to
create and download the next CAD job.

4-21
Cloning Jobs from Real to Real using Automatic Alignment

If a CAD system will be used, follow the CAD version of this procedure. Accurate copies of the fixture must be
used for the Master cell and each of the Clone cells. If it is necessary to adjust a job to run in a very different
position or using a different robot model, MotoSim must be employed. The How Do I script Real to Real,
Automatic Alignment illustrates this procedure.
Note: The Automatic Alignment feature of this procedure relies on appropriate mounting of the Encoder on the Fixture.
This is addressed in the Fixture Calibration section of the next chapter on pages 5-13 through 5-16.
There must be four ON
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
EDIT LOCK
(OFF)
(ON)
PLAY
MODE
REMOTE
TEACH
ALARM
EMERGENCY STOP
HOLD START
ON
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
EDIT LOCK
(OFF)
(ON)
PLAY
MODE
REMOTE
TEACH
ALARM
EMERGENCY STOP
HOLD START
accurate mounting
TRIP TRIP
MASTER CLONE
OFF
OFF
SET
SET
/RE
/RE
N
N
PE
PE
O O
points for the Encoder

on the fixture. Bushings 4
FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS, FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS,
and pins, or square 1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM THE 1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM THE
CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS. CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS.
mounting blocks and
corners may be used. In 12 MEASUREMENTS WITH ENCODER 12 MEASUREMENTS WITH ENCODER
the following discussion, KNOWN
MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATELY
LOCATIONS ON THE FIXTURE,
MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATELY
KNOWN LOCATIONS ON THE FIXTURE,
bushings are assumed. If RECORDED IN FOUR MEASUREMENT FILES. RECORDED IN FOUR MEASUREMENT FILES.
square mounting blocks
are used, substitute
these for bushings. Also
POSITIONS OF ENCODER POSITIONS OF ENCODER
substitute the interior MOUNTING POINTS ON CAD FIXTURE, MOUNTING POINTS ON CAD FIXTURE,
corner of the square ENTERED IN MOTOCAL BY USER. MotoCal ENTERED IN MOTOCAL BY USER.
block adapter for the top MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
center of the pin of the MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
bushing adapter.
The encoder is mounted
FILTER FILE FOR MASTER, *.PRM
with an adapter plate FILTER FILE FOR CLONE, *.PRM
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR MASTER TO CLONE, *.ALN
that attaches to its
bottom corner with two
alignment pins and two screws. The pin on this plate fits the bushings at the mounting points. The axis of this
pin is the same as the vertical axis around which the orientation of the external pulley can change. This means
that when the encoder is mounted by means of the plate with the pin in a bushing, the orientation of the
encoder around the pin does not matter. Thus the encoder can be positioned to minimize interference with the
cable.
The Base Adapter Offset is the distance that the mounting bracket holds the base of the encoder above the
surface of the fixture. The base adapter Offset thickness must be provided so MotoCal can determine the
correct elevation (Z) difference for the alignment. See step 9 below.

4-22 Procedures

1. From the toolbar, click New Project . The serial number on your encoder. If it does not,
New Project window appears. copy the file from the Encoder Calibration disk to
Files\Motoman\MotoCal Templates.
7. Select the Manual radio button under Type.
8. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if
using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding
tip adapter, set this field to 12.7 mm.
9. Enter the thickness (in mm) of the adapter used
to attach the Measurement Encoder to the
4 fixture. See note at the beginning of this
procedure for further explanation.
10. Click OK on Measurement System window and
again on New Project window.
11. MotoCal saves your new project.
12. Attach measurement adapter to tool on the
robot arm so TCP of adapter is the same as that
2. Enter a Project name (e.g. the robots serial of the tool. If you are calibrating with a weld
number, type, location, or job). torch, attach the Universal Measurement
3. Leave Location: as is. Adapter to the welding tip and wire so that its
4. Select Robot type matching the robot arm you interior point is at the weld TCP of the torch.
are calibrating. Adjust the setscrews to make this accurate.
5. Select the Robot application type most similar to Proceed similarly for calibration with other
your application type. Do not select Mastering. tools. If the production job will run with mass
that is a significant fraction of the arms capacity,
6. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and this mass should be present while
select the MotoCal tab. measurements are taken.
13. Mount the MotoCal Encoder in the first
mounting location on the fixture. It is important
to keep track of which job and measurement go
with each mounting location. Number the
mounting locations and name the measurement
jobs to correspond.
and power supply cables to the Data Acquisition
box. Connect the FDE cable.

4-23
15. This procedure requires measurement jobs to

be used with the encoder in each of the four 18. Click the Measure button . The message
mounting locations on the fixture. Teach four Make sure that the measurement attachment is
different jobs. Name the jobs sequentialy (i.e. at the reference position appears. Be sure that
1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi) corresponding to the the Encoder measurement cable is attached to
numbered mounting locations. To create a the metal post on the encoder and click OK.
measurement job: Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
a) Mount the encoder in the first, or next, Acquisition Card appears, check the
location on the fixture. connections between the PC COM port and Data
b) Attach the measurement cable to the Acquisition box. Also check power supply
Measurement Adapter. connections and try Measure again. Be sure
c) Consider the work area of the robot and FDEWin, or some other application, is not
imagine a rectangular solid approximately holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When
4
filling this area. Program a job that has two
the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the
points at each of the eight corners of the
shape. After teaching the first point at a Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is
corner, teach one more by making a big displayed at the bottom of the measurement
change in the orientation of the TCP. Be indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem
sure that the measurement adapter never with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File,
binds and the measurement cable does not page 3-5). If there is an LED on the encoder, it
touch anything as the job runs. should be lighted.
d) It is not necessary to teach the job exactly
this way. Create a job with about 12 points.
This is assuming that you will teach four
jobs with a total of about 50 points.
e) Repeat the preceding four steps until you
have a measurement job for each of the
four encoder positions.
f ) Use FDEWin to copy the job to the MotoCal
project. Start FDEWin by selecting Project
File Transfer from the menu. Use the
programming pendant to complete the
save procedure.
16. You should now have four measurement jobs on
the controller, one for each encoder location on
the fixture, and the same jobs in the MotoCal
project. If the job does not appear in the Robot
Files window of the project, right click in that
window and select Add Files to Project and
select the job
17. Place the encoder in its first mounting location.

4-24 Procedures
19. Attach the measurement cable to the If the TCP will carry mass that is a significant fraction
measurement adapter. Jog the robot to the first of the arms capacity and this mass was present while
point of the measurement job. The measurements were taken, enter information about
measurement screen shows cable length this mass in the Tool Center of Gravity and Mass box
changes. When the robot is stabilized at the first near the center of the screen, within the End-
point, select Measure. The Measurement screen effector parameters: box. Enter the XYZ coordinates
shows the point has been recorded.
in millimeters of the center of gravity using the tool
20. Continue to record measurements for each flange coordinates. Enter the mass attached to the
tool flange in kilograms. This data is most important
21. When all measurements have been taken, click when jobs taught in CAD will be run on heavily
OK. The measurements are recorded in the .msr
file shown in the Measurement Files window. loaded arms.
4 Place the measurement cable back in the 26. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off
reference position on the encoder. tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and
22. Move the Encoder to the next location on the Mass data in the End Effector window you may
fixture and repeat steps 19 through 22 until you want to turn on more of the k parameters in
have four measurement files recorded, one for the Robot window. The parameters k1
each encoder location. through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm
23. Select the Measurement jobs in the Robot files joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3
window, the Measurement files in their window, are turned ON. You may want to turn on k4 and
and the correct filter and alignment files in their k5 also. You should only turn on k6 if the mass
windows. Then click the Default Calibration on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis.
You should only turn on k1 if the robot is
button . When the Choose Calibration mounted on a wall.
files are displayed in the correct order. You may
correct any of the fields by typing corrections
directly or by using the browse buttons to the
right of the fields
24. If this is a new project you will be prompted to
enter TCP values. Next, a Parameters for the
measurement job screen is displayed. Enter the
tool XYZ values from the controller, regardless 27. Click Fixture and set Calibrate fixture to NO. In
of their accuracy. Click OK. the Measurement Base Box, select Unknown.
25. The Calibration screen is displayed with green
checks on Robot and End-Effector. The checks
indicate what will be included in the calibration.
Click End-effector and set Calibrate end-effector
to Yes.

4-25
28. The Encoder base has several mounting and b) The clone project will be created with many
alignment holes in one of its quarters.The Z-axis of the same files that are in the project you
of the Encoder points up when the Encoder sits started with, the Master project.
flat on its base. If the Encoder Z axis is not 35. Measurement of the Clone cell.
parallel to the robot base Z axis this information a) Make the position of the fixture for the
must be entered in the Fixture window. In the Clone cell as similar to the master cell as
R1 field(s) enter the roll around the Robot Base you can without much trouble. This will
X axis that is required to make the Robot Base Z decrease the likelihood of unreachable
axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis. In the R2 points in the cloned job.
field(s) enter the roll around the Robot Base Y
axis that is required to make the Robot Base Z b) Take measurements for the Clone robot as
axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis. For more you did for the Master robot. Use the same
information, refer to the Encoder Location and jobs that came from the Master project, if
Orientation section at the beginning of this possible. Be careful that these jobs do not 4
chapter. cause the Clone robot to crash, or cause
interference with the measurement cable.
29. Click Start Calibration. If you need to change the measurement
30. If errors and standard deviations are small jobs, you must replace the originals in the
enough, click Save Calibration and Close. If clone project with the new versions from
these values are not small enough see the the controller.
close: heading at the end of the Calibration
Results section in the next chapter. Create the Filter and Alignment files for the
31. MotoCal asks if you want to rezero the robot. Clone Cell
Select No. 1. After you have taken all the measurements for
32. Save the All.prm from the controller to the PC to the four Encoder locations you can create a
make a filter. Use FDEWin to save All.prm to Filter for the Clone robot, and an alignment file
your project. If you are using an XRC controller, for the adjustment between the Master and this
this will take several minutes. After All.prm has Clone project. The procedure for the clone
been saved to the PC, MotoCal informs you if a project differs from the procedure you used for
filter has not been purchased for this robot. the Master Project.
Otherwise, enter a name for the Filter file to be a) As starting Filter file use
created. By default, MotoCal overwrites the NameYouMadeUp.prm that was copied into
Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal the new Clone project when it was created,
values. Select another name that is meaningful instead of the Motoman_[rbt].prm.
to you. No alignment file is created. However, b) You do use Motoman_[rbt].aln file because
the fixture location information is recorded. as explained above, no alignment file was
This information is used in the Clone project. created in the Master project.
33. From the Main Menu select Project-Create 2. Set up the Robot and End-effector windows as
DirectoryClone. Click OK. you did for the Master project. If you did not use
34. Create a Sub Project for the Second (Clone) the same measurement jobs in the Clone
Robot and its Positioner. project that you used in the Master project, you
a) From the Main Menu select Project- must click the Robot button and turn Off Use
>Create Directory->Clone. You can error files in the Robot Calibration window.
change the name of the project to be
created by changing the Project Name field.
Select OK.

4-26 Procedures
3. Set Calibrate Fixture to Yes, and select CAD .frm Use the Filter and Alignment Files
file. From the Open window select the 1. You are now ready to Clone jobs between the
NameYouMadeUp.frm file. This .frm file is of the Master and Clone cells. For the following
same name as the .prm file that you choose at discussion it is assumed that the job will be
the start of this calibration, in sub step i above. taught on the Master cell and transferred
MotoCal will determine the difference between (Cloned) to the Clone cell. The reverse is also
the fixture positions for the Master and Clone possible. The Master job should not go to the
systems. limits of the robots work envelope. Otherwise it
Note: In the Master project because Calibrate Fixture is likely that some points cannot be reached by
was set to No, information about the Encoder the destination robot because of differences in
locations was stored in the the alignment of the Fixture. When you have
[NameYouMadeUp].frm file. Now with Calibrate created this source job, save it to the MotoCal
4 Fixture set to Yes, the difference in the location of project with FDEWin and add it to the project.
the fixture between the Master and Clone projects 2. In the Master project Select the Filter you
will be recorded in the created above, the nominal Motoman_[rbt].aln
[NameYouWillMakeUp].aln file to be produced.
file. And the job to be cloned. In the Clone
project select the Filter and Alignment files you
4. Select OK. Click Start Calibration. If the errors created above, [CloneNameYouMadeUp.prm
and standard deviations are all small enough, and CloneNameYouMadeUp.aln respectively.
click Save Calibration and Close. (If these values
are not small enough see the close: heading at Select the Default Filter button in the
the end of the Calibration Results section in Clone project. The Setup to Filter Jobs screen
the next chapter.) appears. To avoid confusion, change the name
5. You are asked whether you want to rezero the of the Destination robot file (.jbi file) to remind
robot. Select No. you that it has been adjusted for the Clone
6. You have not saved All.prm from the controller robot. Limit the name to eight characters. This is
to the PC and it is needed to make a filter. the name of the downloaded job that will be
Therefore let FDEWin start and then use the created in the Clone project. Make sure the
teach pendant to save All.prm to your project. If other fields are filled in correctly. Select OK.
you are using an XRC controller All.prm is a 3. In the Parameters For screens, enter the TCP
large file and will take several minutes to be values. The first screen is for the TCP values that
saved. After All.prm has been saved to the PC, were in use in the Master robot when you taught
MotoCal will inform you if a filter has not been the job. The second screen is for the TCP values
purchased for this robot. Otherwise, enter a that you will have set on the Clone robot when
name for the Filter file that will be created. By you run the job.
default it will be written over the 4. After you finish with the second Parameters For
Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal screen, you will get the Successful Filter
values. You should choose another name that is message and the adjusted job will appear in the
meaningful to you. An alignment file (.aln) with Robot files window of the real project. If there
the same name as the Filter file will also be are points that could not be adjusted you will
created. Notice that by using the Encoder in the get a Points not Reachable message before the
four mounting locations the necessity to teach Successful Filter message. Of course you will be
an alignment job is eliminated. careful the first time you run the downloaded
job on the Clone robot. Be especially careful if
you get the Points not Reachable message.

4-27
5. Use FDEWin to transfer the Cloned job to the

controller. Run it carefully. Once you get this to
work it will be easy to Clone jobs between the
Master and the Clone robot because you already
have the filter file for both cells and the
alignment file for the difference between the
fixture positions. If you want to Clone a job from
the Clone to the Master, reverse the direction
that you drag the job.
You now have one Master project and one Clone sub
project. Using the methods presented, you may
make more Clone sub projects (Clone2, Clone3, .
CloneN) and then transfer jobs taught on the Master 4
to all the Clones.

4-28 Procedures
Cloning Jobs from CAD to Real using Automatic Alignment

Accurate copies of the fixture must be used for each of the Clone cells. The fixture must also be accurately
modeled in CAD. If it is necessary to adjust a job to run in a very different position or using a different robot
model, MotoSim must be employed. The How Do I script CAD to Real, Automatic Alignment illustrates this
procedure.
This is addressed in the Fixture Calibration section of the next chapter on pages 5-13 through 5-16.
There must be four accurate
mounting points for the
Encoder on the fixture.
4 Bushings and pins, or square
mounting blocks and 12 MEASUREMENTS WITH ENCODER
MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATELY YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
PLAY
MODE
TEACH
EMERGENCY STOP
corners may be used. In the

EDIT LOCK
(OFF) ALARM
ON
TRIP
OFF
KNOWN LOCATIONS ON THE FIXTURE,
SET
/RE N
PE
O
RECORDED IN FOUR MEASUREMENT FILES.

following discussion,
bushings are assumed. If
POSITIONS OF ENCODER FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS,
square mounting blocks are MOUNTING POINTS ON CAD FIXTURE, 1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM THE
used, substitute these for ENTERED IN MOTOCAL BY USER. CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS.
bushings. Also substitute the

interior corner of the square
block adapter for the top
center of the pin of the MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
bushing adapter. MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
The encoder is mounted
with an adapter plate that
attaches to its bottom corner
with two alignment pins and
FILTER FILE FOR ARM, *.PRM
two screws. The pin on this ALIGNMENT FILE FOR CAD TO CELL, *.ALN
plate fits the bushings at the
mounting points. The axis of
this pin is the same as the vertical axis around which the orientation of the external pulley can change. This
means that when the encoder is mounted by means of the plate with the pin in a bushing, the orientation of the
encoder around the pin does not matter. Thus the encoder can be positioned to minimize interference with the
cable.
The Base Adapter Offset is the distance that the mounting bracket holds the base of the encoder above the
surface of the fixture. The base adapter Offset thickness must be provided so MotoCal can determine the
correct elevation (Z) difference for the alignment. See step 10 below.
1. First, set up the simulated robot cell using system. If this is not done, the likelihood of
MotoSim or other robot simulation software. unreachable points is increased. Close can be
Automatic Alignment works better if the accomplished using a tape measure and visual
alignment of the fixture to the robot in the real inspection.
system is close to the alignment in this CAD

4-29

2. From the toolbar, click New Project . The serial number on your encoder. If it does not,
New Project window appears. copy the file from the Encoder Calibration disk to
Files\Motoman\MotoCal Templates.
8. Select the Manual radio button under Type.
9. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if
using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding
10. Enter the thickness (in mm) of the adapter used
to attach the Measurement Encoder to the
fixture. See note at the beginning of this 4
procedure for further explanation.
11. Click OK on Measurement System window and
again on New Project window.
12. MotoCal saves your new project.
13. Attach measurement adapter to tool on the
robot arm so TCP of adapter is the same as that
3. Enter a Project name (e.g. the robots serial of the tool. If you are calibrating with a weld
number, type, location, or job). torch, attach the Universal Measurement
4. Leave Location: as is. Adapter to the welding tip and wire so that its
5. Select Robot type matching the robot arm you interior point is at the weld TCP of the torch.
are calibrating. Adjust the setscrews to make this accurate.
6. Select the Robot application type most similar to Proceed similarly for calibration with other
your application type. Do not select Mastering. tools. If the production job will run with mass
that is a significant fraction of the arms capacity,
7. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and this mass should be present while
select the MotoCal tab. measurements are taken.
jobs to correspond.
and power supply cables to the Data Acquisition
box. Connect the FDE cable.
16. This procedure requires measurement jobs to
be used with the encoder in each of the four
mounting locations on the fixture. Teach four
different jobs. Name the jobs sequentially (i.e.
1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi) corresponding to the
numbered mounting locations. To create a
measurement job:

4-30 Procedures
a) Mount the encoder in the first, or next, Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
location on the fixture. Acquisition Card appears, check the
b) Attach the measurement cable to the connections between the PC COM port and Data
Measurement Adapter. Acquisition box. Also check power supply
c) Consider the work area of the robot and connections and try Measure again. Be sure
imagine a rectangular solid approximately FDEWin, or some other application, is not
filling this area. Program a job that has two holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When
points at each of the eight corners of the the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the
shape. After teaching the first point at a Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is
corner, teach one more by making a big displayed at the bottom of the measurement
change in the orientation of the TCP. Be
sure that the measurement adapter never indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem
4 binds and the measurement cable does not with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File,
touch anything as the job runs. page 3-5). If there is an LED on the encoder, it
d) It is not necessary to teach the job exactly should be lighted.
this way. Create a job with about 12 points.
This is assuming that you will teach four
jobs with a total of about 50 points.
e) Repeat the preceding four steps until you
have a measurement job for each of the
four encoder positions.
f ) Use FDEWin to copy the job to the MotoCal
project. Start FDEWin by selecting Project
File Transfer from the menu. Use the
programming pendant to complete the
save procedure.
17. You should now have four measurement jobs on
the controller, one for each encoder location on
the fixture, and the same jobs in the MotoCal
project. If the job does not appear in the Robot
Files window of the project, right click in that
window and select Add Files to Project and
select the job
18. Place the encoder in its first mounting location. 20. Attach the measurement cable to the
measurement adapter. Jog the robot to the first
19. Click the Measure button . The message point of the measurement job. The
Make sure that the measurement attachment is measurement screen shows cable length
at the reference position appears. Be sure that changes. When the robot is stabilized at the first
the Encoder measurement cable is attached to point, select Measure. The Measurement screen
the metal post on the encoder and click OK. shows the point has been recorded.

4-31
22. When all measurements have been taken, click tool flange in kilograms. This data is most important
OK. The measurements are recorded in the .msr when jobs taught in CAD will be run on heavily
file shown in the Measurement Files window. loaded arms.
Place the measurement cable back in the
reference position on the encoder.
23. Move the Encoder to the next location on the
fixture and repeat steps 19 through 22 until you
have four measurement files recorded, one for
each encoder location.
24. Select the Measurement jobs in the Robot files
window, the Measurement files in their window,
and the correct filter and alignment files in their
windows. Then click the Default Calibration 4
button . When the Choose Calibration
files are displayed in the correct order. You may
correct any of the fields by typing corrections
directly or by using the browse buttons to the
right of the fields
25. If this is a new project you will be prompted to
tool XYZ values from the controller, regardless
of their accuracy. Click OK.
checks on Robot and End-Effector. The checks
indicate what will be included in the calibration.
Click End-effector and set Calibrate end-effector
to Yes.
measurements were taken, enter information about
this mass in the Tool Center of Gravity and Mass box
near the center of the screen, within the End-
effector parameters: box. Enter the XYZ coordinates
flange coordinates. Enter the mass attached to the

4-32 Procedures
27. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off b) Next, in the top half of the screen in the
tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and Measurement Base section, select Enter
Mass data in the End Effector window you may Values. Fill in the four measurement base
want to turn on more of the k parameters in locations using the User Frame you defined
the Robot window. The parameters k1 in step a above. The first location for the
through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm encoder is the origin of the User Frame for
joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3 the fixture, so it must be left as zeroes.
are turned ON. You may want to turn on k4 and Enter the location of each of the other
k5 also. You should only turn on k6 if the mass three measurement base mounting
on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis. locations relative to the first mounting
You should only turn on k1 if the robot is location. Remember to enter values from
mounted on a wall. the CAD system. Remember to let the X,Y,
4 and Z axes for the fixture frame be parallel
to the corresponding axes for the robot
base frame. The values you enter in MB1
must correspond to the encoder position
for the first measurement job listed in the
Choose Calibration System in step 23.
Similarly for MB2 through MB4.
c) The Encoder Z-axis is parallel to the axis of
the internal drum on which the cable
winds. This axis points up when the
Encoder rests flat on its base. If the
Encoder Z axis is not parallel to the Robot
Z-axis its orientation must be specified in
fields R1 and/or R2. Enter in R1 the roll
28. Click Fixture and set Calibrate fixture to YES. around Robot X which is required to make
a) On the bottom half of the screen in the Robot Z parallel to Encoder Z. Enter in R2
User Frame section, select Enter Values. the roll around Robot Y which is required
The values you need to enter are from the to make Robot Z parallel to Encoder Z. For
CAD model. Enter the location of the first more information, refer to the Encoder
encoder mounting point on the fixture Location and Orientation section at the
relative to the robot base. In the CAD beginning of this chapter.
system, make the fixture X, Y, and Z axes d) To enter the above values correctly you
parallel to the corresponding axes of the need to think clearly about the robot base
robot frame so the orientations in the user frame and the fixture frame. Be careful not
frame for the fixture are all zero. to confuse X and Y, or get the sign of the
values incorrect. All values must be entered
in millimeters. After you are satisfied with
the values you entered, click OK. MotoCal
saves the values to file.
29. Click Start Calibration.

4-33
30. Click Fixture. 33. It is necessary to save All.prm from the

a) Notice the Measurement base values have controller to the PC to make a filter. Use
not changed. These values must be entered FDEWin to save All.prm to your project. If you
accurately. MotoCal cannot correct them. are using an XRC controller, this will take several
b) Examine the User Frame values. These are minutes. After All.prm has been saved to the PC,
the values MotoCal has calculated for the MotoCal informs you if a filter has not been
location of the fixture relative to the real purchased for this robot. Otherwise, enter a
robot. Check whether these values look name for the Filter file to be created. By default,
reasonable. The last three values on the MotoCal overwrites the Motoman_[rbt].prm file
screen, tlrx, tlry and tlrz give the that holds nominal values. Select another name
orientation of the Fixture relative to the that is meaningful to you. An alignment file with
robot. If the orientation of the fixture the same name as the measurement file is also
relative to the robot in the real cell is created. Notice that by using the encoder in the 4
approximately the same as the orientation four mounting locations the necessity to teach
in the CAD cell, these values should not be an alignment job is eliminated. You are now
large. If some of these values are close to 90 finished making the filter and ready to make a
degrees, or 180 degrees, it is because the CAD job for the robot.
measurement base values have been 34. From the Main Menu select Project-Create
entered in the wrong order. Make sure the DirectoryCAD. Click OK.
User Frame values look reasonable for your 35. Using your simulated cell, create a CAD job to
fixture location. If you find an error, fix it download. If the CAD job is for a test, rather
and select Start Calibration again. than a real production job, it should go to points
31. If the errors and standard deviations are small and edges so the accuracy of the download can
enough, click Save Calibration and Close. If be judged. The job should not go to the limits of
these values are not small enough see the the envelope. This is likely to result in points
close: heading at the end of the Calibration that cannot be reached by the real robot
Results section in the next chapter. because of differences in the alignment of the
32. MotoCal asks if you want to rezero the robot. fixture.
Select No. 36. When you have created this CAD job, add it to
the MotoCal CAD project. Right click in the
Robot files window of the CAD project and
select Add Files to Project. You can use the Open
Files dialog to find your CAD job if you have not
already copied it to your CAD project directory.

4-34 Procedures
37. Download the CAD job to the real project. In the

CAD project select the job. In the real project,
select the alignment file and the filter file
(*.prm) you created above. In the real project,
select the Default Filter button .The Setup
to Filter Jobs screen appears. Make sure the
correct files are selected. To avoid confusion,
change the name of the Destination robot file to
remind you that it has been adjusted for the real
robot. Limit the name to eight characters. This is
the name of the downloaded job to be created
4 in the real project. Make sure the other fields are
filled in correctly and click OK.
job. The second screen is for the TCP values that
you will set on the real robot when you run the
job.
robot. Be especially careful if you get the Points
not Reachable message.
controller. Be careful the first time you run this
job. Once the filter and alignment files are
created, it is easy to create and download the
next CAD job.

4-35
Cloning (General)
You must have projects for CLONE 1
two different robots of the MASTER
same type. For each of these CLONE 2
robots that is real you must FILTER FILE FOR CLONE 1,*.PRM
ALIGNMENT FILE BETWEEN MASTER CELL
have a filter and an alignment FILTER FILE FOR MASTER ROBOT,*.PRM & CLONE 1 WITH FIXTURE 1, *.ALN
FILTER FILE FOR CLONE 2,*.PRM
file. From this it follows that ALIGNMENT FILE BETWEEN MASTER CELL
each robot must be provided & CLONE 2 WITH FIXTURE 2, *.ALN
with the same type of fixture.

You can make the required
filter and alignment files JOB TAUGHT ON MASTER
CLONE N
using either the filter
ROBOT FOR FIXTURE 1 4
procedure with Automatic MotoCal FILTER FILE FOR CLONE N,*.PRM
Alignment, or the filter ALIGNMENT FILE BETWEEN MASTER CELL
procedure using taught & CLONE N WITH FIXTURE N, *.ALN
alignment files to determine

the alignment. An Alignment
file describes the difference
between two specific cells. 1 2 N
(An Alignment file has an JOB FOR CLONE 1
AND FIXTURE 1 JOB FOR CLONE 2
JOB FOR CLONE N
AND FIXTURE N
extension .aln.). AND FIXTURE 2
If two different cells each have a Filter and an Alignment file, jobs can only be cloned between them if the
alignment files both refer to the same third cell. This may arranged with the third cell as a Master cell and the
two cells to be cloned between both clones of the Master. This situation is shown in the flow diagram on this
page. If a job is were cloned from Cell 1 to Cell 2, the alignment would work correctly. It would also work
correctly between any two of the 1 through N clones of the Master. This is because the alignment file in each
clone cell is relative to the same Master cell. When a job is cloned from the Master to a Clone cell, or visa versa,
only one alignment file is used because it represents the difference between these two cells.
As further explanation, when a job is cloned from Cell 2 to Cell 1, it is aligned for the Master in an intermediate
step which the user does not see. Therefore it is not possible to clone jobs directly between two clone cells that
have two different masters. If an alignment were made between the two Masters, the job could be cloned from
one clone to its master, then to the other master and then to its clone.
A Filter file describes an individual robot arm. (A Filter file has an extension .prm.)
For purposes of the steps below, designate one project as Source and the other as Destination. If one of the
projects is a CAD project, filter and alignment files are not needed. The following steps assume that projects for
the two robots have been made and filter and appropriate alignment files created.

4-36 Procedures
1. Open the two projects.

2. Add the job you want to clone to the source
project. Start FDEWin by selecting Project PC
Controller File Transfer from the menu. Using
the teach pendant, save the job to the source
project. Once the job is in the source project
directory, right click in the Robot files window
of the Source Project, select Add Files to Project
and select the job you want to clone.
3. In the Destination Project, select the .prm filter
file and .aln alignment file you previously
created for this robot.
4 4. In the Source Project, select the filter and
alignment files you created for the source robot.
5. After all the needed files are selected, click the
Default Filter button in the destination project
The Setup to Filter Jobs window appears.
Change the name of the destination job to
identify what it is. Check that the other files
selected are correct and select OK
6. The Parameters for screen appears for the
source job. Make sure the TCP and User Frame
values are correct. These should match the
values from the source controller when this job
was created. Select OK.
7. The Parameters for screen for the destination
job appears. Make sure the TCP and User Frame
values are correct. These are the values used in
the destination controller when the job is run.
Select OK.
8. The Successful Filter message appears. The
Points not Reachable message may occur first.
This is more likely to occur if the job contains
points near the edges of the envelope and/or
the alignment of the fixtures is significantly
different between the two robots.
9. Use FDEWin to copy the job onto the
destination controller. Test it carefully.

4-37
Cloning Between Real Robot/Positioner Cells Using

Automatic Alignment
If a CAD system will be used, follow the CAD version of this procedure. If it is necessary to adjust a job to run in
a very different position or using a different robot model, MotoSim must be employed.
Note: The Automatic Alignment feature
of this procedure relies on 1
appropriate mounting of the FILTER (*.PRM) AND
Encoder on the Fixture. This is ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL 1 2
FILTER (*.PRM) AND
addressed in the Fixture ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL 2
Calibration section of the next
chapter on pages 5-13 through 4
5-16. FILTER, (*.PRM) AND ALIGNMENT
Note: It is not possible to use taught

FILE (*.TBL) FOR MASTER CELL
N
FILTER (*.PRM) AND
alignment points for Positioner
MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL N
projects.
The How Do I script Real to Real,
Robot and Positioner illustrates this
procedure. The fixture must be
accurate. Accurate copies of the
fixture must be made for each robot. 1 N
JOB FOR CELL 1 JOB FOR CELL N
The Fixture is mounted on the
Positioner. The location of the
Positioner relative to the Robot, and
2
JOB FOR CELL 2
the location of the Fixture relative to
the Positioner must be kept as constant as practical in all the systems to be used. This is so that all the robots
can use the same postures to reach the points.
There must be four accurate mounting points for the Encoder on the fixture. Bushings or square mounting
blocks may be installed at the mounting points. In the following discussion, bushings are assumed. If square
mounting blocks are used, substitute these for bushings. Also substitute the interior corner of the square
adapter block for the top center of the pin of the bushing adapter.
The Encoder is mounted with an adapter plate that attaches to its bottom corner with two small alignment pins
and screws. The large mounting pin on this plate fits the bushings at the mounting points. The axis of this pin is
the same as the vertical axis around which the orientation of the external pulley changes. This means that when
the Encoder is mounted by means of the plate with the pin in a bushing, the orientation of the Encoder around
the pin does not matter. Thus the Encoder can be positioned to avoid interference with the cable.
The Base Adapter Offset thickness is the distance that the mounting bracket holds the base of the Encoder
above the surface of the Fixture. The center of the bushing at its top surface is the point to be calculated by the
Calibration. The base adapter Offset thickness must be provided to allow MotoCal to calculate this position
accurately and thus determine the correct elevation (Z) difference for the alignment.

4-38 Procedures
Create a New Project for Calibration of the 9. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if
Master Robot and Positioner. using the Universal Adapter. If using the welding
1. From the toolbar, click New Project . The 10. Enter the thickness of the adapter used to attach
New Project window appears the Measurement Encoder to the fixture. See
2. Enter a Project name of your choice. the note at the beginning of this procedure for
further explanation.
3. Leave Location as is.
11. Click OK on the Measurement System window
4. Select Robot type matching the arm you are and then OK on the New Project window.
calibrating. Be careful to distinguish ERC, MRC
XRC, and NX100 versions of similar arms. 12. Allow MotoCal to save your new project.
5. Select Robot application type closest to your Prepare to Take Measurements
4 application. Do not select Mastering.
1. Fasten the measurement adapter to the tool on
6. Select Positioner type. For the RM2-500 this is the arm so the TCP of the adapter is the same as
"MRM_2-500Front.tbl". the TCP of the tool. If you are calibrating with a
Note: Each positioner type provides Left, Front, and weld torch, attach the Universal Measurement
Right versions. Select according to the the Adapter to the welding tip so its interior point is
robots point of view. at the weld TCP of the torch. Adjust the
setscrews to make this as accurate as possible.
7. Click Measurement options(MotoCal). and Proceed similarly for calibration with other
select the MotoCal tab. tools.
Note: When removing the swivel, only loosen the set
screws on one side. This will greatly simplify
repositioning the swivel on a similar type of tool.
Simply hold the swivel with the four unloosened
screws pressed against the new tool while the
opposite four are tightened.
jobs to correspond.
3. Remember, the positioner is in motion when
Note: Make sure the displayed .clb file matches the taking measurements. Make certain the Encoder
serial number on your encoder. If it does not, is attached securely to the fixture.
copy the file from the Encoder Calibration disk to 4. Connect Data Acquisition box to COM port on
the MotoCal Templates folder C:\Program PC. Also connect the encoder and power supply
Files\Motoman\MotoCal Templates. to the Data Acquisition box.
8. Set Type: to Manual. You may also use the Auto
or Digital Input setting if you are familiar with
these procedures.

4-39
5. This procedure requires measurement jobs to >PC<--> Controller File Transfer from the menu.
be used with the encoder in each of the four
mounting locations on the fixture. Teach four You should now have four measurement jobs on the
different jobs with positioner movement (i.e. R1 controller, one for each encoder location on the
+ S1 jobs). Name the jobs sequentially (i.e.1.jbi, fixture, and the same jobs in the MotoCal project. To
2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi) corresponding to the make the jobs show in the Robot Files window of the
numbered mounting locations. project, right click in that window, select Add Files to
Project and select the jobs.
Create measurement job
Take Measurements
CAUTION! 1. Click Measure button . The message Make

Teach jobs so the robot will not crash sure that the measurement attachment is at the 4
into the encoder, or clamp even if a reference position. appears. Be sure the
MotoCal Encoder measurement cable is
measurement job is run with the attached to the metal post on the encoder and
encoder in the wrong position. click OK.
1. On the Teach Pendant create a new job for the Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
robot and positioner. Acquisition Card appears, check the
2. Mount the encoder in the first, or next, location connections between the PC COM port and Data
on the fixture. Acquisition box. Also check power supply
3. Attach the measurement cable to the connections and try Measure again. Be sure
Measurement Adapter. FDEWin, or some other application, is not
4. Consider the work area of the robot and holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When
imagine a rectangular solid approximately filling the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the
this area. Program a job that has two points at Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is
each of the eight corners of the shape. After displayed at the bottom of the measurement
teaching the first point at a corner, teach one indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem
more by making large changes in the orientation with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File,
of the TCP. Be sure that the measurement
adapter never binds and the measurement cable
does not touch anything as the job runs. should be lighted.
5. Include Positioner movement for some of the
Measurement job steps.
6. You dont need to teach the job exactly this way.
You should make a job with about 12 points.
This is assuming that you will teach four jobs
with a total of about 50 points.
7. Repeat the five preceding steps until you have a
measurement job for each of the four encoder
positions.
Note: To move a job between the PC and the controller
use FDEWin. Start FDEWin by selecting Project-

4-40 Procedures
Measurements are recorded in the .msr file

shown in the Measurement Files window. You
can type in a different name for the measure-
ment file before you save it if you want to. If you
havent done so already, put the measurement
cable back in the reference position on the
Encoder.
fixture and fasten it securely. Repeat steps 2
through 4 until you have four measurement files
recorded, one for each encoder location.
4
Use MotoCal to create the Filter and Positioner
Alignment files.
1. Click the MRM_[model-position].tbl file to
select it and then click Motoman_[rbt].prm, all
2. Attach the measurement cable to the the .msr files you will use, and select the
measurement adapter. Run the robot to the first corresponding measurement .jbi files. Click the
point of the measurement job for the current
encoder location. The measurement screen Default Calibration button .
indicates that the length of the cable changed.
When the robot is stabilized at the first point,
click the Measure button. The Measurement
screen shows that the point has been recorded.
OK.
Note: To check the Encoder reference reading put the
measurement cable back in the reference position
on the Encoder before clicking OK. It is good
practice to check the reference reading
occasionally. The reading you get after parking
the cable on its reference post should be within Note: If any of these screens is skipped, change the
0.4 mm of the reading when you started the Project settings by selecting "Projects->Select
measurement. Screens->Preferences". Set checks in all the

4-41
2. The Choose Calibration System screen appears. 4. The Calibration screen is displayed with green
You need to have four measurement files and checks on Robot and End-Effector. The checks
four job files selected. If the correct files are not indicate what is included in the calibration. If
displayed, click the More button on the Robot there is not a green check on End-effector, click
files line. Select all the measurement jobs by End-effector and set Calibrate end-effector to
clicking behind the last one and then holding Yes. Select Nominal and OK. If necessary, click
the mouse button down while you stretch the Robot and set tt6 to off.
selection up to the first measurement job. When
they are all selected, click OK. Similarly select
the four .msr files. Be sure the jobs and
measurement files are listed in the same order
so they are correctly paired. Click OK.
Note: After you have selected the measurement jobs 4
and files once you will not need to do it again to
run the calibration again. Instead select the
correct Parameter and Positioner files and then
select the Default Calibration button. The same
measurement jobs and files will be selected
automatically.
3. If this is a new project, you are prompted to 5. Click Fixture and set Calibrate Fixture to No.
enter TCP values. A Parameters for the Select Unknown values for the Measurement
measurement job screen is displayed. Enter the Base. All the values in the grayed fields must be
tool XYZ values from the controller, regardless zero. If they are not, select Unknown values
of their validity. These are the tool values that again to clear them.
were used when the measurement job was
measured. Click OK. Supply Encoder Location and Orientation
Information.
It is necessary to give MotoCal information about the
Encoder Location and Orientation on the Positioner
so that the amount of cable wrapped around the
external pulley can be calculated. The following
procedure is appropriate for Positioners with a single
axis that is horizontal. The Positioners included in
MotoCal 3.0 meet this condition. For more
information, refer to the Encoder Location and
Orientation section at the beginning of this chapter.
First, establish the Orient coordinate system with
which to provide this orientation information.
1. Start from the Robot Base coordinates and
achieve required orientation.
If the fixture is in front of the robot and
parallel to the robot Y-axis:
a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/

4-42 Procedures
]_(Model)(Front).tbl. 5. Enter in R1 and R2 the number of degrees of

b) Do not rotate the robot base axes. rotation that were required around Orient
If the fixture is to the left of the robot and coordinates X and Y respectively to make the
Orient coordinate Z-axis parallel to the Encoder
parallel to the robot X-axis: Z-axis.
a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/ 6. Make certain only the first line of the Positioner
]_(Model)(Left).tbl. Parameters is turned on, and only parameters
b) Rotate the robot base axes 90 degrees tt0, d0, a0 aa0 in this line.
around Z. 7. Click OK. The values are saved to file.
If the fixture is to the right of the robot 8. Click Start Calibration. If the errors and standard
and parallel to the robot X-axis: deviations are all small enough, click Save
a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/ Calibration and Close. (If these values are not
4 ]_(Model)(Right).tbl. small enough, reconsider your fixture settings.
b) Rotate the robot base axes negative 90 Try changing the polarity of the values entered
degrees around Z. for orientation. Also see the close: heading at
the end of the Calibration Results section in
2. Translate the coordinate system from step 1 the next chapter.)
horizontally and/or vertically until the Y-axis is
coincident with the positioner axis. The Z axis 9. You are asked whether you want to rezero the
will still be vertical and the X-axis will be robot. Select No.
directed away from the robot. This is the Orient Note: If you know the robot is poorly calibrated you
coordinate system. may prefer to select Yes. This is a valid approach.
a) If the fixture is in front of the Robot, only It is presented in the first procedure.
translate the Orient coordinate horizontally
along the robot base Xaxis, not along the 10. Start FDWin and use the teach pendant to save
robot base Y-axis. All.prm to your project. If you are using an XRC
controller, this will take several minutes. After
b) If the fixture is to the left or right of the All.prm has been saved to the PC, MotoCal
Robot, only translate the Orient coordinate informs you if a filter has not been purchased
horizontally along the robot base Yaxis, for this robot. Otherwise, enter a name for the
not along the robot base X-axis. Filter file to be created. By default, MotoCal will
3. Place the Positioner in its zero position. When overwrite the Motoman_[rbt].prm file that
the Positioner is at zero, note the orientation of holds the nominal values. Choose another name
the Encoder Z-axis. The Encoder Z-axis is that is meaningful to you. A positioner
vertical when its base is horizontal. (Its origin is alignment file (.tbl) with the same name as the
at the tangent point of its external pulley and Filter file is also created.
the axis on which this pulley swivels. This
Encoder Z-axis is parallel to the axis of the Create a New Project for the Second (Clone)
internal drum of the Encoder on which the Robot and its Positioner.
cable winds.)
1. From the Main Menu select Project Create
4. Rotate the Orient coordinate system around the Directory Clone.
X-axis and/or theY-axis, the positioner axis, until
the Z axis is parallel to the Encoder Z axis. 2. Click OK. A clone project is created under the
Master project.

4-43
Measurement of Clone cell. 4. In the bottom half of the Fixture Calibration

1. Place the fixture for the clone robot on the screen, in the Positioner Parameters section, tt0,
positioner in clone cell. Try to match the d0, a0 and aa0 are ON because they were ON in
alignment of the fixture, relative to the robot, the Master project. Additionally turn ON tt1, d1,
with that of the master project. a1 aa1, tt2, and d2.
Note: In the Master project, because Calibrate Fixture
Note: Better results will be attained if the alignment of
was set to No, information about the Encoder
the fixture to the robot in the two systems is
locations was stored in the .frm file you named
close enough. If this is done, the likelihood of
previously. Now with Calibrate Fixture set to Yes,
unreachable points is decreased. close enough
the difference in the location of the fixture on the
can be accomplished using a tape measure and
positioner between the Master and Clone projects
visual inspection.
is recorded in the positioner parameters listed 4
2. Take measurements for the Clone robot as you above in a newly created .tbl file with the new
did for the Master robot. Use the same jobs that name you enter in step 7 below.
came from the Master project, if possible. Be
careful that these jobs do not cause the Clone 5. Click OK. Click Start Calibration. If the errors
robot to crash, or cause interference with the and standard deviations are all small enough,
measurement cable. If you need to change the click Save Calibration and Close. If these values
measurement jobs, you must replace the are not small enough, recheck your settings.
originals in the clone project with the new Also, see the close: heading at the end of the
versions from the controller. Calibration Results section in the next chapter.
6. You are asked whether you want to rezero the
Create Filter and Positioner Alignment files for robot. Select No.
the Clone Cell 7. It is necessary to save the All.prm from the
1. After the measurements for the four encoder controller to the PC to make a filter. Use
locations have been taken, create a Filter and FDEWin to save the All.prm to your project. If
positioner file for the Clone project. This you are using an XRC controller, All.prm is a
procedure differs from the one used for the large file and will take several minutes to be
Master Project. Do not use the files placed in the saved. If a filter has not been purchased,
master project when it was created. Select the MotoCal will inform you of this after All.prm has
.prm and .tbl files you created in the Master been saved to the PC. Otherwise, enter a name
project. These files were copied into the clone for the Filter file to be created. By default, it is
project when it was created. written over the Motoman_[rbt].prm file that
2. Set up the Robot and End-effector windows as holds nominal values. Choose another name
you did for the Master project (page 4-37) If you that is meaningful to you. A positioner
did not use the same measurement jobs in the alignment file (.tbl) with the same name as the
Clone project that you used in the Master Filter file is also be created.
project, select NO in the Use error files?
selection of the Robot files window.
3. Set Calibrate Fixture to Yes, and click CAD .frm
file. From the Open window select the .frm
file of the same name as the .prm and .tbl files
that you previously named. MotoCal determines
the difference between the fixture positions for
the Master and Clone systems.

4-44 Procedures
Use the Filter and Positioner Alignment Files. 5. Use FDEWin to transfer the Cloned job to the
You are now ready to clone jobs between the Master controller. Run it carefully. Once these steps are
performed, it is easy to Clone jobs between the
and Clone cells. For the following discussion it is Master and the Clone robot because the filter
assumed that the job will be taught on the Master cell and the alignment files already exist for both
and transferred (cloned) to the Clone cell. To avoid cells. If you want to Clone a job from the Clone
creating points that cannot be reached by the to the Master, select the source job in the clone
destination robot, due to differences in the project and the Default Filter button in the
alignment of the fixture, the Master job should not Master project.
contain points at the limits of the robots work You now have one Master project and one Clone sub
envelope. When you have created this source job, project. Using the methods presented, you may
save it to the MotoCal Master project with FDEWin make more Clone sub projects (Clone2, Clone3, .
4 and add it to the project. CloneN) and then transfer jobs taught on the Master
1. In the Master and Clone projects, select the to all the Clones.
Positioner alignment (.tbl) and filter (.prm) files Note: For Cloning Relative Jobs (positions in X, Y, Z,
you created in each project respectively. In the
Master project, select the job to be cloned. Rx, Ry, Rz format), tool data is very important.
The robot controller uses the specified tool to
Select the Default Filter button in the calculate how to reach the specified points.
clone project. The Setup to Filter Jobs screen Therefore you must provide MotoCal with the
appears. same tool data that the controller will use.
2. To avoid confusion, change the name of the Note: After you have a project set up with the Filter and
Destination robot file (.jbi file) to remind you
that it has been adjusted for the Clone robot. Alignment files that give the results you need,
Limit the name to eight characters. This is the delete the other filter and alignment files in each
name of the downloaded job to be created in project. This reduces the chance for errors when
the Clone project. Make sure the other fields are downloading jobs.
filled in correctly and click OK.
3. In the Parameters For screens, enter the TCP
values. The first screen must contain TCP values
that were in use in the Master robot when you
taught the job. The second screen must contain
TCP values that will be set on the Clone robot
when you run the job.
that could not be adjusted a Points not
time you run the downloaded job on the Clone
robot. Be especially careful if the Points not
Reachable message appeared.

4-45
Cloning from CAD to Real Robot/Positioner Cells Using

Automatic Alignment
This is addressed in the Fixture Calibration section of Chapter 5 (page 5-13 through 5-16).
Note: It is not possible to use taught alignment points for Positioner projects.
The How Do I script CAD to Real,
Robot and Positioners illustrates this 1
procedure. If it is necessary to adjust a FILTER (*.PRM) AND
job to run in a very different position or

ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL 1 2
using a different robot model, MotoSim FILTER (*.PRM) AND
ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL 2 4
must be employed. The fixture must be
accurate. The cell consisting of the
Robot and the Positioner with attached CAD (MotoSim) CELL
Fixture must be accurately modeled in N
CAD. If jobs will be cloned between FILTER (*.PRM) AND
robots, accurate copies of the fixture MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE (*.TBL) FOR CELL N
must be made for each robot.

When jobs are cloned between two
systems, MotoCal must have information
about both systems. MotoCal derives
this information from encoder
measurements of real systems. For CAD
1 N
JOB FOR CELL 1 JOB FOR CELL N
systems this information must be
provided to MotoCal. Information about
the Positioner origin relative to the
2
JOB FOR CELL 2
Robot Origin must be in the Positioner
kinematics file. The parameters that must match the CAD system are a0 and d0.
The Fixture will be mounted on the Positioner. The location of the Positioner relative to the Robot, and the
location of the Fixture relative to the Positioner should be kept as constant as practical in all the systems to be
used, including the CAD system. This is so that all the robots can use the same postures to reach all the points.
There must be four accurate mounting points for the Encoder on the fixture. These points must be accurately
modeled in CAD. Bushings or square mounting blocks may be installed at the mounting points. In the following
discussion, bushings are assumed. If square mounting blocks are used, substitute these for bushings. Also
substitute the interior corner of the square block adapter for the top center of the pin of the bushing adapter.
The Encoder is mounted using an adapter plate attached to its bottom corner with two small alignment pins
and a screw. The large mounting pin on this plate fits the bushings at the mounting points. The axis of this pin
is the same as the vertical axis around which the orientation of the external pulley can change. This means that
when the Encoder is mounted by means of the plate with the pin in a bushing, the orientation of the Encoder
around the pin does not matter. Thus the Encoder can be positioned to avoid interference with the cable.

4-46 Procedures
The Base Adapter Offset thickness is the distance that the mounting bracket holds the base of the Encoder
above the surface of the Fixture. The center of the bushing at its top surface is the point to be calculated by the
Calibration. The base adapter Offset thickness must be provided to allow MotoCal to calculate this position
accurately and thus determine the correct elevation (Z) difference for the alignment. This offset must be
accounted for when transferring data from CAD to MotoCal. Refer to Appendix G for more information on
editing positioner files.
Before starting to work with the Real cell, set 3. In MotoCal, with no projects open, select
up the CAD cell. After you have the CAD cell, Setup->Kinematic Modeler Positioner.
data from this cell will be entered in MotoCal. Then select Load an existing .kin file. Select
the file for your positioner with the appropriate
You will choose the correct Positioner .tbl file orientation, Left, Front or Right. Select Next
4 corresponding to your CAD cell, and your real cell. twice. The window will be titled Kinematic
You will modify two distance parameters in this file to Position Modeler. Page 3 of 3. (The Nominal
match the values in your CAD cell. These values Parameters). The parameters you must set are
should also be close to the values in your real cell. d0 and a0. For d0 enter the Z-coordinate of the
The values that must be transferred from you CAD Positioner origin relative to the Robot Base
coordinates in the CAD system. For a0 enter the
cell to the correct Positioner .tbl file are the non-zero one of the X and Y coordinates of the
coordinates of the Positioner origin as explained Positioner origin relative to the Robot Base
below. coordinates in the CAD system.
1. Determine the Positioner origin in Robot Base 4. When you have entered these two values
coordinates in the CAD cell. according to your CAD model, select Finish.
a) If the positioner axis is parallel to the robot When you make the MotoCal project for your
Y-axis, then the Positioner Origin is at the Real Cell, be sure to select the same positioner
intersection of the positioner axis and the file that you just initialized to match the values
robot X-Z plane. in your CAD Cell. This will allow MotoCal to
b) If the Positioner axis is parallel to the robot calculate the difference between the CAD Cell
X-axis, then the Positioner Origin is at the and the Real Cell.
intersection of the positioner axis and the Create a New Project for Calibration of the
Robot Y-Z plane. Master Robot and Positioner
2. Use the CAD system to report the coordinates of
the Positioner Origin relative to the Robot Base
coordinates. The values reported by CAD will be 1. From the MotoCal tool bar select the icon
zero for the Y coordinate if the positioner is in to create a new project.
front of the robot, and zero for the X coordinate 2. Enter a Project name of your choice.
if the positioner is to either side of the robot. 3. Leave Location as it is.
4. Select the Robot type matching the arm you will
calibrate from the dropdown menu. Be careful
to distinguish ERC, MRC and XRC versions of
similar arms.
5. Select the Robot application type most similar to
your application from the dropdown menu. Do
not select mastering.

4-47
6. Select the correct Positioner kin file adjusted 3. Because the positioner will move while taking
above. measurements with the Encoder, make certain
7. Click Measurement Options and select the the Encoder is attached securely to the Fixture
MotoCal tab. so that it will not move or fall of while the
8. Make sure the displayed .clb file matches the Positioner rotates the Fixture.
serial number on your Encoder. If it does not, 4. Connect the Data Acquisition box to one of the
click the button and select the needed file. COM ports on your PC. Also connect the
If the necessary file does not appear, copy the Encoder and power supply to cables.
file from the diskette into the Templates 5. This procedure requires measurement jobs to
directory of your MotoCal directory. There be used with the Encoder in each of the four
should only be one .clb file in your Templates mounting locations on the Fixture. Teach four
directory to avoid selecting a file that does not different jobs. Name the jobs sequentially (i.e.
match your encoder. 1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi) corresponding to the 4
9. Set Type to Manual. Auto or Digital Input numbered mounting locations. This makes it
settings can also be used if you know how. easier to correctly pair the measurement jobs
10. Set Measurement Adapter Offset to 31.75 mm if and measurement files for calibration
you have the Universal Adapter. This is the calculations.
distance in millimeters from the TCP of the To create a measurement job:
measurement adapter to where the
measurement cable attaches to it. 1. On the Teach Pendant create a new job for the
11. Enter the thickness of the adapter used to attach Robot and the Positioner
the Measurement Encoder to the Fixture. Refer 2. Mount the Encoder in the first, or next, location
to the beginning of this procedure for further on the Fixture, which is mounted on the
explanation. Positioner.
12. Click OK on the Measurement System window 3. Attach the measurement cable to the
and again on the New Project window. Measurement Adapter.
13. Allow MotoCal to save your new project. 4. Consider the work area of the robot and
imagine a rectangular solid approximately filling
Prepare to Take Measurements this area. Program a job that has two points at six
1. Attach the measurement adapter to the tool on of the eight corners of the rectangle. Leave out
the arm so the TCP of the adapter is the same as the two corners near the Encoder. After
the TCP of the tool. If calibrating with a welding teaching the first point at a corner, teach one
torch, attach the Universal Measurement more by making a large change in the
Adapter to the welding tip and wire so the orientation of the TCP. Be sure the
interior point is at the TCP of the torch. Adjust measurement adapter never binds and the
the setscrews to make this accurate. Proceed measurement cable does not touch anything as
similarly for calibration with other tools. the job runs.
2. Mount the MotoCal Encoder in the first 5. Include Positioner movement for most of the
mounting location on the Fixture. It is important Measurement job steps.
to keep track of which job and measurement go 6. You dont need to teach the job exactly this way.
with each mounting location. Number the You should make a job with about 12 points.
mounting locations 1 through 4 and name the This is assuming that you will teach four jobs
measurement jobs to correspond. with a total of about 50 points.

4-48 Procedures
7. Be careful to teach each of the jobs so that the 2. Attach the measurement cable to the
robot will not crash into the Encoder, or the measurement adapter. Run the robot and
clamp holding it, even if the Encoder is in one of positioner to the first point of the measurement
the wrong positions when the job is run. job. The measurement screen shows that the
8. Repeat the preceding steps until you have a length of the cable changes. When the robot is
measurement job for each of the four Encoder stabilized at the first point, click Measure. The
positions. Program each job with one more Measurement screen indicates that a point has
point than the previous job. This will prevent been recorded.
mismatching of the jobs and measurement files. 3. Continue to record a measurement for each
9. Use FDEWin to move jobs between the PC and point in the measurement job.
the controller. Start FDEWin by selecting 4. When all measurements are taken, click OK.
Project->PC<-->Controller File Transfer from Note: To check the Encoder reference reading, put the
4 the MotoCal menu.
measurement cable back in the reference position
You should now have four measurement jobs on the on the Encoder before selecting OK. It is good
controller, one for each Encoder location on the practice to check the reference reading
Fixture, and the same jobs in the MotoCal project. To occasionally. The reading you get after parking
make the jobs show in the Robot Files window of the the cable on its reference post should be within
project, right click in that window, select Add Files to 0.4 mm of the reading when you started the
Project and select the jobs. measurement.
Take Measurements 5. The measurements are recorded in the .msr file
shown in the Measurement Files window. You
1. Click the Measure button . The Make sure can type in a different name for the
that the measurement attachment is at the measurement file before you save it if you want
reference position dialog appears. Be sure the to. If you havent done so already, put the
Encoder measurement cable is connected to the measurement cable back in the reference
metal post on the Encoder and click OK. position on the Encoder.
Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data Fixture and repeat the measurement steps until
Acquisition Card appears, check the you have four measurement files, one for each
connections between the PC COM port and Data Encoder location.
Acquisition box. Also check power supply
connections and try Measure again. Be sure Use MotoCal to create the Filter and Positioner
FDEWin, or some other application, is not Alignment files.
holding the port the Encoder is attached to. When 1. Click the nominal .tbl file you selected earlier
the Data Acquisition box is fully connected the and then click the Motoman_[rbt].prm. Select
Measurement Screen appears. A blue rectangle is the four .msr files and corresponding .jbi files
displayed at the bottom of the measurement
indicator. A red rectangle indicates a problem and click the Default Calibration button.
with the .clb file (see Updating Your .CLB File, Note: If any of these screens is skipped, change the
page 3-5). If there is an LED on the encoder, it Projects settings by selecting "Projects->Select
should be lighted. Screens->Preferences". Set checks in all the

4-49
2. The Choose Calibration System screen 1. Start from the CAD Robot Base coordinates and
appears. You must have four measurement files achieve required orientation.
and four job files selected. Be sure the jobs and If the fixture is in front of the robot and
measurement files are listed in the same order parallel to the robot Y-axis:
so that they are correctly paired. Click OK. a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/
Note: After you have selected all these files correctly ]_(Model)(Front).tbl.
once, you will not need to do it again for this b) Do not rotate the robot base axes.
project. Instead, if you want to run the calibration If the fixture is to the left of the robot and
again, make sure that the correct .prm and .tbl parallel to the robot X-axis:
files and no other files are selected. Then select a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/
the Default Calibration button. The same set of ]_(Model)(Left).tbl.
job and measurement files is selected b) Rotate the robot base axes 90 degrees 4
automatically. around Z.
3. If this is a new project, you must enter TCP If the fixture is to the right of the robot
values. A Parameters for the measurement job and parallel to the robot X-axis:
screen appears. Enter the tool XYZ values that a) You (should) have chosen [MRM/HT/
are on the controller, regardless of whether they ]_(Model)(Right).tbl.
are correct. Click OK. b) Rotate the robot base axes negative 90
4. The Calibration screen is displayed with green degrees around Z.
checks on Robot and End-Effector. The checks 2. Translate the coordinate system from step 1
indicate what will be included in the calibration. horizontally and/or vertically until the Y-axis is
If there is not a green check on End-effector, coincident with the positioner axis. The Z axis
click End-effector and set Calibrate end-effector will still be vertical and the X-axis will be
to Yes. Select Nominal and OK. If necessary, directed away from the robot. This is the Orient
click Robot and set tt6 to off. coordinate system.
Supply CAD Encoder Location and Orientation a) If the fixture is in front of the Robot, only
Information translate the Orient coordinate horizontally
along the robot base Xaxis, not along the
The location and orientation of the Encoder robot base Y-axis.
mounting points in the CAD system must be b) If the fixture is to the left or right of the
transferred to the Measurement base fields in the Robot, only translate the Orient coordinate
MotoCal Fixture window. The following procedure is horizontally along the robot base Yaxis,
appropriate for Positioners with a single horizontal not along the robot base X-axis.
axis. The Positioners included in MotoCal 3.0 meet 3. Place the CAD Positioner in its zero position.
this condition. First, establish the CAD Orient 4. In MotoCal, click Fixture. Set Calibrate Fixture to
coordinate system with which to provide the CAD Yes. The XYZ positions of the Measurement base
Encoder information. For more information, refer to fields in MotoCals Fixture window can be
the Encoder Location and Orientation section at copied from CAD. Be sure that the positions you
the beginning of this chapter. copy are relative to the just established Orient
coordinate system.

4-50 Procedures
5. To determine the values for the R1, R2, and R3 Create a New Project for the CAD cell
fields of the Measurement base data, rotate the 1. From the Main Menu select Project->Create
Orient coordinate system around the X-axis, Directory->CAD. Select OK.
and/or the the Y-axis, the positioner axis, until
the Orient Z-axis is parallel to the (imagined) 2. The CAD project is created without any files
Encoder Z-axis. The required rotations around X added to it. This is because CAD cells are perfect
and/or Y are entered in the R1 and R2 fields and do not need any calibration.
respectively. Repeat this process for each of the Use the Filter and Positioner Alignment Files
Encoder locations to determine the R1/R2
values for each of the Measurement base fields. You are now ready to Clone jobs between the Master
Verify that the numbering of the Encoder and CAD cells. For the following discussion, it is
mounting point, the Measurement Base fields assumed that the jobs will be created in the CAD
4 and measurement files in the MotoCal project all system, added to the CAD MotoCal project, and
agree. transferred (Cloned) to the Master cell. The reverse
6. This calibration must determine where the real is also possible. The CAD job should not go to the
work frame is on the real positioner, and where limits of the robots work envelope. Otherwise it is
the positioner is relative to the real robot. Make likely that some points cannot be reached by the
sure the Positioner Parameters tt0, a0, d0, aa0, destination robot due to differences in the alignment
tt1, a1, d1, aa1, tt2 and d2 are all on. of the Fixture. When you have created this source
7. Click OK. Enter the file name you want the job, add it to the MotoCal CAD project. To add jobs to
values you entered saved to. the CAD MotoCal project, right click in the CAD
8. Click Start Calibration. If the errors and standard Robot files window and select Add Files to Project.
deviations are all small enough, click Save
Calibration and Close. (If these values are not 1. In the CAD project, select a job you want to
small enough see the close: heading at the end transfer to the real cell. In the Master project
of the Calibration Results section in the next select the Positioner alignment (.tbl) and filter
chapter.) (.prm) files you created earlier. Click the Default
9. You are asked whether you want to re-zero the Filter button in the Master project. The
robot. Click No. Setup to Filter Jobs screen appears. To avoid
Note: If you know the robot is poorly calibrated you confusion, change the name of the Destination
may prefer to select Yes. This is a valid approach. robot file (.jbi file) to remind you it has been
It is presented in another procedure. adjusted from CAD for the real robot. This is the
name of the downloaded job to be created in
10. Let FDEWin start and use the teach pendant to the Master project. Make sure the other fields
save All.prm to your project. If you are using an are filled in correctly and click OK.
XRC controller All.prm is a large file and takes a 2. In the Parameters For screens, enter the TCP
few minutes to be saved. After All.prm has been values. The first screen is for the TCP values
saved to the PC, MotoCal informs you if a filter used in the CAD robot when you taught the job.
has not been purchased for this robot. The second screen is for the TCP values you will
Otherwise, enter a name for the Filter file to be set on the real robot when you run the job.
created. By default it will be written over the
Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal
values. You should choose another name that is
meaningful to you. A positioner alignment file
(.tbl) with the same name as the Filter file is also
created.

4-51
3. After you finish with the second Parameters

For screen, the Successful Filter message and
adjusted job appear in the Robot files window of
the real project. If there are points that could
not be adjusted, a Points not Reachable message
appears before the Successful Filter message. Be
careful the first time you run the downloaded
job on the real robot especially if you receive the
Points not Reachable message.
4. Use FDEWin to transfer the Cloned job to the
controller. Test it carefully. Once you get this to
work it will be easy to Clone jobs between the
CAD and Master cell because you already have 4
the filter file and the alignment file for CAD to
the real cell. If you want to Clone a job from the
Master cell to the CAD cell, select the job, filter
and alignment files in the Master project and the
Default Filter button in the CAD project.
You now have one Master project and one CAD sub
project. Using the methods presented, you can
create more Master projects for other real positioner
cells. For each of these cells you can make a CAD
filter and alignment file. You can use the .frm file you
saved in the first CAD project for all the
Measurement Base location data that must be
entered in the Fixture Calibration window.

4-52 Procedures
External TCP Calibration for Real to Real Robot Cloning

An External TCP project is appropriate when a stationary tool is used to perform work on a work piece
manipulated by the robot. The External TCP is the point at which the work is done. For a spot weld clamp, it is
just above the stationary side of the clamp. For a two-laser treatment process, it is the intersection of the lasers.
For an External TCP application, the tool on the robot is a gripper or a mounting fixture. In the following
discussion and procedure, this tool will always be referred to as the gripper. The How Do I script Real to Real,
External TCP illustrates this procedure.
External TCP Calibration compared to Automatic Alignment:
The Automatic Alignment procedure determines
the position of the fixture relative to the robot.
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON MODE EMERGENCY STOP
READY
PLAY TEACH
EDIT LOCK
(OFF) ALARM
4
ON
TRIP
OFF
SET
/RE N
PE
O
Encoder mounting points are positioned relative

to the fixture. It is the position of the fixture that is
to be determined. At the same time the XYZ of the 12ADAPTER
MEASUREMENTS WITH MEASUREMENT
MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATE
FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS,
1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM
tool is determined, along with the calibration of LOCATIONS RELATIVE TO ROBOT TCP. CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS.
the rest of the arm.
External TCP Calibration determines the position
of the External Tool. Similar to the encoder
mounting points that are positioned relative to the
fixture, the swivel mounting points are accurately MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
positioned relative to the Gripper TCP. These MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
Gripper mounting points must be accurately
located in the same position for each cell between
which jobs will be cloned.
ALIGNMENT FILE (*.ALN) CONTAINING
The position and orientation of the Gripper TOOL XYZ AND RxRyRz
(Enter these calibrated FILTER FILE (*.PRM) XYZ LOCATION OF EXTERNAL TCP
relative to the tool flange is determined at the values on teach pendant) RELATIVE TO THE ROBOT BASE.
same time the location of the External TCP relative

to the robot base is determined. One encoder location relative to the External TCP will not yield the orientation
of the External TCP. MotoCal is not set up to determine External TCP orientation because in practice precise
External TCP orientation is not important
In the case of Automatic Alignment, the starting location of the fixture is likely to include the most error and
therefore be the value that is corrected most. In the case of External TCP calibration the location of the External
TCP fixture is likely to undergo the most correction. In both cases the calibration of the arm and tool will also be
significant. Because the orientation of the gripper determines the orientation of the part, calibration of tool
orientation is important for external TCP applications using a gripper.

4-53
External TCP Calibration for Real to Real robot d) Create a job with about 16 points. This is
cloning. assuming you will teach four jobs with a
total of about 60 points. Be sure to provide
1. Click the New Project icon . Fill in the good triangulation with the encoder TCP.
project name and select your robot type. Select e) Repeat the preceding four steps until you
one of the External TCP application types. have a measurement job for each of the
2. Mount the encoder at the External TCP. Position four Measurement Adapter locations.
the vertical axis that allows the external pulley Note: To move a job between the PC and the controller
on the Encoder to change orientation, directly use FDEWin, start FDEWin by selecting Project-
above the external TCP. If a bracket is used to >File Transfer from the main menu.
mount the encoder, and the thickness of the
bracket elevates the encoder above the external 5. You should now have four measurement jobs on
TCP, record this thickness. If it is necessary to the controller, one for each Measurement 4
mount the Encoder offset from the External Adapter location on the Gripper, and the same
TCP, this offset must be accurately reported. Be jobs in the MotoCal project. To make the jobs
sure to maintain the horizontal orientation of show in the Robot Files window of the project,
the encoder. right click in that window, select Add Files to
3. Four accurate mounting points are needed for Project and select the jobs.
the measurement swivel to be attached to the 6. Select Measure. The message Make sure that
Gripper. Number these mounting points 1 the measurement attachment is at the reference
through 4. If the production job will run with position appears. Be sure the measurement
mass that is a significant fraction of the arms cable is connected to the metal post on the
capacity, this mass should be present while encoder and click OK.
measurements are taken.
Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
4. Teach four different measurement jobs, one for Acquisition Card... appears, check the cable
each of the swivel mounting locations. Name the
jobs 1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi corresponding to connections between the PC COM port and the
the numbered mounting locations. Create a Data Acquisition box. Check whether FDEWin or
measurement job as follows: some other application is holding the port the
a) Mount the Measurement Adapter on first, Encoder is plugged in to. Check the power supply
or next, location on the Gripper. cable to the Data Acquisition box also. When all
b) Attach measurement cable to Measurement cable connections are properly made, the
Adapter. Measurement screen appears. The measurement
c) Consider the work area of the robot and indicator should be blue. A red measurement
imagine a rectangular solid approximately indicator indicates a problem with the .clb file.
filling this area. Program the job with two
points at each of the eight corners of this
rectangle. After teaching a point at a corner,
make large changes in the orientation of
the TCP and record the second point. Be
sure the measurement adapter doesnt
bind and the measurement cable does not
touch anything as the job runs.

4-54 Procedures
11. Select the correct measurement (.msr) and job

(.jbi) files and click the Default Calibration
button . The Choose Calibration screen
appears.
7. Be sure the measurement adapter swivel is at

the [first/next] mounting location on the
Gripper. Attach the measurement cable to the
measurement adapter swivel. Run the robot to
the first point of the measurement job for the
current swivel location. The measurement
screen indicates the length of the cable as it
changes. When the robot is stabilized at the first 12. If the four measurement job files displayed are
point, select Measure. The Measurement screen not correct, click the More button on the
indicates that a point has been recorded. Robot files line. Select all the measurement jobs
8. Continue to record measurements for each by clicking behind the last job and holding the
point in the measurement job. mouse button down while stretching the
9. When all measurements have been taken, click selection up to the first measurement job. When
OK. Place the measurement cable back in the they are all selected, click OK. Similarly select
reference position on the encoder before the four .msr files
clicking OK if you want to check the reference 13. Be sure the jobs and measurement files are
reading. Reference readings should be listed in the same order so that they are
consistent to within a few tenths of a millimeter. correctly paired. Also be sure the order of these
The measurements are recorded in the .msr file files is the same as the order of the
in the Measurement Files window. You can type Measurement Adapter Swivel attachment
in a different name for the measurement file if locations on the Gripper. This is also the order
desired. in which you must enter the Measurement
10. Move the Measurement Adapter to the next Adapter Swivel attachment locations in the End-
location on the gripper and repeat steps 6 effector window in step 16. Click OK.
recorded, one for each Measurement Adapter
location.

4-55
14. If this is a new project, enter TCP values. The 16. Click End-effector. Set Calibrate end-effector to
Parameters for the measurement job screen NO and Measurement Points to unknown. Zero
appears. Enter the tool XYZ values from the all other values.
controller, regardless of validity. Later, when you
enter the positions of the Measurement Adapter
Swivel Attachment Points they will be
interpreted relative to this TCP. This TCP does
not need to be precise because the calibration
will correct it. Click OK.

checks. The checks indicate what will be
included in the calibration.

4-56 Procedures
If the TCP will carry mass that is a significant fraction section at the beginning of this chapter.
when jobs taught in CAD will be run on heavily
loaded arms.
4 17. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off
tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and
Mass data in the End Effector window you may
want to turn on more of the k parameters in
the Robot window. The parameters k1
through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm
joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3
are turned ON. You may want to turn on k4 and
k5 also. You should only turn on k6 if the mass
on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis.
mounted on a wall.
18. Click Fixture and set Calibrate fixture to No. Set
Measurement Base and External TCP to
Unknown. (Note: compared to Automatic
Alignment, lower section entitled User Frame is
now titled External TCP.)
a) Encoder Location and Orientation
The base of the Encoder has small screw
holes and alignment pin holes in one of its
quarters.The Z-axis of the Encoder points
up when the Encoder sits flat on its base. If
the Encoder Z axis is not parallel to the
robot base Z axis this information must be
entered in the Fixture window. In the R1
field(s) enter the roll around the Robot
Base X axis that is required to make the
Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z
axis. In the R2 field(s) enter the roll around
the Robot Base Y axis that is required to
make the Robot Base Z axis parallel to the
Encoder Z axis. For more information, refer
to the Encoder Location and Orientation

4-57
b) The Encoder was mounted in the same 24. Teach a job on the Master system. Do not
place for all four measurements. Therefore program points at the limits of the robot work
be sure to check the "Same location as envelope. This is likely to result in points that
previous" boxes for MB2, MB3 and MB4. cannot be reached by the clone robot due to
c) Enter the External TCP tlx, tly, and tlz differences in the alignment of the External TCP.
values. These give the location and After creating the master job, add it to the
orientation of the External TCP relative to MotoCal Master project. Start FDEWin from the
the robot base. Enter the approximate Project menu and use the Teach Pendant to save
external TCP location. the job to the PC. Right click in the Robot files
d) Click OK. The values are saved to file. window of the Master project and use the Open
Files dialog to add it to your Master project
19. Click Start Calibration. After calibration directory.
converges if the errors and standard deviations
are all small enough, click Save Calibration and 25. Take measurements for the clone system as you 4
Close. If these values are not small enough see did for the master project earlier.
the close: heading at the end of the 26. Select the nominal alignment file and the Filter
Calibration Results section in the next chapter. file that was created in the Master project and
20. You are asked whether you want to rezero the copied into the Clone project. Select the Default
robot. Select No.
Calibration button .
21. To make a filter, it is necessary to save the
All.prm file from the controller to the PC. Allow 27. In the End Effector window, select Previous
FDEWin to start and use the teach pendant to Calibration. The measurement points on the
save All.prm to your project. This takes several Master end effector must be the same as those
minutes if using an XRC controller. After All.prm on the Clone project.
has been saved to the PC, MotoCal informs you 28. In the Fixture window, set Calibrate to Yes and
if a filter has not been purchased for this robot. select the CAD radio button. Select the CAD file
Otherwise, enter a name for the Filter file to be with the same name as the .prm file you
created. By default it is written over the selected earlier.
Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds nominal 29. Click Start Calibration. Click Save Calibration
values. Select another name meaningful to you. and Close. The .aln file will contain the
An alignment file with the same name as the difference between the Master and clone
measurement file is also created. external TCP.
22. From the Main Menu select Project Create 30. In the Master project, select the job to be cloned
Directory Clone. Click OK. and the Filter you created for the Master project.
23. The procedure works better if the alignment of 31. In the Clone project, select the Filter you
the External TCP to the robot in the clone created for the Clone and the Alignment file of
system is close to the alignment in the master the same name.
system. If this is not done, the likelihood of 32. In the Clone project, click the Default Filter
unreachable points is increased. Close enough
can be accomplished using a tape measure and button . The Setup to Filter Jobs screen
visual inspection. appears. Be sure all the fields are filled in
correctly. To avoid confusion, change the name
of the Destination Robot File to indicate that it
has been adjusted for the clone cell. Click OK.

4-58 Procedures
33. In the Parameters For

screens, enter the correct 1
TCP values. The first screen FILTER FILE FOR REAL ROBOT 1 *.PRM
is for the TCP values you set
in the Master robot when
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR MASTER TO REAL [1,2,N]
2
you taught the job. The ALIGNMENT FILE FOR MASTER TO REAL [1,2,N]
second screen is for the TCP

values you will set on the MASTER JOB, MASTER.JBI
clone robot when you run
the job. N
34. After finishing with the MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE FOR MASTER TO REAL [1,2,N]
second Parameters For
4 screen, the Successful Filter
message appears and the
adjusted job appears in the
Robot files window of the 1 N
real project. If there are JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 1, ALIGNED JOB FOR REAL ROBOT N, ALIGNED
points that could not be FOR EXTERNAL TCP 1, REAL[1,2,N].JBI FOR EXTERNAL TCP N, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
adjusted, a Points not

Reachable message appears
before the Successful Filter
2
message. Be careful the first JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 2, ALIGNED
FOR EXTERNAL TCP 2, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
time you run the
downloaded job on the
clone robot, especially if the
Points not Reachable message appeared.
work it will be easy to download the next job
from the Master cell because you already have
the filter and alignment files.

4-59
External TCP Calibration for CAD to Real Robot Cloning

An External TCP project is appropriate when a stationary tool is used to perform work on a work piece
manipulated by the robot. The External TCP is the point at which the work is done. For a spot weld clamp, it is
just above the stationary side of the clamp. For a two-laser treatment process, it is the intersection of the lasers.
For an External TCP application, the tool on the robot is a gripper or a mounting fixture. In the following
discussion and procedure, this tool will always be referred to as the gripper. The How Do I script CAD to Real,
External TCP illustrates this procedure.
External TCP Calibration compared to Automatic Alignment:
The Automatic Alignment
procedure determines the
position of the fixture 4
relative to the robot. POSITIONS OF MEASUREMENT ADAPTER
MOUNTING RELATIVE TO THE TCP,
Encoder mounting points ENTERED IN MOTOCAL LOCATION OF CAD EXTERNAL TCP ON
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
EDIT LOCK
(OFF)
(ON)
PLAY
MODE
REMOTE
TEACH
ALARM
EMERGENCY STOP
HOLD START
are positioned relative to

TRIP
OFF
SET
/RE N
PE
O
the fixture. It is the position

of the fixture that is to be 12 MEASUREMENTS WITH MEASUREMENT FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS,
determined. At the same ADAPTER MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATE 1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM
LOCATIONS RELATIVE TO ROBOT TCP. CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS.
time the XYZ of the tool is
determined, along with the
calibration of the rest of the FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:
arm. MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS

External TCP Calibration

determines the position of
the External Tool. Similar to FILTER FILE FOR ROBOT (*.PRM) ALIGNMENT FILE (*.ALN) CONTAINING
the encoder mounting TOOL XYZ AND RxRyRz XYZ LOCATION OF EXTERNAL TCP
RELATIVE TO THE ROBOT BASE.
points that are positioned
relative to the fixture, the swivel mounting points are accurately positioned relative to the Gripper TCP. Because
a CAD cell is used, the User must enter the measurement adapter locations relative to the TCP. Therefore, the
positions of these adapters must be measured by CMM. The position and orientation of the Gripper relative to
the tool flange is determined at the same time the location of the External TCP relative to the robot base is
determined. One encoder location relative to the External TCP will not yield the orientation of the External TCP.
MotoCal is not set up to determine External TCP orientation because in practice precise External TCP
orientation is not important
In the case of Automatic Alignment, the starting location of the fixture is likely to include the most error and
therefore be the value that is corrected most. In the case of External TCP calibration the location of the External
TCP fixture is likely to undergo the most correction. In both cases the calibration of the arm and tool will also be
significant. Because the orientation of the gripper determines the orientation of the part, calibration of tool
orientation is important for external TCP applications using a gripper.

4-60 Procedures
External TCP Calibration for CAD to Real robot c) Consider the work area of the robot and
cloning. imagine a rectangular solid approximately
filling this area. Program a job that has two
1. Click the New Project icon on the left end of the points at each of the eight corners of the
tool bar. Fill in the project name and select your shape. After teaching the first point at a
robot type. Select one of the External TCP corner, teach one more by making large
application types. changes in the orientation of the TCP. Be
2. Mount the encoder at the External TCP. sure the measurement adapter never binds
Consider the vertical axis that allows the and the measurement cable does not touch
external pulley on the encoder to change anything as the job runs.
orientation. Position this axis directly above the d) You dont need to teach the job exactly this
external TCP. If a bracket is used to mount the way. Create a job with about 13 points. This
encoder and the thickness of the bracket is assuming that you will teach four jobs
4 elevates the encoder above the external TCP, with a total of about 50 points.
this thickness must be known. If it is necessary
to mount the Encoder offset from the External e) Repeat the preceding four steps until you
TCP, this offset must be accurately reported. The have a measurement job for each of the
horizontal orientation of the encoder should four Measurement Adapter locations.
also be maintained. Note: To move a job between the PC and the controller
3. There must be four accurate mounting points use FDEWin. Start FDEWin by selecting Project->File
for the measurement swivel to be attached to Transfer from the menu.
the Gripper. Number these mounting points 1
through 4. The position of the mounting points 5. You should now have four measurement jobs on
relative to the TCP of the Gripper must be the controller, one for each Measurement
known. If the production job will run with mass Adapter location on the Gripper, and the same
that is a significant fraction of the arms capacity, jobs in the MotoCal project. To make the jobs
this mass should be present while show in the Robot Files window of the project,
measurements are taken. right click in that window, select Add Files to
4. There must be a measurement job for each of Project and select the jobs.
the four swivel mounting locations on the 6. Select Measure. The message Make sure that
Gripper. Teach four different jobs. Name the the measurement attachment is at the reference
jobs 1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi corresponding to position appears. Be sure the MotoCal Encoder
the numbered mounting locations. To create a measurement cable is connected to the metal
measurement job, proceed as follows: post on the encoder and select OK.
a) Mount the Measurement Adapter on the Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
first, or next, location on the Gripper. Acquisition Card... appears, check the cable connections
b) Attach the measurement cable to the between the PC COM port and the Data Acquisition box.
Measurement Adapter. Check whether FDEWin or some other application is
holding on to the port the Encoder is plugged in to. Check
the power supply cable to the Data Acquisition box also.
When all cable connections are properly made, the
Measurement screen appears. The measurement
indicator should be blue, a red measurement indicator
indicates a problem with the .clb file.

4-61
11. Select the correct measurement (.msr) and job

(.jbi) files and click the Default Calibration
button . The Choose Calibration screen
appears.
7. Be sure the measurement adapter swivel is at

the [first/next] mounting location on the
Gripper. Attach the measurement cable to the
measurement adapter swivel. Run the robot to
the first point of the measurement job for the
current swivel location. The measurement
screen indicates the length of the cable as it
changes. When the robot is stabilized at the first 12. If the four measurement job files displayed are
point, select Measure. The Measurement screen not correct, click the More button on the
indicates that a point has been recorded. Robot files line. Select all the measurement jobs
8. Continue to record a measurement for each by clicking behind the last job and holding the
point in the measurement job. mouse button down while stretching the
9. When all measurements have been taken, select selection up to the first measurement job. When
OK. (place the measurement cable back in the they are all selected, click OK. Similarly select
reference position on the encoder before the four .msr files
selecting OK if you want to check the reference 13. Be sure the jobs and measurement files are
reading. Reference readings should be listed in the same order so that they are
consistent to within a few tenths of a correctly paired. Also be sure the order of these
millimeter.) The measurements are recorded in files is the same as the order of the
the .msr file shown in the Measurement Files Measurement Adapter Swivel attachment
window. You can type in a different name for the locations on the Gripper. This is also the order
measurement file if desired. in which you must enter the Measurement
10. Move the Measurement Adapter to the next Adapter Swivel attachment locations in the End-
location on the Gripper and repeat steps 6 effector window in step 16. Select OK.
recorded, one for each Measurement Adapter
location.

4-62 Procedures
14. If this is a new project, you are prompted to 16. Click End-effector. Set Calibrate end-effector to
enter TCP values. Next, a Parameters for the Yes. At the bottom of the screen fill in the
measurement job screen is displayed. Enter the Measurement Point fields. These are the
tool XYZ values from the controller, regardless positions of the Measurement Adapter Swivel
of validity. These are the tool values used when attachment points on the Gripper. These
the downloaded job is run. Later when you positions are relative to the defined TCP of the
enter the positions of the Measurement Adapter Gripper. These must be the same values that are
Swivel Attachment Points they will be used in the CAD project. As mentioned above in
interpreted relative to this TCP. This TCP does step 3, these points must be measured
not need to be precise because the calibration accurately, and those values entered here. The
will correct it. Select OK. order of the Measurement Point fields in this
screen must correspond to the order of the
4 measurement jobs entered in step 12.
when jobs taught in CAD will be run on heavily
loaded arms.
17. Click the Robot window. If necessary, turn off
tt6. If you entered Tool Center of Gravity and
Mass data in the End Effector window you may
15. The Calibration screen is displayed with green want to turn on more of the k parameters in
checks. The checks indicate what will be the Robot window. The parameters k1
included in the calibration. through k6 correct for sag in the robot arm
joints SLURBT respectively. By default, k2 and k3
are turned ON. You may want to turn on k4 and
k5 also. You should only turn on k6 if the mass
on the TCP is not symmetric around the Z-axis.
mounted on a wall.

4-63
18. Click Fixture and set Calibrate fixture to yes. Set 19. Click Start Calibration. After calibration
Measurement Base and External TCP to Enter converges, click End-effector to view calibrated
Values. (Note: compared to Automatic TCP values. Click Fixture to view the calibrated
Alignment, lower section entitled User Frame is External TCP values. Enter these values in the
now titled External TCP.) controller. If the errors and standard deviations
a) In the four Measurement Base Fields, enter are all small enough, click Save Calibration and
the position of the Encoder base relative to Close. (If these values are not small enough see
the External TCP. The values are the same the close: heading at the end of the
for each of the measurement bases because Calibration Results section in the next
the encoder remains stationary as you chapter.)
change the swivel attachment point. 20. You are asked whether you want to rezero the
Therefore, the same values must be robot. Select No.
entered four times. Use the Same location 21. To make a filter, it is necessary to save the 4
as previous check boxes to accomplish All.prm file from the controller to the PC. Allow
this. If you use a mounting adapter that FDEWin to start and use the teach pendant to
offsets the encoder from the external TCP, save All.prm to your project. This will take
include this offset in these values. If you several minutes if using an XRC controller. After
entered a Base Adapter offset in the All.prm has been saved to the PC, MotoCal will
Measurement Settings screen, do not enter inform you if a filter has not been purchased for
the same data here. this robot. Otherwise, enter a name for the Filter
b) Encoder Location and Orientation file that will be created. By default it will write
The base of the Encoder has small screw over the Motoman_[rbt].prm file that holds
holes and alignment pin holes in one of its nominal values. You should choose another
quarters.The Z-axis of the Encoder points name meaningful to you. An alignment file with
up when the Encoder sits flat on its base. If the same name as the measurement file will also
the Encoder Z axis is not parallel to the be created.
robot base Z axis this information must be 22. From the Main Menu select Project Create
entered in the Fixture window. In the R1 Directory CAD. Select OK.
field(s) enter the roll around the Robot 23. The procedure works better if the alignment of
Base X axis that is required to make the the External TCP to the robot in the CAD system
Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z is close to the alignment in the real system. If
axis. In the R2 field(s) enter the roll around this is not done, the likelihood of unreachable
the Robot Base Y axis that is required to points is increased. Close enough can be
make the Robot Base Z axis parallel to the accomplished using a tape measure and visual
Encoder Z axis. For more information, refer inspection.
to the Encoder Location and Orientation
section at the beginning of this chapter.
c) Enter the External TCP tlx, tly, and tlz values
from the CAD cell. These must give the
location of the External TCP relative to the
robot base in the CAD cell. MotoCal will
determine the difference between the CAD
and Real external TCP.
d) Select OK. Let the values be saved in a file.

4-64 Procedures
24. You need to make the CAD job to download. If work it will be easy to make the next CAD job
the CAD job is for a test, rather than a real and download it because you already have the
production job, place the TCP at the External filter file and the alignment file.
TCP using various orientations that can easily be
checked. Do not program points at the limits of
the robot work envelope. This is likely to result
in points that cannot be reached by the real
robot due to differences in the alignment of the
External TCP. After creating this CAD job, add it
to the MotoCal CAD project. Right click in the
Robot files window of the CAD project and use
the Open Files dialog to copy it to your CAD
4 project directory.
25. You are now ready to download the job from the
Master to the Clone. In the Master project, select
the job to be cloned, the Filter file you created,
and the nominal alignment file. In the Clone
project, select the Filter and Alignment files you
created here and click the Default Filter button
.
a) The Setup to Filter Jobs screen appears.
b) To avoid confusion, change the name of the
Destination robot file to remind you that it
has been adjusted for the real robot. This is
the name of the downloaded job to be
created in the real project. Limit the name
to eight characters. Be sure the other fields
are filled in correctly and select OK.
job. The second screen is for the TCP values you
will set on the real robot when you run the job.
27. After finishing with the second Parameters For
robot, especially if the Points not Reachable
message appeared.

4-65
OLP (MotoSim)
1
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP 1 2
ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP 2
IDEAL JOB, IDEAL.JBI
N
MotoCal ALIGNMENT FILE FOR IDEAL
TO REAL EXTERNAL TCP N
1 N
JOB FOR REAL ROBOT 1, ALIGNED JOB FOR REAL ROBOT N, ALIGNED
R REAL EXTERNAL TCP 1, REAL[1,2,N].JBI FOR REAL EXTERNAL TCP N, REAL[1,2,N].JBI
2
FOR REAL EXTERNAL TCP 2, REAL[1,2,N].JBI

4-66 Procedures
Six Degrees of Freedom TCP Calibration

Six Degrees of Freedom TCP
Calibration is appropriate when
tool orientation is critical to the POSITIONS OF MEASUREMENT ADAPTER
application. Tool orientation is MOUNTING RELATIVE TO THE TCP, TRIP
ON
YASNAC XRC SK16X
SERVO ON
READY
EDIT LOCK
(OFF)
(ON)
PLAY
MODE
REMOTE
TEACH
ALARM
EMERGENCY STOP
HOLD START
OFF
ESET
N/R
PE
O
ENTERED IN MOTOCAL BY THE USER.

likely to be critical in cutting and
welding applications. Gripper
orientation is also calibrated in 12 MEASUREMENTS WITH MEASUREMENT FOUR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT JOBS,
ADAPTER MOUNTED AT FOUR ACCURATELY 1.JBI, 2.JBI, 3,JBI AND 4.JBI FROM
the external TCP procedure. To KNOWN LOCATIONS RELATIVE TO ROBOT TCP. CONTROLLER, EACH WITH 12 POINTS.
combine six degrees of freedom
TCP calibration with Automatic
4 fixture alignment, move the
encoder to a new location each
time the measurement adapter FILES SUPPLIED BY MOTOCAL:
MOTOMAN_UP6.PRM: NOMINAL PARAMETERS
location is changed. This MotoCal MOTOMAN_UP6.KIN: KINEMATIC VALUES
procedure is written assuming

that only the tool is to be
calibrated. The How Do I script
Tool Orientation Calibration TOOL XYZ and RxRyRz FINESYNC.JBI
illustrates this procedure. Enter these calibrated Run arm to calibrated Home
values on teach pendant. Position and set new Home.
1. Choose Project New from main menu. The 4. Select Robot type: matching the robot arm you
New Project window appears containing four are calibrating.
variable fields. 5. Select the appropriate Robot application type.
6. Mount the MotoCal Encoder so that it is stable
relative to the robot base.
7. There must be four accurate mounting points
for the measurement swivel to be attached
relative to the tool TCP being calibrated. This
will require machining and CMM measurement.
The mounting points should not be co-linear.
Number these mounting points 1 through 4.
The position of the mounting points relative to
the TCP must be known.
8. Create a measurement job for each of the four
swivel mounting locations. Name the jobs
sequentially (i.e. 1.jbi, 2.jbi 3.jbi and 4.jbi)
corresponding to the numbered mounting
locations. To create a measurement job, proceed
2. Enter a Project name: (e.g. the robots serial as follows:
number, type, location, or job). a) Mount the Measurement Adapter in the
3. Leave Location: as is. first, or next, location relative to the TCP.

4-67
b) Attach the measurement cable to the 11. Be sure the measurement adapter swivel is at
Measurement Adapter. the [first/next] mounting location relative to the
c) Consider the work area of the robot and TCP. Attach the measurement cable to the
imagine a rectangular solid approximately measurement adapter swivel. Run the robot to
filling this area. Program a job that has four the first point of the measurement job for the
points at each of the eight corners of the current swivel location. The measurement
shape. After teaching the first point at a screen shows that the length of the cable
corner, teach three more by making large changed. When the robot is stabilized at the first
changes in the orientation of the TCP. Be point, select Measure. The Measurement screen
sure the measurement adapter does not indicates that a point has been recorded.
bind and the measurement cable does not 12. Continue to record a measurement for each
touch anything during the job. point in the measurement job.
d) Create a job with about 13 points, assuming 13. When all measurements have been taken, select 4
you are teaching four jobs with a total of OK. (place the measurement cable back in the
about 50 points. reference position on the encoder before
e) Repeat the preceding four steps until you selecting OK if you want to check the reference
have a measurement job for each of the reading. Reference readings should be
four Measurement Adapter locations. consistent within a few tenths of a millimeter.)
The measurements are recorded in the .msr file
Note: To move a job between the PC and the controller shown in the Measurement Files window. You
use FDEWin. Start FDEWin by selecting Project- can type in a different name for the
>File Transfer from the menu. measurement file if desired.
9. You now have four measurement jobs on the 14. Move the Measurement Adapter to the next
controller, one for each Measurement Adapter location relative to the TCP and repeat steps 10
location relative to the TCP, and the same jobs in through 13 until all four measurement files are
the MotoCal project. To make the jobs show in recorded, one for each Measurement Adapter
the Robot Files window of the project, right click location.
in that window, select Add Files to Project and 15. Bring up the Choose Calibration screen by
select the jobs. selecting the four measurement files and
10. Select Measure. The message "Make sure that corresponding jobs and selecting the Default
the measurement attachment is at the reference Calibration button.
position." is displayed Be sure that the MotoCal
Encoder measurement cable is attached to the
metal post on the encoder and select OK.
Note: If the message Couldnt find ANY Data
Acquisition Card... appears, check the cable
connections between the PC COM port and the
Data Acquisition box. Check the power supply
cable to the Data Acquisition box also. When all
cable connections are properly made, the
Measurement screen appears. The measurement
indicator should be blue, a red measurement
indicator indicates a problem with the .clb file.

4-68 Procedures

checks. The checks indicate what will be
included in the calibration. If you only want to
calibrate the tool, Click Robot and set Calibrate
Robot to No. Similarly, if you do not want to
calibrate the Fixture, be sure it is set to No.
4
16. You must have four measurement files and four
job files selected in the correct order. Be sure
that the jobs and measurement files are listed in
the same order so that they are correctly paired.
Also be sure the order of these files is the same
as the order of the measurement adapter
locations on the tool. This is also the order in
which you will enter the adapter locations in the
End Effector window in step 19. Select OK.
17. If this is a new project you are prompted to
tool XYZ values from the controller, regardless
of their validity.

4-69
19. Click End-effector. If Calibrate end-effector is not

set to Yes, set it to Yes. On the left side of the
End-effector parameters section make sure the
tlx, tly tlz, tlrx, tlry and tlrz are all selected. Fill in
the Measurement Point fields. These are the
positions of the Measurement Adapter Swivel
attachment points relative to the TCP. As
mentioned above, these points must be
measured accurately, and those values entered
here. The order of the Measurement Point fields
in this screen must correspond to the order of
the measurement jobs entered in step 16. Select
Nominal at the bottom of the End-effector 4
parameters box and then select OK. If necessary,
click Robot and set tt6 to off.
20. Encoder Location and Orientation
The base of the Encoder has small screw holes
and alignment pin holes in one of its
quarters.The Z-axis of the Encoder points up
when the Encoder sits flat on its base. If the
Encoder Z axis is not parallel to the robot base Z
axis this information must be entered in the
Fixture window. To do this click the Fixture
button. In the R1 field(s) enter the roll around
the Robot Base X axis that is required to make
the Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z
axis. In the R2 field(s) enter the roll around the
Robot Base Y axis that is required to make the
Robot Base Z axis parallel to the Encoder Z axis.
For more information, refer to the Encoder
Location and Orientation section at the
beginning of this chapter.
21. Click Start Calibration. After calibration
converges, click End-effector to get the
calibrated TCP values, both location and
orientation. Note that the orientation values are
displayed to the right of the corresponding
location values. If the errors and standard
deviations are all small enough, enter these
values in the controller. (If these values are not
small enough see "close:" heading at the end of
the "Calibration Results" section in the next
chapter.) If you only want to calibrate the tool,
you are finished, otherwise save the calibration
as appropriate for your application.

4-70 Procedures
NOTES

5-1
Chapter 5: Operation
T his chapter provides operation information for

the MotoCal calibration software.
5. Select Robot application type: (e.g. arc
welding, spot welding, painting, etc.). MotoCal
automatically sets certain default values based
Creating a New Project on the application chosen (e.g. parameters
calibrated for spot welding are different than
Every robot calibrated using MotoCal, must have a parameters calibrated for pedestal welding).
Project folder associated with it. Note: Select Mastering to calibrate the robot arm
To create a new project folder: without creating a filter file. If the desired Robot 5
Application Type is not listed, choose a similar
1. Choose Project New from main menu or application type.
click the New Project button . The New 6. Once all four fields have been entered, click
Project window appears. Measurement options(MotoCal). The
Measurement System window appears. Several
different types of measurement systems are
compatible with MotoCal as indicated in the
window (e.g. MotoCals proprietary MotoCal
hardware, generic 3D Systems, etc.). To select a
different system, click on the tab of the desired
measurement system.
New Project Window

2. Enter a Project name: (e.g. the robots serial
3. Select Location: (directory and filename
where the Project is to be stored). This Measurement System Window
information can be changed by typing the
desired directory or clicking the button. Note: For information on measuring calibration points
4. Select Robot type: to be calibrated. using the 3D System, Perception, or CG-3D system, refer to
Note: Take care to avoid confusing similar robot types those systems user guides.
(i.e. -SK16 and -SK16m) If the robot model you
need to calibrate is not listed, contact Motoman.

5-2 Operation
7. Configuration file name: Be sure the 9. Enter Measurement Adapter Offset (mm).
correct .CLB file for your encoder is selected. If This is the distance between the cable
not, use the ... button to select the correct attachment point and the TCP of the adapter
file. (If the correct file is not available, it may (31.75 mm for the universal adapter).
need to be copied from the diskette to the 10. Enter Base Adapter Offset (mm). This
MotoCal\ Templates directory. offset is only used for automatic alignment
8. Select the measurement system Type: projects. It is the distance between the Encoder
Manual: This is the most common selection. and work frame surface.
After clicking on the Measure icon, the space bar 11. Once the measurement system information has
is used to record measurements. been entered correctly, click OK. Click OK again
5 Auto: In Auto mode, measurements are taken to return to the Project window.
automatically when the robot is not in motion as 12. Once all four fields on the New Project window
determined by the Delay and Bound Limit have been completed, click OK. The Master
parameters. Robot Project (.PRJ) window appears and
a) Enter the maximum Bound limit(mm): MotoCal asks if you wish to save the new master
in which the robot must stay for a certain project file. Click OK and select the location of
Delay time to be considered not in motion. new file.
This value must be equal to or greater than
0 mm.
b) Enter the Delay(s): (in seconds) during
which the robot must remain still (as
defined by the Bound Limit above) to be
considered not in motion. This value must
be equal to or greater than 1.
Digital Input: (optional hardware
required) This selection enables you to control
the measurement process from the robot
controller. I/O commands inserted in the
robot calibration job enable MotoCal to
automatically take measurements at each
calibration point. Before starting the robot
calibration job, set the robot output to LOW. We
suggest inserting a Wait command of a couple
of seconds after each calibration point, to allow
the robot to settle before taking a measurement.
To take a measurement, toggle the selected
robot output to HIGH (e.g. .02 second) before
going back to LOW. Then move to the next
calibration point.
Master Project Window

5-3
Using an Existing Project Master Robot Project

To use an existing project: Organization
1. Choose Project > Open from main menu or Once you have opened a Master Robot Project (.PRJ)
click on the folder with a blue P. The Open verify that the Robot and Robot Application types are
window appears with a list of Master Robot correct. This project window contains five fields and
Project directories. three buttons:
Open Window
2. Open the desired directory and select the

desired master robot project file (.prj).
Note: You can also open a recent project by choosing its
.prj file from the list of recent files under the File menu.
Robot files: displays the robot job files (in

ASCII format) created either on the robot
controller or in simulation (e.g. ROTSY, ROBCAD,
CIMSTATION, etc.). These files are displayed with
an icon followed by the file name. Once the file has
been used for a calibration, production, or
alignment, the icon before the file name changes
to a letter: C for calibration, P for production,
and A for alignment, respectively.

5-4 Operation
Measurement files: displays the measurement Default Calibration button: After the
files (.msr). Measurement files are generated by calibration calculation has been preformed once in
the MotoCal Encoder (or compatible a project, the icons displayed in front of the
measurement device). Measurements obtained by measurement job names in the Robot Files
devices other than MotoCal must be performed window will be a C. This allows use of the Default
with their proprietary software. Calibration button. Measurement job names must
Parameter files: displays the Parameter files be similar and end with sequential digits similar to
(.prm). These files contain the actual parameters those generated for measurement files. If multiple
of the robot and end-effector, as obtained through filter (.prm) and alignment (.aln or .tbl) file names
the calibration process. When a New Project is are displayed it is best to select the desired filter
created, a default parameter file is created using and alignment files first. Then the Default
5 the nominal parameters for the robot. calibration button can be selected. This eliminates
the need to repeatedly select the measurement
Alignment Files: displays the alignment files files and jobs while working with calibration
(.aln) containing the 6 DOF (Degrees of Freedom) calculations.
transformation matrix of the user frame associated
with the fixture. These files express the location of Default Filter button: To use the Default
the nominal robot base frame relative to the actual, Filter button, first use the mouse to select the
as obtained through the calibration process. When destination filter and alignment files, and the
a New Project is created, a default alignment file source filter and alignment files and the source
is created containing a zero transformation matrix. job. Then use the Default Calibration button to
bring up the Setup to Filter Jobs screen with the
Positioner files: displays the Positioner files selected files filled in.
(.tbl). This window is displayed in place of the
Alignment Files window when the project includes
a Positioner. These files contain the 6 DOF Measuring Calibration
transformation matrix of the robot origin to the
positioner origin, and of the positioner origin to Points
the reference frame of the encoder locations given The calibration points are a set of static positions
in MB1, MB2, MB3 and MB4. The second column visited by the robot and stored in a robot calibration
gives the transformation for the source project. job. At each position the robot stops, a measurement
This may be the real master project, or the CAD
values that are in the starting *.tbl file. The third is taken with the MotoCal Encoder (or compatible
column in the table gives the calculated measurement device). The resulting measurement
transformation for the real system of the project. data is then stored in a corresponding calibration
measurement file. The robot calibration job and
Related Subprojects: displays the links
between this project and other projects the robot calibration measurement file are then used to
is involved with (e.g. CAD projects, cloning calculate the calibration parameters for the robot cell
projects, etc.). - i.e. robot, end-effector, and/or fixture/positioner.
Measure button: starts the measurement
process.

5-5
Selecting Calibration Points 3. Avoid measurement cable interference.

Calibration errors will result if the measurement
It is important to take care when selecting calibration cable touches any part of the robot or cell
points. The following is a set of general guidelines during the calibration job. If the line jumps
that must be followed to provide an accurate suddenly during a programmed move, this is a
calibration. If any of these guidelines are not properly good indication that the line has contacted
followed, the calibration software will provide an something within the cell. Replay the point and
appropriate warning requesting you modify your observe the move at slow speed to determine
the cause. Adjust the programmed point to
selection of calibration points. Large standard avoid the interference.
deviations are caused by poor calibration points. If calibration points are selected in a computer
1. Select calibration points that place the robot in simulation environment (e.g. ROTSY ), an 5
as many varied positions as possible. The appropriate simulation model of the MotoCal
calibration points should include a range of system including the measurement line-of-sight
positions for each joint, covering at least 90. will help. Be sure to leave enough space
Changing the robots orientation about the TCP between any obstacles and the measurement
will help achieve this. However, take care to line-of-sight, since actual location of these
avoid obstacles and interference within the obstacles may differ from the simulation model.
robot work envelope.
CABLE
INTERFERENCE
RIGHT WRONG
NO INTERFERENCE WITH MEASUREMENT CABLE
MEASUREMENT CABLE TOUCHING ROBOT ARM
Avoid measurement cable interference.
4. Provide triangulation around the encoder base.

During the calibration process, the location of
the measurement frames x,y,z, origin (located
at the external pulley) must be calculated.
MotoCal measures the one-dimensional
Use multiple robot orientations. displacement of the measurement cable. To
calculate the three-dimensional location of
2. Select a minimum of thirty (30) calibration MotoCal's x,y,z measurement origin, the
points. For very high accuracy applications, up measurement cable's orientation must vary
to fifty (50) calibration points may be required. sufficiently (preferably 90 degrees around three
For spot weld applications, forty (40) calibration axes) while the robot runs to the calibration
points are suggested. points.

5-6 Operation
with its TCP at a known position relative to the TCP

of the robot. The adapters TCP is on the interior
point that is at the intersection of the two axes of the
adapter. The adapter should be attached with its
setscrews adjnusted so that its TCP coincides with
the robot TCP, or a point known relative to the robot
TCP. Depending on the robot tool, some machining
may be required to achieve a satisfactory
measurement adapter mounting. Be sure to enter
the correct measurement adapter offset value of
5 31.75 mm.
270 Measuring Calibration Points with
BAD CALIBRATION POINTS
the MotoCal Encoder
To measure calibration points using the MotoCal
Encoder, proceed as follows from the Master Robot
Project screen:
1. Click Measure button , the following

prompt appears: Make sure that the
measurement attachment is at its Reference
Position.
270 2. Verify metal eyelet on encoder measurement
GOOD CALIBRATION POINTS cable is properly hooked to metal reference post
located on the side of the MotoCal Encoder.
Provide good triangulation about measurement This is known as the Reference Position or zero
frame origin. position (see note below).
3. Click OK. Measurement Screen appears.
One method for creating a good calibration job

is to visualize a rectangle encompassing the robot
work envelope. Program three or more calibration
points at each corner of the imaginary rectangle,
varying the TCP orientation about the corner for
each point.
Attaching the Measurement Adapter

To measure calibration points using the MotoCal
Encoder, a measurement Adapter must be attached

5-7
distance. If the measurement adapter is changed, the

measurement adapter offset field must also be changed.
(see Appendix F)
Once the reference position has been verified as correct,
attach the measurement cable to the measurement
adapter.
Point: indicates the last measurement taken of
the measurement cable extension.
Number of points: shows the number of
measurements points recorded. To verify you have
recorded the points correctly, the number of 5
measurement points in the robot calibration job
should match the number of points indicated in
this field.
Output file: displays the file name (identified
by the file extension .msr) where the
measurements will be stored. This file is located in
Measurement Screen the Measurement files field of the Master Robot
Project window. The user may change the
Online display of measurement cable: displays measurement file name.
the extension of the measurement cable (through Measure: In manual mode, the operator must
a vertical bar and number in millimeters). As the press the M key or click the Measure bar on the
cable is extended during the measurement screen to take the measurement at each stop point
process, the vertical bar fills with blue and the in the calibration program. These points are
number changes. Together they represent the measured automatically in Auto and I/O mode.
cable extension.
Delete: allows the user to delete the previously
Note: If the title bar and vertical measurement cable measured calibration point. The last point
display are red, there is a problem with the .clb file. Verify recorded is the first point erased. Take care to
that the correct .clb file is being used. ensure that each measurement corresponds to the
correct calibration point in the robot job. After
Note: When the measurement cable is hooked to the deleteing a point, be carful to move the focus back
metal reference post on the side of the encoder, the to the Measure button.
encoder is in its reference position. The number in the
box below the vertical bar represents the cable extension 4. Once the measurement process is complete,
in millimeters from a point inside the encoder to the click OK. Measurement Complete screen
metal reference post. This number should be the same, appears.
within 0.4 mm, each time you place the measurement 5. Check the reference position cable reading by
cable in its reference position. When the system is zeroed, returning the measurement cable to its
this length is read from the .CLB file for the system. reference position after recording the last
In addition, the length displayed also accounts for the measurement.
measurement adapter. When the metal eyelet on the 6. Click OK again. The .MSR file is stored in the
measurement cable is attached to a measurement measurement files field of Master Robot Project
adapter, it will be a certain distance from the TCP of the window.
measurement adapter. The length displayed includes this

5-8 Operation
7. Disconnect the measurement cable from Measuring calibration points with

measurement adapter and reconnect to
reference position on encoder. other measurement systems
Note: The robot calibration job from the robot If using a measurement system other than the
controller should be stored in the master robot project. MotoCal Encoder, measurements taken by the robot
calibration job must be done with the measurement
To place the robot calibration job into the systems proprietary measurement software.
Master Robot Project file:
Once the measurements are complete, add the
1. Start FDEWin from main menu by choosing corresponding ASCII measurement file (.msr) from
Project > PC <- -> Controller File
5 Transfer.
the measurement systems software to the Master
Robot Project (or other Project) of the MotoCal
2. Be sure FDEWin is set to correct project
directory. Software (usually through use of a floppy disk).
Depending on the particular type of Measurement
3. Using the programming pendant, transfer job
from the controller to the PC. System, this ASCII Measurement file must follow a
specific format. Typically, the first line of the
4. Choose Project > Add Files to Project
from main menu. The Insert file(s) into project measurement file indicates the number of
window appears. measurement points measured with the robot
calibration job. Each of the following lines indicates
the measurement data for each calibration point
respectively. For more details about file formats refer
to Appendix E.
To add files from another measurement
system:
1. Choose Project > Add Files to Project
from main menu. The Insert file(s) into project
window appears.
2. Select appropriate file and click Open. The
selected file appears in Measurement files field
Insert Files Into Project of Master Robot Project window.
5. Select appropriate file and click Open. The

selected file appears in Robot files field of
Master Robot Project window.

5-9
Calibration The first (and default) calibration system to appear is

the selected measurement device (calibration with a
The Calibration process consists of mathematically robot will be discussed later).
determining the actual parameters for each of the
2. Click (Robot file) More. The Select robot file(s)
three components of the robot cell (robot, end- for calibration screen appears.
effector, and fixture/positioner). The parameter
calibration for each of these components can be
performed independently, or together in one step.
This section explains how to determine the actual
calibration parameters (robot, end-effector, and or
fixture/positioner) based on the measurement data 5
obtained from the MotoCal Encoder or other
compatible system.
To determine Actual Calibration Parameters:
1. Choose Calibration > Calibrate from
main menu. The Choose calibration system
window appears. 3. Select the robot files that were used to create
NOTE: You can also select the measurement job(s), the measurement file(s) and click Open (see
measurement file(s), .prm file, and .aln or .tbl file and below for choosing more than one file). The
then click on the default calibration icon(robot icon). file(s) now appear in the robot job files field.
Note: In the case of multiple robot job files, be sure to
select their order consistent with the order of the
Measurement files.
To select multiple files in the desired order,

click the file to be listed last. If the other files are
listed in order above this file, hold the mouse button
while moving the pointer up to the first file and then
release the mouse button. If the files are listed in
order but are in separate columns, move the pointer
to the first file and hold down the shift key while you
click and release the mouse button.
Choose Calibration System
4. Click (Measurement file) More button. The
Two calibration types are present: the selected Select measurement file(s) for calibration screen
measurement device (e.g. MotoCal, 3D System, etc.) appears.
and Robot.

5-10 Operation
5
5. Choose the appropriate file and click Open. The
file(s) now appear in the Measurement file field.
Note: In the case of multiple measurement files, be sure
to select their order consistent with the order of the robot
job files. TCP Information: contains the x,y,z values and
6. Click (Parameter file) button. The Select orientation for the Tool Center Point (TCP). The
parameter file(s) for calibration screen appears. TCP values can be anything the user wishes to
teach, or run the robot calibration job with, but
Note: Parameter files are also referred to as filters. must match the values used in the robot
controller. These TCP values do not need to be
close to the actual TCP to be calculated.
User Frame Information: contains the x,y,z
values and orientation for the user frame (with
particular robot model convention). These user
frame values can be anything the user wishes to
teach or run the robot calibration job with, but
must match the values used in the robot
controller. These user frame values do not need to
be close to the actual user frame to be calculated.
Nominal:is located in both the TCP Information
and the User Frame Information areas. The
7. Choose the appropriate file and click Open. The values for the TCP and the User Frame will either
file now appears in the Parameter file field. be zeros, or (depending on the robot type and
8. When all fields have been completed, click OK. language interface) will be read directly from the
The Parameters for: robot file name screen robot program. The default value for this field is
appears. Nominal. However, this field also allows the
entered TCP and/or User Frame values to be saved
as a separate file. When these same TCP and/or
User Frame values are needed later, select the
saved file rather than manually entering the values.
To save entered TCP and/or User Frame values,
type a new file name

5-11
Finally, for TCP Information, the user can select

from this field the Motoman .prm file which Calibration with a measurement device can
contains the calibrated actual end-effector values also be initiated by a convenient Drag-and-Drop
stored in the selected Source .prm file and feature. From the Project Window, select the desired
Destination .prm file respectively. Similarly, for .prm file. Then select the desired measurement .msr
User Frame Information, the user can select the file and while holding the SHIFT key and the left
Motoman_ALN file which contains the calculated mouse button Drag the file onto the appropriate
actual fixture values stored in the selected Source robot calibration job (in the Robot files field).
Alignment file and the Destination Alignment file Drop the file by releasing the mouse button, before
respectively. releasing the SHIFT key. The Choose Calibration
Points Used for Calibration: The user has System window appears. Proceed with the 5
two choices in this area: Calibration Process as described above using the
All: This selection allows the user to perform more option in case of multiple files.
the Calibration based on all the points in the
Calibration Robot File.
Enter Points: This option allows the user to
Robot Calibration
choose specific calibration points from the To calibrate the robot, proceed as follows:
robot calibration job, and exclude other points
such as via points, old or otherwise incorrect 1. Press the Robot button from Calibration
calibration points, etc. This selection is used window. The Robot Calibration window appears.
mostly when calibrating the fixture with a robot.
The points to be used for calibration are

indicated by the number in the order in which
they appear in the Move statement of the
robot calibration job. These numbers should be
separated by commas, spaces, or dashes to
indicate span (fromto). For example: 2,
4, 6-8 10 12-34.
9. Once the correct information has been entered,
click OK. Calibrate Robot Yes/ No: The robot can
be calibrated using the set of Robot Calibration
Parameters selected below (Yes), or not at all
(No).
Robot Parameters: The various parameters to
be calibrated are listed. The user can select one by
one which parameters to calibrate by clicking the
buttons representing the name of the parameters.
The number after each parameter button indicates
the value of that parameter, as determined by the
Nominal/Previous Calibration selection.
Depending on the selected parameter file, a
default set of calibration parameters will be set.

5-12 Operation
Note: The default set of calibration parameters is

normally set according to the Robot Application Type,
and should only be modified by a user who thoroughly
understands the meaning of these parameters. For more
information on Parameters, refer to Appendix B.
Nominal/Previous Calibration: By
selecting Nominal, the values set by the robot
manufacturer are used for each of the Robot
Calibration Parameters. This setting is used when
performing a standard calibration, (i.e. identifying
5 the default set of calibration parameters). By
selecting Previous, the Robot Calibration
Parameters are set to their previously calibrated 31.75 mm
values stored in the selected Parameter file. This (OFFSET VALUE)
is convenient when re-calibrating a sub-set of the

Calibration Parameters (e.g. a specific joint offset)
while leaving all other parameters at their Universal Measurement Adaptor
previously calibrated values. This re-calibration
process allows the use of fewer calibration points
than used in a standard calibration. Note: Depending on the TCP, special machining may be
required to create a satisfactory measurement adapter.
Click OK to return to the Calibration screen. Contact Motoman for more information.
End-Effector Calibration When different measurement points need to be used
to allow calibration of TCP position and orientation,
The calibration of the end-effector can be obtained
the measurement adapter must be moved to three
simultaneously with the calibration of the robot (and
different measurement points during the
fixture) using the same robot calibration job.
measurement of the calibration points. For example,
The Universal Measurement Adapter is supplied to with 40 calibration points and 4 measurement points,
connect the measurement cable relative to the TCP the first 10 calibration points could be measured with
of the end-effector to be calibrated. The universal the Universal adapter at the first mounting point, the
measurement adapter accommodates many different following 10 calibration points at the second one, etc.
TCPs. This is typical when performing a pedestal
To calibrate the TCP x,y,z and orientation, at least application for example where the end-effector
three measurement points (not co-linear) are (gripper) must be fully calibrated (i.e. TCP x,y,z and
required. The x,y,z location of these points must be orientation).
known and expressed in the desired TCP frame to be
calibrated. When only the TCP x,y,z is to be
calibrated, one measurement point suffices, as long
as its x,y,z location relative to the desired TCP frame
is known. Physically locating the measurement point
at the desired TCP further simplifies the process as
the relative x,y,z location will be zero.

5-13
To calibrate the end-effector, proceed as Previous calibration / Nominal: By

follows: selecting Nominal, the values entered for the TCP
information appear here. By selecting Previous
1. Click End-Effector. The End-effector instead, the end-effector parameters are set to
calibration screen appears. their previously calibrated values stored in the
selected Parameter file. This is convenient, for
example, when re-calibrating a sub-set of the
calibration parameters (e.g. a specific joint offset)
while leaving all other parameters at their
previously calibrated values. This re-calibration
process also uses fewer calibration points than
used for a standard calibration. 5
Measurement Point: This area of the window is
where the user enters the x,y,z location of all the of
the measurement points (Universal adapter
attachment points) relative to the desired TCP
frame to be calibrated. Each measurement point
corresponds to a specific robot file and
measurement file. Therefore, make sure the order
of these measurement points matches the order in
which the robot and measurement files were
selected. The user has three options to enter these
Calibrate End-Effector Yes/ No: The values:
end-effector can be calibrated with the set of end- Previous calibration: This selection
effector calibration parameters selected below allows the user to directly use the x,y,z location
(Yes), or not at all (No). of the measurement points relative to the
End-Effector Parameters: The various robots flange (instead of the TCP) as calculated
parameters to be calibrated are listed. You can previously with the selected Parameter file. This
select one by one which parameters to calibrate by is convenient, for example, when re-calibrating a
clicking the buttons representing the name of the sub-set of the calibration parameters (e.g. a
parameters. The number after the parameter specific joint offset) while leaving all other
button indicates the value of that parameter as parameters at their previously calibrated values.
determined by the following Nominal/Previous If Calibrate End-Effector is set to Yes,
Calibration selection. Depending on the MotoCal will calculate the actual 6 DOF
selected parameter file, a default set of calibration transformation matrix of this previous flange
parameters is set. frame relative to the new one.
This default set of calibration parameters is CAD .MP file: This selection is valid only if
normally set according to the Robot Application Calibrate End-Effector is set to Yes. It
Type, and should only be modified by users who allows the user to choose an existing CAD .xyz
thoroughly understand the meaning of these file containing the x,y,z location of the
parameters. measurement point(s) relative to the desired
TCP frame to be calibrated.

5-14 Operation
Enter values: This selection allows you to

enter the x,y,z location of the measurement
point(s) relative to the desired TCP frame to be
calibrated. If Calibrate End-Effector is set
to No, the first measurement point is set to the
x,y,z values displayed at the top of the screen.
Unknown Values: This selection is valid only if
Calibrate End-Effector (see above) is set to No!
In that case the user is not trying to calibrate the
end-effectors TCP, and therefore does not need to
5 know the location of the measurement point(s)
relative to the TCP frame. When more than one MOTOMAN, INC.
measurement point is used, the user can indicate

whether or not these measurement points are Corner Base Adapter
physically at the same point by turning on the
Same Point as Previous option.
Click OK to return to the Calibration screen. If
you selected Enter Values (see above), you will be
able to save those x,y,z values in an appropriate .x,y,z
file.
Fixture Calibration
MotoCal can determine the 6DOF alignment of the
fixture or its associated user frame relative to the
robot base frame. This calibration of the fixture can MOTOMAN, INC.
be obtained simultaneously with the calibration of

the robot and the end-effector. MotoCal references Hole Base Adapter
the measurement frame of the selected
measurement system relative to the fixture. Each base adapter is designed so the alignment point
Referencing of the MotoCal Encoder is achieved by is physically located along the main swiveling axis of
positioning it at a minimum of three different the MotoCal Encoder and at a known and constant
alignment points. These alignment points are at distance along that axis from the measurement origin
precisely known locations on the fixture. Four of the MotoCal Encoder.
different points are recommended.
Depending on the features available in the fixture,
different types of base adapters can be used to
connect the MotoCal Encoder to the alignment
points on the fixture. Available adapters include the
corner adapter and the cylindrical hole adapter.

5-15
Alignment point relative to MotoCal measurement Alignment points relative to download area
frame
2. Easy reachability of alignment points:
The 6 DOF location of these alignment points should Locate the alignment points taking care to avoid
be known and expressed in one common coordinate interference with the measurement cable. The
frame (typically the User Frame) associated with the robot cell should be designed with calibration
fixture. Move the MotoCal Encoder to each of these (and OLP) in mind so selected alignment points
are easy to reach. The alignment points can then
different alignment points in between the be located at NC-Blocks that have been precisely
measurement of the calibration points. For example, measured together with the rest of the fixture,
with 40 calibration points and 4 alignment points, the as part of the regular Tool Certification process.
first 10 calibration points are measured at the first The NC-blocks may be fixed or removable.
alignment point, the following 10 calibration points If calibration and OLP were not considered
at the second, etc. The following guidelines should during the design phase of the robot cell, special
be used during the selection and design of the alignment risers can be designed and built
alignment points. within the fixture to position the measurement
encoder sufficiently clear of the fixture. The
1. Alignment points encompass download area: alignment risers can be made removable as long
Select alignment points that encompass the as their position in the fixture can be precisely
work area of downloaded robot programs. repeated. This allows the risers to be removed
Alignment points should not be too close before the actual job is run Only one riser needs
together compared to the downloaded points. to be built.
They should not be co-linear, nor close to co- The x,y,z, position for the alignment risers can
linear. Choose alignment points at the four base be measured together with the rest of the
corners of a rectangular prism that encloses the fixture, as part of the regular tool certification
downloaded job points. The height of the prism process. To measure the appropriate x,y,z
is equal to the short side of the base rectangle as alignment point on the riser coinciding with the
illustrated below. A similar concept can be origin of the MotoCal measurement frame, an
applied to other alignment points not forming a x,y,z measurement adapter can be used to
rectangle. accept the measurement target of the system

5-16 Operation
used for the tool certification process (i.e.

corner cube for laser tracker, LEDs for camera
inspection system, etc.), as shown below. MotoCal Measurement Frame
at Alignment Points
It is critical that the alignment risers are
repeatable in position, light enough to be
carried around, and clearly identifiable.
Therefore, we strongly advocate that you use
alignment risers only for retrofits, i.e. when
calibration was not designed into the robot cell.
5 MotoCal Base
Adaptor
Alignment Points relative to User Frame
The x,y,z values of each alignment point must

coincide with or be at a known offset from the
origin of the MotoCal Encoder.
The origin of the MotoCal Encoder is at a
displacement known to the software above the
base of the Encoder. The adapter used to
mount the Encoder on the Fixture will typically
raise the base of the Encoder above the
alignment point. Therefore the magnitude of
this offset, the actual thickness of the adapter,
must be entered by the user in the Project-
Alignment Risers >Settings->Measurement System window in
the Base Adapter Offset field.
3. Alignment points relative to robot base frame: The base of the Encoder must flat relative to the
Express the 6 DOF location of the selected surface of the fixture. However, the orientaion
alignment points relative to a common the the Encoder around the vertical axis of the
coordinate frame (e.g. user frame) associated alignment point is not critical. Therefore the
with the fixture. Because these values are used user can rotate the Encoder around that axis to
for other robot configurations later on in the arrange it to minimize interference with the
filter, it is critical to enter values for the user measurement cable.
frame that are close to the actual values to be
calculated.
With OLP, use the user frame obtained from the
simulation model; otherwise, any other
approximation obtained through simple tape
measurement can be used. Whatever user frame
values are entered here, these exact values need
to be used later during filtering, since the
obtained alignment matrix represents the
difference between the calculated actual user
frame and the one entered here.

5-17
When calibrating a pedestal or external TCP Whatever external TCP values are entered here, the
application, locate the MotoCal Encoder at a point exact values need to be used later in the filter since
close to the external TCP using an appropriate base the obtained alignment matrix represents the
adapter. Because only one alignment point is used, difference between the calibrated actual external TCP
only the x,y,z position of the external TCP can be and the one entered here.
calibrated, not its orientation. If the MotoCal Encoder
is offset from the external TCP point to be calculated,
it is critical that the physical orientation of the
MotoCal Encoder relative to the external TCP point
match as closely as possible the orientation values
entered here, since the offset x,y,z values for the 5
MotoCal Encoder entered below are related to this
orientation. If the encoder is offset from the external
TCP, Its base should be maintained in the horizontal
plane, as shown below.
Motoman Inc.
Pedestal Base Adaptor
MotoCal
External TCP Calibration with MotoCal Motoman Inc.
Because the orientation of the external TCP is not Pedestal Offset Base Adaptor
calibrated, it is important to enter an estimated value
(normally within 5 degrees) for the external TCP.
Because these values are used for other robot
configurations later on in the filter, it is critical to
enter values for the user frame that are close to the
actual values to be calculated. With OLP, use the
external TCP obtained from the simulation model;
otherwise, this can be any approximation obtained
through tape measurement.

5-18 Operation
To calibrate the Fixture, proceed as follows: Three options are available to enter these values:
1. Click Fixture. The Fixture calibration screen Previous calibration: This selection
appears. allows the user to directly use the 6 DOF
location of the encoders measurement frame
relative to the robot base frame (instead of the
user frame or external TCP) as calculated
previously with the selected parameter file. This
is convenient, for example, when re-calibrating a
sub-set of the calibration parameters (e.g.
specific joint offset) while leaving all other
5 parameters at their previously calibrated values.
If Calibrate Fixture is set to Yes, MotoCal
will calculate the actual 6DOF transformation
matrix of this previous robot base frame relative
to the new one.
Unknown values: This selection is valid only if
Calibrate Fixture is set to No. In that case
the user is not trying to calibrate the fixture, and
therefore does not need to know the location of
Fixture Calibration Screen the measurement base(s) relative to the TCP
frame. In case more than one measurement
Calibrate fixture Yes/No: Select base is used, the user can indicate whether or
whether or not the Fixture will be calibrated. not these measurement bases are physically at
Measurement base: Enter the 6 DOF location the same point by turning on the Same Point
(x,y,z and orientation) of the measurement frame as Previous option.
of the MotoCal Encoder relative to the user frame Enter values: This selection is valid only
associated with the fixture for each one of the when Calibrate Fixture is set to Yes. It
alignment points, or relative to the external TCP allows the user to enter the 6 DOF location of
(see below). Each measurement base corresponds the encoders measurement frame for each one
with one specific robot job file and measurement of the alignment points relative to the user
file. Therefore, make sure the order of the frame or external TCP to be calibrated.
measurement bases matches the order in which CAD File: This selection is valid only when
the robot and measurement files were selected. Calibrate Fixture is set to Yes. This allows
the user to choose an existing CAD .FRM file
containing the 6 DOF location of the
measurement frame for all the alignment points
relative to the user frame or external TCP to be
calibrated.

5-19
User Frame: This selection is not possible with Calibration Results

external TCP applications. This area of the window
is where the user enters the x,y,z values and Click Start Calibration. When the process is
orientation of the user frame relative to the robot finished converging, the calibration results are
base frame. The measurement base values are shown, with the average and maximum error in
normally expressed in this user frame. A user millimeters.
frame equal to zero coincides with the robot base
frame. As explained above, these values need to be
close enough to the actual values that will be
calculated. These exact values are entered later for
filtering. The user has two options to enter these
values: 5
Nominal: This is the user frame used by the
robot calibration job.
Enter values: This selection allows the user
to manually enter the values for the user frame.
External TCP: This solution is only available
with external TCP applications. This area of the
window is where the user enters the x,y,z values Calibration Results
and the orientation of the external TCP relative to
the robot base frame. The measurement base The average and maximum errors indicate whether
values are normally expressed in their external or not the calibration was successful. They indicate
TCP. An external TCP equal to zero coincides with the remaining average and maximum errors in all the
the robot base frame. As explained above, these
values need to be close enough to the actual calibration points between the obtained
values that will be calculated. These exact values measurements and the corresponding programmed
are entered later for filtering. robot positions after correction of the selected
calibration parameters. The lower these two errors
Nominal: This selection is not valid.
are, the better the calibration. The more parameters
Enter values: This selection allows the user calibrated, the lower these errors; similarly, the lower
to manually enter the values for the External the number of calibration points, the lower these
TCP.
errors. But looking only at this average and
Click OK to return to the Calibration screen. maximum error can be very misleading. Correction
Selecting Enter Values (see above), enables you to of N calibration parameters with N calibration points
save the x,y,z values in an appropriate .xyz file. will by definition mathematically result in an average
and maximum error of zero. However, that does not
mean the calibrated values for the selected
parameters are in any way correct or physically
meaningful.

5-20 Operation
To arrive at meaningful results, we recommend that Once the calibration process has converged, you
there be at least twice as many calibration points as have four options: Save Calibration and
calibration parameters. MotoCal calculates the Close, Remove Worst Point and
standard deviation of each of the corrected recalibrate, Select a different set of calibration
parameter values. The smaller the standard deviation parameters and re-Start Calibration, or
of a calculated parameter the more reliable the Close.
calculated parameter value is. The standard deviation Save calibration and Close:
is not a function of the actual measurements, but a Select Save calibration and close when
function of the number and kind of selected you have achieved satisfactory calibration results,
calibration points, as well as the selected calibration as explained above. After clicking the button,
5 parameters. As a rule of thumb, for a good MotoCal asks Would you like to Re-zero
calibration, we recommend the standard deviation the Robot? (see below). You are then asked
for all angular parameters to be around 0.010 degrees whether a filter will be made. If a filter is to be
or less, and for all linear parameters around 0.100 made, you are prompted to save the parameter file
mm or less (see Appendix B for more information needed to make the filter from the controller to
about Calibration Parameters). the PC. FDEWin may be started for this purpose. If
a filter is not going to be made, only the rezeroing
To check the calibrated values and their associated job, finesync. jbi will be generated. If a filter is to
standard deviation for the selected calibration be made you are prompted to save the calibrated
parameters, click the Robot, End-Effector, and/or parameters as a .prm file. Choose an appropriate
the Fixture button of the Calibration window filename and click Save. The new .prm file and
after calibration. The standard deviation will appear .aln file (if applicable) appear under the Parameter
on the right of the calibrated values of each one of file field and the Alignment file field, respectively.
the selected parameters. Rezero: If you choose to Re-zero the robot, a
finesync.jbi job file is created and stored in the
To summarize, a calibration should be considered Robot Files field of the Master Robot
good only if both the average/maximum errors, and Project after calibration is complete. The
all standard deviations are small enough. More than finesync job jogs the robot to the actual zero joint
with standard deviations (see above), a good average offset position as determined by the MotoCal
and maximum error is very application dependent. In software. Load the finesync job into the controller,
the case of spot welding for example, an average and run the finesync job, and then re-set the robot
maximum error of less than 0.5 mm and 1 mm Home position.
respectively is typically considered good. In arc
welding, these errors should be closer to 0.25 mm
and 0.5mm respectively. In general, to achieve better
CAUTION!
results, the calibration programs need to contain If the Robot Home position is not set
more calibration points, allowing the user to select correctly, the arm will not be
more calibration parameters while still maintaining calibrated, and the MotoCal filtering
good standard deviations. function will not work properly.
After the robot has been run to its newly calibrated
home position, maintain servo power on until the
new position has been recorded.

5-21
Remove worst point and Recalibrate: Close:

This selection will redo the calibration calculations If despite all efforts (see above), the calibration still
with out the worst point in the preceeding does not converge to good results, there may be
calibration. There will always be a "worst point" several other possible causes:
and "Remove worst point and Recalibrate" will (1) Bad measurement data due to faulty
usually report lower Average and Maximum error measurement equipment.
values. However, this option should only be used
after it is verified that the worst point was (2) Incorrect data input into software.
inaccurately measured, such as because the (3) Poor robot repeatability.
measurement cable was deflected by an (4) Loose robot mounting.
obstruction when the measurement was taken.
Otherwise leaving the "worst point" out of the (5) Improper set of calibration points. 5
calcultions will actually make the model of the Click the Close button to exit without saving the
robot less complete even as its reported accuracy calibrated parameters.
is improved. The worst point can be determined
by looking in the "calib.err" file in the project Next, carefully review the whole calibration process
directory. If this procedure still does not provide and correct any possible problems. The calibration
good results, try a different set of calibration should then be repeated from a fresh start. If after a
parameters and re-calibrate as described below. couple of attempts the calibration still fails, please
Re-calibrate with a different set of Calibration contact Motoman for further advice and possible
Parameters: next steps.
If the Average and maximum Error are bad (see
above), you may want to select a different set of Calibration with the Robot
Calibration Parameters, by either adding more This feature should only be used with a robot that is
parameters, or by selecting different ones. Click on already well calibrated. It uses the accuracy of the
the Robot, End-Effector, and/or Fixture robot and a good TCP pointer tool to calibrate the
buttons of the Calibration Window and select
Start Calibration again. You can repeat this fixture location and orientation. If not already
process of selecting different Calibration known, the tool x,y,z values can be determined using
Parameters as often as desired (assuming you this feature. Alignment by calibration with the robot
thoroughly understand the meaning of each of is not possible when a positioner is used in the
these Calibration Parameters). When good results project.
for both Average/Maximum Errors and Standard This feature is typically used when you can not or do
Deviations are achieved with a reasonable not want to use the measurement device for
selection of parameters, click the Save
Calibration and Close button (see above).
alignment. This is very convenient, for example, in a
move application when you are moving an entire
In the process of selecting different calibration robot cell from one location to another and having
parameters, the calibration process might sometimes already calibrated the robot and the TCP in the first
diverge and provide bad results at the end instead of location, only need the relative alignment matrix
converging. This often means that at least one of the between the robot base frame at both locations.
selected calibration parameters is redundant (see
Appendix B) or was not moved enough during
measurement and should therefore be turned off
again. Knowing which calibration parameters are
redundant requires a thorough knowledge of robot
calibration.

5-22 Operation
Calibration of the fixture involves calculating the 6 To initiate calibration with the robot:
DOF alignment transformation matrix representing 1. Select Calibration from the main menu and
the difference in position of the fixture relative to the click Calibrate. A window titled Choose
robot between two different robot cells. For example, Calibration System appears.
in the case of off-line programming, one robot cell 2. Select the Robot tab.
exists in simulation and a similar robot cell exists on
the plant floor. In the case of cloning both similar but
different robot cells are on the plant floor. In the case
of moving, the same robot cell is on two different
plant floors. In any event, two projects are a always
5 required to use this calibration feature.
Calibration of the fixture requires at least three
(preferably four) alignment points to be taught with
the TCP of the calibrated robot. If the TCPs x,y,z
values also need to be determined, teaching the
robots TCP using two points per each alignment
point with widely different end-effector orientations
is recommended. It is important to select alignment Calibration with robot
points that are not co-linear, and encompass the full
working area of the robot in the cell, (similar to the Robot file 1: Enter robot file to be used for
Alignment points encompass download area the calibration from the project that is currently
guidelines). Also, the selected alignment points must not active (see above). To choose a file, click the
button. A screen titled Select First Robot File
be reachable by the robots TCP, or special risers may for Calibration appears. Select the appropriate file
need to be built. and click Open.
In the case of OLP, only the x,y,z positions of the This is normally the robot program containing all the
alignment points need to be accurately known locations that were taught with the robots TCP at the
relative to one common user frame associated with different alignment points. For CAD projects, this
the fixture. These values can be obtained from the robot file contains the x,y,z position for the
simulation model used for the CAD project. The user alignment points expressed in the user frame (see
frame from the simulation model also needs to be below), as obtained from the simulation model (in
known because assuming it will be close to the actual turn obtained from CAD or some tool certification
user frame to be calculated, it is required for internal process). Since the orientation of these positions is
software calculations of the robot configurations (see not relevant in this case, the robot file entered can be
user frame information below). a regular robot program with dummy orientations at
Finally, in cases where no CAD Project is involved, the alignment points, or a standard .XYZ file.
knowing the accurate x,y,z location of the alignment .PRM File for robot 1: Select the parameter file to
points is not required. All thats required is the be used from the project that is not currently
relative position of these alignment points is the active. To choose a file, click the button. A
same between the actual fixture(s) to be aligned. screen titled Select Parameter File for First Robot
This requirement is satisfied when accurately appears. Select the appropriate file and click
manufactured "identical" fixtures are used in both. Open.

5-23
For actual projects, this should be the .PRM file

corresponding to the actual robot and TCP with
which the alignment points were taught. For CAD
projects, this .PRM field will be disabled because
the CAD robot is assumed to have ideal or nominal
parameters.
Robot File 2: Enter the robot file to be used
for the calibration from the project that is currently
active (see above). To choose a file, click the
button. A screen titled Select Second Robot File
for Calibration appears. Select the appropriate file 5
and click Open.
This is normally the robot program containing all the
locations that were taught with the robots TCP at the
different alignment points. For CAD projects, this
robot file contains the x,y,z position for the
alignment points expressed in the user frame (see Parameters for:
below), as obtained from the simulation model (in
turn obtained from CAD or some tool certification TCP information: This area of the window is
process). Since the orientation of these positions is where the user enters the tool x,y,z and
not relevant in this case, the robot file entered can be orientation values that are on the controller and
a regular robot program with dummy orientations at wil be used to run the job. These TCP values do
the alignment points, or a standard .XYZ file. not need to be (although they certainly can be, for
the ease of running the calibration robot program)
.PRM File for Robot 2: Select the parameter an approximation of the actual TCP to be
file to be used from the project that is currently calibrated.
active. To choose a file, Click the button. A User frame information: This area of the
screen titled Select Parameter File for Second window is where the user enters the x,y,z values
Robot appears. Select the appropriate file and and the orientation for the user frame that is used
click Open. on the controller.
For actual projects, this should be the .PRM file Nominal: This field is located in both the TCP
corresponding to the actual robot and TCP with Information and User Frame Information areas.
which the alignment points were taught. For CAD Whenever the Parameters for: window appears,
projects, this .PRM field will be disabled because the the values for the TCP and user frame will either be
CAD robot is assumed to have ideal or nominal zeros, or (depending on robot type and language
parameters. interface) read directly from the robot job file (see
A window titled Parameters for: appears to allow above), or previously entered default values. At
that time, this field always appears as Nominal.
the user to enter the parameter information for the However, the user can save the entered TCP and/
project that is currently not active: or user frame values as a different name. If these
TCP and/or user frame values are needed later (see
other sections), the user can select the saved file
name instead of manually entering the values.

5-24 Operation
Finally, for TCP Information, the user can also select Once the information has been entered, click OK.
in this field the MotoCal_PRM file which contains The same window will then appear for the parameter
the calibrated actual end-effector values stored in the information for the project that is currently active.
selected Source .PRM file and Destination .PRM Follow the instructions above to complete the
file respectively (see above). Similarly, for User information and click OK.
Frame Information, the user can select the A window titled Calibration then appears. The user
MotoCal_ALN file which contains the calculated now has the option to select the End-Effector
actual fixture values stored in the selected Source button and/or the Fixture button for calibration
Alignment file and the Destination Alignment file of the TCP x,y,z and/or the alignment matrix
respectively. respectively. When the user clicks the Fixture
5 Points Used for Calibration: Two choices button, a screen titled Fixture Calibration appears.
are available in this area: The same applies in this window as was explained in
All: This selection allows the user to do the the equivalent window for Calibration with the
calibration based on all the points in the measurement device Fixture with respect to the
calibration robot file. values to be entered for the user frame.
Enter points: This option allows the user to
choose specific calibration points from the
calibration robot file, and to exclude other Calibration with the robot can also be initiated
points such as via points, old or otherwise by a convenient drag-and-drop feature. In the
incorrect calibration points, etc. This selection is project window that is active, select the desired
used mostly when calibrating the fixture with a .PRM file. Then select the desired alignment robot
robot. The calibration points to be used are program (in the Robot files field), and while
indicated by the number of the MOV command holding the SHIFT key and the left mouse button
in the robot calibration job. These numbers to drag that alignment robot program file onto the
should be separated by commas, spaces, or appropriate robot calibration job (in the Robot files
dashes (a dash indicates fromto). For field) of the project that is not active. Drop the
example: 2, 4, 6-8 10 12-34. file by releasing the mouse button, before releasing
the SHIFT key. Then the Choose Calibration
System window appears. Proceed with the
calibration process as described above (and use the
more option in case of multiple files).

5-25
Fixture Calibration To proceed with the calibration; click Start

Calibration.
Calibrate Fixture Yes/No: Select
whether or not the fixture will be calibrated. When the process is finished converging, the
calibration results, the average and maximum errors,
User Frame: This selection is not possible with appear in the window. The calibration is successful
external TCP applications. This area of the window only if both the average/maximum errors and the
is where the user enters the x,y,z values and
orientation of the user frame relative to the robot standard deviations are good. Since this process
base frame (see above). A user frame equal to zero requires manual teaching of the robot, an average
coincides with the robot base frame. These values and maximum error of less than 1 mm and 2 mm
need to be close to the actual values to be respectively is often considered as good. This
calculated. The values entered here should be the inaccuracy is one of the negative aspects of this 5
SAME as those entered later for filtering.Two calibration feature.
choices are available for entering these values: To check the calibrated values and their associated
Nominal: This is the user frame already used standard deviations for the end-effector and/or
by the calibration robot program. fixture, click the end-effector and/or fixture
Enter Values: This selection allows the user respectively after calibration. If the results are
to enter the values for the user frame. satisfactory, the user can Save Calibration and
External TCP: This solution is only possible Close. As always when creating files, use a new
with external TCP applications. This area of the meaningful name rather than writing over the
window is where the user enters the approximate nominal files. The new .ALN file appears under
x,y,z position as well as the proper orientation of Alignment files in the currently active project.
the external TCP relative to the robot base frame
(see above). The Measurement Base values are If the results are not satisfactory and the user
normally expressed in this external TCP. An suspects one or more of the alignment points to be
external TCP equal to zero coincides with the incorrectly taught, he can repeat the calibration
robot base frame. process without those bad points, by eliminating
Nominal: This selection is not valid in this case. them from the points used for calibration field. It is
necessary to remove the same points from both
Enter Values: This selection allows the user to projects. Otherwise, the user should verify the whole
enter the 6 DOF location of the external TCP
relative to the robot base frame as obtained from Calibration with the Robot procedure verifying the
CAD, simulation, or tape measurement. correct order of the alignment points, correct CAD
x,y,z location for the alignment points in case of OLP,
etc., and then repeating the process. If, after a couple
of attempts the calibration still fails, please contact
Motoman for further advice and possible next steps.

5-26 Operation
Filters There are many similarities between these four

subprojects. However, you should take care to select
A filter modifies all job points according to the the correct project type because there are also
difference between the robot, end effector, and significant differences. Choosing the correct
fixtures nominal parameters and their calibrated subproject type will also help with organization. You
values. will probably only want to read the documentation
Downloading consists of taking a nominal robot job for each of the subproject types as the need arises.
file created on a computer through simulation
software such as MotoSim (referred to as CAD) and Clone
modifying it for the actual robot on the plant floor. The term clone refers to the process of copying
5 Uploading is the opposite process of modifying an robot job files from one robot cell to another. These
actual robot job file from the plant floor for the CAD job files cannot be simply copied directly. Each job
world in the simulation software. Downloading a file must be adjusted to compensate for differences
robot program is also referred to as forward filter, in manufacturing tolerances, positioning of robots,
whereas uploading is referred to as a reverse filter. end-effectors, and fixtures. When a robot job taught
Depending on the application (see below), the same on one robot cell is cloned to another robot, it must
two basic functions i.e. the forward and reverse be adjusted in two different ways:
filters can be used in a variety of combinations to 1. Jobs must be adjusted to compensate for
achieve the desired goal. As described below, the differences in the robots.
MotoCal Software addresses these different Filter files are used to adjust robot jobs for
applications separately, so that the user can easily differences in arms. MotoCal creates Filters
perform these applications without having to worry using data provided by measurement jobs and
about the underlying combination process of measurement files. Filter files are named with
forward and reverse filters being applied. the extension .prm.
2. Jobs must be adjusted for differences between
The following sections describe four related types of the position of the work relative to the robot, for
projects; Clone, Move, Maintenance, and CAD. Each each cell.
of these types of projects can be created as a sub Alignment files are used to adjust jobs for
project of a previously created master project. differences in the position of the work. MotoCal
Clone subprojects may be created for other robots creates and uses alignment files in several ways.
that do the same jobs that the master project robot Alignment files are named with the extension
.aln.
performs. A Move subproject is used when a robot,
and its fixture, are physically moved to a new site on Creating Alignment Files
the factory floor. Maintenance subprojects are used The Taught Points alignment method relies on the
when maintenance work is performed on a robot, or accuracy of alignment jobs taught by the operator.
its fixture, necessitating adjustment to its jobs. CAD The robot is taught an alignment job consisting of
subprojects are used for moving jobs between a four known points on the work fixture. This job is
robot and a CAD system. not meant to run. It contains only the four points and
no via points. The same four points are taught in
each cell. MotoCal uses the alignment jobs from
each cell to create a alignment file for adjusting jobs
between the two cells. The cells can be real or CAD
simulation cells.

5-27
The Automatic alignment method determines the Small alignment adjustments are also important to
position of the encoder at four known locations on aviod undesired axis flips. If MotoCal shifts a job over
the fixture. When MotoCal performs a calibration, it a large distance, undesired axis flips may be added to
determines the location of the Encoder relative to the job because MotoCal cannot determine the best
the robot. posture for the arm to use. MotoCal is designed to
When cloning jobs between real robot cells with shift jobs correctly over small distances of a few
Automatic Alignment, set up one cell as the Master, centimeters. It works well when transferring jobs
and the other as the clone. (Further explanation of among similar cells.
this point is made in the following section.) When The Quick Start procedures for transferring jobs
the Master cell is calibrated, no alignment file is between a Master Project and one of its Sub projects
created. However, the positions of the Encoder are (Clone, Move, etc) allow the software to use data on 5
recorded by the software. When the Clone project is the fixture location in both cells and take advantage
created, the Encoder locations determined for the of the fact that the alignment adjustments are small.
Master are copied into the new Clone cell. When Do not clone jobs between Masters
Calibration is performed in the Clone cell, the Master
Encoder locations are used to create an Alignment If it is necessary to clone a job between two Master
file containing the difference between Master and projects, do not transfer the job directly between the
Clone fixtures. two Master projects. Instead, create a Clone sub
project for one of the Master projects. Then add the
When cloning jobs between a real robot cell and a measurement jobs and measurement files from the
CAD model with Automatic Alignment, MotoCal second Master project to this new Clone project.
determines the difference between the position of Create the Filter and alignment file for the new Clone
the CAD fixture and the real fixture. In the real project using the standard method for Clone
Master project, enter the position of the work fixture projects. The job can then be transferred between
from the CAD model. MotoCal determines the the Master project and the new Clone project rather
position of the real project fixture and produces an than between the two Master projects.
alignment file containing the difference between the
CAD fixture and the real fixture. When MotoCal uses an alignment file (.aln or .tbl) to
adjust a job, it shifts the job by the amount specified
Avoid Large Alignment Adjustments in the file.
When a job taught on one robot cell is cloned to When a job is cloned between a Master project and a
other robot cells it is necessary to adjust the job to sub project (i.e. Clone project), do not turn ON
compensate for differences in the work position of Fixture Alignment in the Master project. This
each cell. The size of this adjustment is normally prevents a alignment file from being created in the
small due to similarities in cell design. Similarly, Master project. When the Master Filter is made,
when a robot cell is modeled in CAD, the CAD cell is information about the location of the fixture is
created to match the original as closely as possible. If written in a .frm file of the same name as the Filter.
the position of the robot relative to its work is not When the sub project is created, the .frm file is
held reasonably constant, job points created in one copied into the sub project, along with the Filter file
cell may be unreachable in other cells due to and other files that are shown in the windows. The
limitations on the reach and posture of the robots. .frm file name is not displayed.

5-28 Operation
When the Filter is created in the (Clone) sub project, Project name: Enter the name of the clone
turn ON Fixture Alignment. In the Fixture window, subproject.
select the CAD radio button and select the .frm file Location: The name of the directory where this
corresponding to the Master Filter. This loads the clone subproject is to be stored is indicated in this
encoder positions calculated in the Master project. field. Typically you should not change this field.
When you save this calibration, an alignment file is 2. Once the information has been entered, click
created. This file holds the difference between the OK. A window very similar to the Master
Master project alignment and that of the sub project. Project will appear; however the Window will
The numbers created in this file are small, typically be titled Clone Project (*.prj). The Clone
not more than a few centimeters. Project window acts the same as the Master
5 If an alignment file is created in the Master project,
Project window except that some specific files
have automatically been copied from the master
the alignment file specifies where the fixture is project to the clone project and some
relative to the robot base. The dimensions in the calibration defaults have been set specifically for
alignment file will be large, perhaps a few meters. If the purpose of cloning.
MotoCal transfers a job between two Master projects,
each with its own alignment file, the job is first
shifted to run centered on the base of the first robot.
It is then shifted to run on the work of the second
robot. Both of these are large shifts. As mentioned
above, MotoCal cannot determine robot postures for
large shifts. Although the final job will reach the
correct points, axis flips may be added to the job.
This, of course, is not acceptable. Therefore, avoid
using alignment files that require jobs to be shifted
over large distances by always cloning between a
Master project and one of its sub projects.
Clone Project
To start a Clone Project:
1. With the Master Project open, choose All calibration robot programs, parameter files, and
Project > Create Directory > Clone. A associated files are copied from the Master Project
window titled Create a new Clone Subproject to the Clone Project. The robot calibration jobs are
appears. copied using the same name, while the copies of the
parameter files all start with Copy Of to remind
you that these .prm files come from a different
project, instead of being created in the current
project. These copied files serve as a template and
set certain values to ones previously calculated in the
Master Project.
New clone subproject

5-29
Because the master and clone robot cells are similar Calibration with the measurement device at
in terms of the robot, end-effector, and fixture we unknown alignment points
strongly recommend using the exact same robot This procedure varies from that above only
calibration job and parameter files for calibration of because this time you do not know the relative
the clone project as were used in the master project. location of the alignment points. All you know is
Selecting different robot calibration jobs (i.e. that the fixtures in both robot cells are identical in
that the relative location of these alignment points
different number of points, or changes in robot although unknown is the same (or close
position for example) and/or different parameter enough) on both of these fixtures.
files (i.e. a different selection of calibration
parameters), will not cause MotoCal to perform the What needs to be calculated is the difference in the
calibration and resulting clone incorrectly. However, location of the fixture relative to the robot base 5
MotoCal will not be able to take advantage of some of frame between both robot cells. First, perform the
the higher accuracy features used when dealing with calibration in the master project of the robot and
identical robot calibration programs and parameter end-effector, but not the fixture by selecting
files between different robot cells. Unknown Values. Then repeat the calibration in
the clone project, but this time for the robot, end-
Some of the inputs (see below) to this clone function effector and fixture by selecting Previous
are different, depending on the type of calibration Calibration. This determines the difference in
process executed. location relative to the robot base frame of the
Calibration with the measurement device at known fixture in both robot cells. As a result, .prm files
alignment points. appear in both projects respectively, but only an
This is the standard calibration procedure with a .aln file appears in the clone project. Use these
measurement device referenced to different files as input to the cloning process (see below), as
alignment points on the fixture that are all well as the nominal .aln file (set to zero) for the
accurately known relative to the user frame master project.
associated with that fixture. First, perform the Calibration with the Robot
calibration in the master project of the robot, end- First, the robot and end-effector should be
effector, and fixture simultaneously, while entering calibrated in both robot cells using the
the known locations of the alignment points. Next, measurement device, resulting in .prm files in
repeat the same calibration process on the clone both projects. Then, the now-calibrated robots
project. As a result, .prm and .aln files appear in TCP should be used to teach the same alignment
both projects respectively and will be the input to points, on the fixture in both robot cells, (i.e. same
the cloning process (see below). location of alignment points relative to both
identical fixtures). Execute the Calibration
with the Robot resulting in the .aln file
appearing in the clone project. Use the two .prm
files and this .aln file together with the nominal
.aln file (set to zero) for the master project as input
to the cloning process (see below).

5-30 Operation
The first two of the three options for calibration

described above for regular Moving TCP Applications
also apply in External TCP Applications. The major
difference is that the whole process is in a sense
inverted. When using the MotoCal encoder as a
measurement device the proceeding three options
must be modified as follows for use with an external
TCP:
1. In the first two options, the measurement
device is located at ONE fixed point right at (or
5 offset from) the External TCP, while the cables
Measurement Adapter is connected at three (or
more) alignment points on the Gripper attached Setup to Filter Jobs
to the Robots Flange.
2. In the first option, the Alignment Points on the Source robot file: Select the robot program
Gripper need to be known accurately relative to from the robot cell to be cloned from.
a common frame (typically the intended TCP), Source .prm file: Select the filter (parameter
while in the second option, these Alignment file) containing the previously calibrated
Points need only be in the same relative position parameters of the robot cell to be cloned from.
on both identical Grippers.
Source alignment file: Select the alignment
Finally, understand that the Cloning procedure file containing the previously calculated alignment
described here can be executed between any two matrix of the robot cell to be cloned from (see
Actual Robot Cell Projects (i.e. not a CAD Project), above).
and not just between a Master and a Clone Project
Destination robot file: Enter the file name
(e.g. between Clone and Clone, or Master and of the robot program for the robot cell to be
Maintenance, etc.). The only advantage of executing cloned to. By default MotoCal selects the same
Cloning from a Clone Project is that several files have name as the Source Robot file, but the user may
been copied automatically and specific defaults have choose any other file name.
been set in order to facilitate the users work (as Destination .prm file: Enter the name of
explained above). When cloning, watch out for large the filter (parameter file) containing the
shifts. previously calibrated parameters of the robot to be
Make the Project you want to Clone active (i.e. cloned to.
normally the clone project) and select calibration Destination alignment file: Enter the
from the main menu, and click Filter. A screen name of the Alignment file containing the
titled Setup to Filter Jobs appears. previously calculated Alignment Matrix of the
Robot Cell to be Cloned to (see above).
Once the information is entered, click OK. A screen
titled Parameters for: appears for both the source
and the destination robot job files respectively.

5-31
External TCP: This selection is ONLY possible

with External TCP Applications. This area of the
Window is where the user enters the x,y,z values of
the External TCP as well as the orientation (with
the particular convention of the selected Robot
Model), EXACTLY as used by the Robot Program to
be Filtered. This information can be found on the
Teach Pendant of the Robot Controller. As
explained before, these External TCP values need
to be the EXACT SAME ones as entered for the
External TCP as part of the fixture calibration.
Nominal: This field is located in both the TCP
5
Information and the User Frame Information
areas. Whenever this Window Parameters for:
appears, the values for the TCP and the User Frame
will either be zeros, or (depending on the Robot
Type and Language Interface) they will be read
Parameters for: directly from the Robot Program (see above), or
they may be previously entered default values. At
TCP information: This area of the Window is that time, this field always appears as Nominal.
where the user enters the x,y,z values of the Tool However, this field also allows the user to save the
Center Point as well as the orientation (with the entered TCP and/or User Frame values as a
particular convention of the selected Robot different name (the user can type it in). When the
Model,), EXACTLY as used by the Robot Program same TCP and/or User Frame values are needed
to be Filtered. This information can be found on later in the software (see other sections), the user
the Teach Pendant of the Robot Controller. can select that name instead of manually entering
the values again.
User frame information: This selection is
NOT possible with External TCP Applications. This Finally, for TCP Information, the user can also
area of the Window is where the user enters the select in this field the MotoCal_PRM file which
x,y,z values of the User Frame as well as the contains the calibrated end-effector values stored
orientation (with the particular convention of the in the selected Source .PRM file and Destination
selected Robot Model), EXACTLY as used by the .PRM file respectively (see above). Similarly, for
Robot Program to be Filtered. This information can User Frame Information, the user can select the
be found on the Teach Pendant of the Robot MotoCal_ALN file, which contains the calculated
Controller. As explained before, these User Frame Actual Fixture values, stored in the selected
values need to be the EXACT SAME ones as Source Alignment file and the Destination
entered for the User Frame Information as part Alignment file respectively (see above).
of the Fixture calibration. Once the information has been entered, click OK.
When the Cloning Process has been executed
successfully, the Successful Filter message will
appear. As a result of the Cloning Process, the
Destination Robot file will now appear in the
Robot files field of the Robot to be Cloned to.

5-32 Operation
Before the Successful filter message appears, the Move

Points [Numbers] Not Reachable in
[Filename] for the Source Robot file and/or the The term Move refers to the process of adjusting
Destination robot job files may be displayed. This robot programs for the same robot cell after it has
indicates which points were no longer reachable been moved from one location or facility to another.
Kinematically because of the difference between the How these Robot Programs were originally created,
Calibrated and Nominal parameters. through Off-Line Programming or manual teaching,
does not matter. Due to actual manufacturing
If the Non-Reachable Points message is
tolerances in the robot and the end-effector, and
displayed, Be extra careful when executing the
more importantly, the difference in location between
resulting Cloned Robot Program.
5 the fixture relative to both robot base frames, the
robot programs need to be properly filtered after
Clone can also be initiated by a convenient calibration of these parameters. Moving consists of
Drag-and-Drop feature. In the Project Window to performing a Reverse Filter on the original robot cell
be Cloned to, the user needs to highlight the desired to bring the data to an imaginary CAD or virtual
.PRM file and .ALN file to be used as input. In the world, followed by a Forward Filter to the robot cell
Project Window to be Cloned from, the user needs to after it is Moved. MotoCal combines these two filter
highlight the desired .PRM and .ALN files to be used steps.
as input. With all of the desired files highlighted in
both Project Windows, select the Production Robot To start a Move Project:
Program to be Cloned (in the Robot files field of 1. With the Master Project open, choose
the source project), and while holding the SHIFT Project > Create Directory > Move. A
key and the left mouse button Drag that window titled Create a new Move Subproject
Production Robot Program file into the Robot files appears.
field of the destination project, drop the file by
releasing the mouse button, BEFORE releasing the
SHIFT key. The Filter Dialog Window appears.
Proceed with the Cloning Process as described above
(and use the more option in case of multiple
files).
New Move Subproject
Project name: This is the field where the user

enters the name of the Move Subproject.
Location: The name of the directory where this
move subproject is to be stored is indicated in this
field. To change the directory the user can type in
the desired name or click the button to select
from existing directories.

5-33
2. Once the information has been entered, click file (i.e. a different selection of Calibration
OK. The Move Project (*.prj). window Parameters), MotoCal will still perform the
appears. calibration and resulting Move correctly, but will not
The Move Project window acts the same as the be able to take advantage of some of the higher
Master Project window except that some specific accuracy features used when dealing with identical
files have automatically been copied from the master Calibration Robot Programs and Parameter files
project to the move project and some calibration between different Robot Cells.
defaults have been set specifically for the purpose of All robot and end-effector parameters selected for
Moving. calibration in these .prm files copied to the Move
Project have been automatically turned off, since
typically although not always the previously 5
calibrated actual parameters (in the Master Project)
will not have changed when Moving the same robot
and end-effector from one location or facility to the
other. The same three options for calibration
including External TCP Applications as described in
the Clone section apply also for a Move, affecting
similarly some of the inputs (see below) to this Move
function. The major difference with a Clone is that a
Move typically does not require calibration of the
Move Project robot and end-effector, only the Fixture. However, if
for whatever reason the robot and/or end-effector
All robot calibration jobs, parameter files and has changed, you have the option to re-calibrate any
associated files are copied from the Master Project to of the parameters.
the Move Project. The robot calibration jobs are Finally, understand that the Moving procedure
copied under the same name, while the names of the described here can be executed between any two
copies of the parameter files all start with Copy Actual Robot Cell Projects (i.e. not a CAD Project),
Of to remind the user that these .prm files come and not just between a Master and a Move Project
from a different Project instead of being calibrated in (e.g. between Move and Move, or Master and
the current Project. These copied .prm files and Maintenance, etc.). The only advantage in executing
associated files serve for the purpose of calibration as Moving from a Move Project is that several files
a template and set certain values to previously have been copied automatically and specific defaults
calculated ones in the Master Project. have been set to facilitate your work (as explained
Because the robot, end-effector, and fixtures are very above).
similar between the Master and Move Robot Cells, Make the Project you want to Move to (see below)
use the EXACT SAME Calibration Robot Programs active (i.e. normally the Move Project), and then
and Parameters file for calibration in the Move Select Calibration from the main menu, and Click
Project as were used for the Master Project. If you Filter. A screen titled Setup to Filter Jobs
select a different Calibration Robot Program (i.e. appears.
different number of points, changes in Robot
Position for example) and/or a different Parameter

5-34 Operation
5
Setup to Filter Jobs
Source robot file: Select the robot program

from the robot cell to be moved from.
Parameters for:
Source .prm file: Select the Parameter file
containing the previously calibrated parameters of
the robot cell to be moved from. TCP information: This area of the window is
where the user enters the x,y,z values of the Tool
Source alignment file: Select the Center Point as well as the orientation (with the
Alignment file containing the previously particular convention of the selected Robot
calibrated alignment matrix of the robot cell to be Model), EXACTLY as used by the Robot Program to
moved from (see above). be Filtered. This information can be found on the
Destination robot file: Select the Robot Teach Pendant of the Robot Controller.
Program from the Robot Cell to be Moved to. By User frame information: This selection is
default the MotoCal software selects the same NOT possible with External TCP Applications. This
name as the Source Robot file, but the user may area of the Window is where the user enters the
choose any other file name. x,y,z values of the User Frame as well as the
Destination .prm file: Select the Parameter orientation (with the particular convention of the
file containing the previously calibrated selected Robot Model), EXACTLY as used by the
parameters of the robot to be moved to. Robot Program to be Filtered. This information can
be found on the Teach Pendant of the Robot
Destination alignment file: Selectthe Controller. As explained before, these User Frame
Alignment file containing the previously values need to be the EXACT SAME ones as
calibrated alignment matrix of the robot cell to be entered for the User Frame Information as part
moved to (see above). of the fixture calibration.
Once the information is entered click OK. A screen
titled Parameters for: appears for both the
source and the destination robot job files
respectively.

5-35
External TCP: This selection is ONLY possible Before the Successful filter message appears, the
with External TCP Applications. This area of the Points [Numbers] Not Reachable in
Window is where the user enters the x,y,z values of [Filename] for the Source Robot file and/or the
the External TCP as well as the orientation (with Destination robot job files may be displayed. This
the particular convention of the selected Robot indicates which points were no longer reachable
Model), EXACTLY as used by the Robot Program to kinematically due to the difference between the
be Filtered. This information can be found on the Calibrated and Nominal parameters.
Teach Pendant of the Robot Controller. As
explained before, these External TCP values need If the Non-Reachable Points message is
to be the EXACT SAME ones as entered for the displayed, Be extra careful when executing the
External TCP as part of the fixture calibration. resulting Moved Robot Program.
5
areas. Whenever this Window Parameters for: Move can also be initiated by a convenient
appears, the values for the TCP and the User Frame Drag-and-Drop feature. In the Project Window to
will either be zeros, or (depending on the Robot be Moved to, the user needs to highlight the desired
Type and Language Interface) they will be read .PRM file and .ALN file to be used as input. In the
directly from the Robot Program (see above), or Project Window to be Moved from, the user needs to
they may be some previously entered default highlight the desired .PRM and .ALN files to be used
values. At that time, this field always appears as as input. With all of the desired files highlighted in
Nominal. However, this field also allows the user both Project Windows, select the Production Robot
to save the entered TCP and/or User Frame values Program to be Moved (in the Robot files field of the
as a different name (type in the desired name). So, source project), and while holding the SHIFT key
when needing these same TCP and/or User Frame and the left mouse button Drag that Production
values later in the software (see other sections), Robot Program file into the Robot files field of the
you can select that name instead of manually destination project. Drop the file by releasing the
entering the values again. mouse button, BEFORE releasing the SHIFT key. The
Filter Dialog Window appears. Proceed with the
TCP Information: the user can also select in Moving Process as described above (and use the
this field the MotoCal_PRM file which contains more option in case of multiple files).
the calibrated actual end-effector values stored in
the selected Source .PRM file and Destination
.PRM file respectively (see above). Similarly, for
User Frame Information, the user can select the
MotoCal_ALN file, which contains the calibrated
actual fixture values, stored in the selected Source
Alignment file and the Destination Alignment
file respectively (see above).
Once the information has been entered, click OK.
When the Moving Process has been executed
successfully, the Successful Filter message appears.
As a result of the Moving Process, the Destination
Robot file now appears in the Robot files field of
the target robot.

5-36 Operation
Maintenance To start a Maintenance Project:

1. With the Master Project open, choose
The term Maintenance refers to the process of Project > Create Directory >
resetting a robot cell back to its original condition in Maintenance. A window titled Create a new
terms of calibration parameters after, for example, Maintenance Subproject appears.
the robot and/or end-effector has crashed, or a
robot motor or linkage mechanism was replaced. A
maintenance project is used any time one of the
calibration parameters of the robot, the end effector,
and/or the fixture may have changed.
5 It is critical to understand that maintenance can only
be used if a previous reference calibration occurred
before the crash, or repair, etc., and is stored in a New Maintenance Subproject
previous Project. After the Maintenance calibration of
the selected parameters, all Robot Programs should Project name: This is the field where the user
be Filtered to take into consideration the changes in enters the name of the Maintenance Subproject.
these parameters. This process consists of a Reverse Location: The name of the directory where this
Filter on the Robot Cell before the change, followed Maintenance subproject is to be stored is indicated
by a Forward Filter to the cell after change. However, in this field. To change the directory, type in the
certain Calibration Parameters can more desired name or click the button to select
conveniently be changed directly on the Robot from existing directories.
Controller, eliminating the need to Filter all Robot Once the information has been entered, click OK. A
Programs. Robots Parameters that can be commonly window similar to the Master Project appears;
changed are: (1) the zero offsets on all Robot Axes, entitled Maintenance Project (*.prj). The
(2) the TCP Frame of the End-Effector, and (3) the Maintenance Project window acts the same as the
User Frame of the Fixture, Master Project window, except that some specific
files have automatically been copied from the Master
Note: Some robot link lengths can also be changed, but
Project to the Maintenance Project and some
this is rarely necessary.
calibration defaults have been set specifically for the
These three sets of Parameters are also the ones purpose of maintenance.
more likely to change in a crash or repair. Therefore,
in a Maintenance Project, the software always
provides the information necessary for the user to
update these three sets of Parameters right on the
Robot Controller. At the same time though, the user
always has the option to use the Filter, either instead
of updating the controller, or in combination with
updating the controller, in order to take care of the
other Parameters that might have changed as well
(i.e. replacement of a particular link mechanism).
Maintenance Project

5-37
Indeed, all Calibration Robot Programs as well as all However, you can also apply the Filter: either in
Parameter files and all associated files are copied combination with updating the Robot Controller
from the Master Project to the Maintenance directly, or not. If using the filter, the same three
Project. The Calibration Robot Programs are copied options for calibration including External TCP
under the same name, while the names of the copied Applications as described in the Clone section also
Parameter files all start with Copy Of to remind apply for a Maintenance project. Some of the
the user that these .PRM files come from a different parameters selected for calibration might be different
Project instead of being calibrated in the current as dictated by the particular Maintenance case (i.e.
Project. These copied .PRM and associated files act as what did change?).
a template and set certain values to previously Finally, understand that the Maintenance procedure
calculated ones in the Master Project. described here can be executed between any two 5
In a Maintenance project, if you start with Previous Actual robot Cell Projects but not CAD Projects.
Calibration, the home positions of the axes and the The only advantage of executing Maintenance from a
TCP x,y,z values are set to be calibrated. These are Maintenance Project is that several files have been
the parameters most often changed by maintenance copied automatically and specific defaults have been
and crashes. It is assumed that the fixture has not set in order to facilitate the users work as explained
been changed and therefore it is not set to be above.
calibrated. As always, you may change the selection Make the Project you want to do the Maintenance in
of parameters to be calibrated. If Fixture Calibration (see below) active (i.e. normally the Maintenance
is turned on, calibration of the first robot axis, S-axis, Project), and then select Calibration from the
must be off because these parameters are main menu, and click Filter. A screen titled Setup
mathematically redundant. When Fixture calibration to Filter Jobs appears.
is turned on, you may choose Previous Calibration
if the fixture is the same but may have moved relative
to the robot. If the fixture itself has changed,
Unknown Values may be chosen in the Fixture
screen.
After calibration of only these Parameters (or a subset
thereof ), as described in the previous paragraph, it is
recommended that you select Re-zero the Robot
and manually enter the calculated TCP values and/or
the calculated User Frame values right on the Robot
Controller, instead of using the filter. In case of
Maintenance, Re-zeroing the Robot actually
means resetting the Robot to the zero offsets
previously calibrated in the Reference Master Setup to Filter Jobs
Project.
Source robot file: Enter the file name of the
Robot Program from the Robot Cell to be used as a
Reference.

5-38 Operation
Source .prm file: Select the Parameter file TCP information: Enter the x,y,z values and
containing the previously calibrated parameters of orientation of the Tool Center Point, exactly as
the Robot Cell to be used as a Reference. used by the Robot Program to be Filtered. This
Source alignment file: Select the information can be found on the Teach Pendant of
Alignment file containing the previously the Robot Controller.
calibrated Alignment Matrix of the Robot Cell to be User frame information: This selection is
used as a Reference (see above). not possible with External TCP applications. Enter
Destination robot file: Select the Robot the x,y,z values and orientation of the User Frame
Program in the Robot Cell to do Maintenance in. exactly as used by the Robot Program to be
By default the MotoCal software selects the same Filtered. This information can be found on the
5 name as the Source Robot file, but the user may robot controller teach pendant. As explained
choose any other file name. before, these values need to be exactly the same as
those entered for the User Frame Information as
Destination .prm file: Select the part of the fixture calibration.
Parameter file containing the previously
calibrated parameters of the Robot to do External TCP: This selection is ONLY possible
Maintenance in. with External TCP Applications. This area of the
Window is where the user enters the x,y,z values of
Destination alignment file: Select the the External TCP as well as the orientation, exactly
Alignment file containing the previously as used by the Robot Program to be Filtered. This
calibrated Alignment Matrix of the Robot Cell to do information can be found on the Teach Pendant of
Maintenance in (see above). the Robot Controller. As explained before, these
Once the information is entered, click OK. A screen External TCP values must be exactly the same as
titled Parameters for: appears for both the Source those entered for the External TCP as part of the
and Destination robot job files respectively. fixture calibration.
areas. Whenever the Parameters for: window
appears, the values for the TCP and the User Frame
will either be zeros, some previously entered
default values, or (depending on the robot type
and language interface) they will be read directly
from the Robot Program. At that time, this field
always appears as Nominal. However, this field
also allows the user to save the entered TCP and/or
User Frame values as a different name. Simply type
in the desired name. When these same TCP and/or
User Frame values are needed later, select the
name instead of manually entering the values.
Finally, for TCP Information, select in this field
the MotoCal_PRM file that contains the
calibrated Actual End-Effector values stored in the
Parameters for: selected Source .PRM file and Destination .PRM
file respectively. Similarly, for User Frame
Information, select the MotoCal_ALN file, that

5-39
contains the calculated Actual Fixture values, CAD

stored in the selected Source Alignment file and
Destination Alignment file respectively. The CAD subproject consists of downloading robot
Once the information has been entered, click OK. programs created through simulation to the robot
When the Maintenance Process has been executed cell (also referred to as Off-Line Programming, or
successfully, the Successful Filter message will OLP), or transferring (or uploading) robot programs
appear. As a result of the Maintenance Process, the created on the physical plant floor to the simulated
Destination Robot file will now appear in the robot cell (i.e. reverse of downloading). Due to
Robot files field of the target robot. manufacturing tolerances in the physical robot, end-
effector, and fixture compared to the model or
Before the Successful filter message appears, the
Points [Numbers] Not Reachable in
simulated robot cell, the robot programs need to be 5
filtered in order to take into consideration the
[Filename] for the Source Robot file and/or the
calibrated parameters. Downloading involves
Destination robot job files may be displayed. This
Forward Filter from the model robot cell to the
indicates which points were no longer reachable
physical one, while Uploading involves a Reverse
kinematically due to the difference between the
Filter from the actual physical cell to the CAD model.
calibrated and nominal parameters.
It should be understood that a CAD Project, like an
If the Non-Reachable Points message is actual project, represents a particular robot cell. All
displayed. Be extra careful when executing the robot programs created in CAD, whether for
resulting Maintenance Robot Program. production or Alignment, need to be created using
the same simulation model without changing the
relative location of any of the components (robot,
Maintenance can also be initiated by a end-effector, or fixture) of the model robot cell.
convenient Drag-and-Drop feature. In the Project
window to do Maintenance in, highlight the desired To start a CAD Project:
.prm file and .aln file to be used as input. In the
Project Window to be to used as Reference, highlight 1. With the Master Project open, choose
the desired .prm and .aln files to be used as input. Project > Create Directory > CAD. A
With all of the desired files highlighted in both window titled Create a new CAD Subproject
Project windows, select the Production Robot appears.
Program to use as a Reference (in the Robot files
field of the source project), and while holding the
SHIFT key and the left mouse button Drag that
Production Robot Program file into the Robot files
field of the Project that is active. Drop the file by
releasing the mouse button, before releasing the
SHIFT key. The Filter Dialog Window appears.
Proceed with the Maintenance Process as described
above (and use the more option in case of New CAD Subproject
multiple files).

5-40 Operation
Project name: This is the field where the user Some of the inputs to this CAD function are different
enters the name of the CAD Subproject. depending on the kind of calibration process that
Location: The name of the directory where this was executed.
CAD Subproject is to be stored is indicated in this Calibration with the measurement device at
field. To change the directory the user can type in Known Alignment Points.
the desired name or Click the button to This is the standard calibration procedure with the
select from existing directories. measurement device referenced to different
Once the information has been entered, click OK. A Alignment Points on the Fixture that are all
Window very similar to the Master Project will accurately known relative to the User Frame, as
appear, however the Window will be titled CAD obtained from the Simulation Model used for the
5 Project (*.prj) (see Figure 58). The CAD Project CAD Project associated with that Fixture. In that
Window acts almost in the same manner as the case, the user will only perform the calibration
process in the Master Project of the Robot, the
Master Project Window. The difference is that in the End-Effector, and the Fixture simultaneously, while
CAD Project Window, the user will notice that the entering the known locations of the Alignment
fields for Parameter files and Measurement files Points. As a result, one .PRM and one .ALN file will
are not active. The Parameter files field is not active appear in the Master Project. Use these as input to
because the Robots in the CAD environment have the CAD process (see below), as well as the
Nominal or Perfect Geometry. As a result, the Nominal .ALN file (set to zero) for the CAD Project.
Measurement files field is not active since there is Calibration with the Robot
no reason to measure and calibrate a Perfect Robot! First, the Robot and End-Effector should be
calibrated in the Master Project using the
measurement device, resulting in one .PRM file in
the Master Project. Then the now-calibrated
Robots TCP should be used to teach the
Alignment Points in an Alignment Robot Program
to appear in the Master Project. The x,y,z locations
of these Alignment Points are obtained from the
Simulation Model and are entered as a
corresponding Alignment Robot Program in the
CAD Project.
Next, execute the Calibration with the Robot
resulting in the new .ALN file appearing in the CAD
CAD Project Project. Use the .PRM file and the Nominal .ALN
file (set to zero) for the Master Project together
with this .ALN file for input to the CAD Project (see
below).
Finally, understand that the CAD procedure
described here can be executed between a CAD
Project and any Actual Project (i.e. Master, Clone,
Move, or Maintenance).

5-41
Make the Project you want to Download to, or Destination alignment file: Select the
Upload to active (i.e. normally the CAD Project for Alignment file containing the previously
Upload to, or any Actual Project to Download to) and calibrated Alignment Matrix of the Robot Cell to be
then select Calibration from the main menu, and Downloaded or Uploaded to.
Click Filter. A screen titled Setup to Filter Once the information is entered, click OK. A screen
Jobs appears. titled "Parameters for:" appears first for the source
job and then for the destination job.
Setup to Filter Jobs
Source robot file: Select the Robot Program

from the Robot Cell to be Downloaded or
Uploaded from.
Source .prm file: Select the Parameter file Parameters for:
containing the previously calibrated parameters of
the Robot Cell to be Downloaded or Uploaded TCP information: Enter the x,y,z values of the
from. Tool Center Point as well as the orientation exactly
Source alignment file: Select the as used by the Robot Program to be Filtered. This
Alignment file containing the previously information can be found on the Teach Pendant of
calibrated Alignment Matrix of the Robot Cell to be the Robot Controller or in the Simulation Model.
Downloaded or Uploaded from (see above). User Frame Information: This selection is
Destination robot file: Selectthe Robot not possible with External TCP Applications.
Program for the Robot Cell to be Downloaded or Enters the x,y,z values of the User Frame as well as
Uploaded to. By default the MotoCal software the orientation exactly as used by the Robot
selects the same name as the Source Robot file, Program to be Filtered. This information can be
but the user may choose any other file name. found on the Teach Pendant of the Robot
Controller or in the Simulation Model. As
Destination .prm file: SelectSelect name of explained before, these User Frame values need to
the Parameter file containing the previously be the EXACT SAME ones as entered for the User
calibrated Parameters of the Robot to be Frame Information as part of the fixture
Downloaded or Uploaded to. calibration.

5-42 Operation
External TCP: This selection is ONLY possible Before the Successful filter message appears, the
with External TCP Applications. This area of the Points [Numbers] Not Reachable in
Window is where the user enters the x,y,z values of [Filename] for the Source Robot file and/or the
the External TCP as well as the orientation exactly Destination robot job files may be displayed. This
as used by the Robot Program to be Filtered. This indicates which points were no longer reachable
information can be found on the Teach Pendant of kinematically due to the difference between the
the Robot Controller or in the Simulation Model.
As explained before, these External TCP values calibrated and nominal parameters.
need to be the EXACT SAME ones as entered for If the Non-Reachable Points message is
the External TCP as part of the Fixture displayed, Be extra careful when executing the
calibration. resulting Maintenance Robot Program.
5 Nominal: This field is located in both the TCP
areas. Whenever the window Parameters for: CAD can also be initiated by a convenient
appears, the values for the TCP and the User Frame Drag-and-Drop feature. In the Project Window to
will either be zeros, read directly from the Robot be downloaded or uploaded to, the user needs to
Program, or some previously entered default highlight the desired .PRM file and .ALN file to be
values. At that time, this field always appears as used as input. In the Project Window to be to be
Nominal. However, MotoCal allows you to save Downloaded or Uploaded from, the user needs to
the entered TCP and/or User Frame values as a highlight the desired .PRM and .ALN files to be used
different name (simply type it in). When these as input. With all of the desired files highlighted in
same TCP and/or User Frame values are needed both Project Windows, select the Production Robot
later, simply select that name instead of manually Program to use to Download or Upload (in the
entering the values. Robot files field of the Source Project), and while
holding the SHIFT key and the left mouse button
Finally, for TCP Information, the user can also Drag that Production Robot Program file into the
select in this field the MotoCal_PRM file which Robot files field of the Destination Project. Drop
contains the calibrated Actual End-Effector values the file by releasing the mouse button, BEFORE
stored in the selected Source .PRM file and releasing the SHIFT key. The Filter Dialog Window
Destination .PRM file respectively (see above). appears. Proceed with the CAD Process as described
Similarly, for User Frame Information, the user above (and use the more option in case of
can select the MotoCal_ALN file, which contains multiple files).
the calculated Actual Fixture values, stored in the
selected Source Alignment file and the
Destination Alignment file respectively (see
above).
Once the information has been entered, click OK.
When the Maintenance Process has been executed
successfully, the Successful Filter message will
appear. As a result of the Maintenance Process, the
Destination Robot file will now appear in the
Robot files field of the target robot.

5-43
Special Functions Save

1. Main Menu: Select Project from the main
Add Files menu, and Click Save or Save as. If the user
There are several ways to Add Files to projects and chooses Save as, a Window titled Save as
Subprojects. appears. Select or type in a file name and Click
the Save button.
Copy 2. Toolbar: The user can Click the Diskette icon in
Select a file from one Master Project or Subproject, the toolbar at any time to save the changes
and while holding the CTRL key and the left made to the Master Project since the last save
mouse button drag it to the appropriate files was made.
field of another Master Project or any Subproject. 3. Right Mouse Click: When the cursor arrow is in 5
Move: one of the fields of a Master Project or
Select a file from one Master Project or Subproject, Subproject, the user can Click the Right Mouse
and while holding the left mouse button drag button and a menu pops up. Select Send File to
it to the appropriate files field of another Master A:\. A message appears confirming that the file
Project or any Subproject. is being copied to the A:\ drive.
Main Menu
Select Project from the main menu, and Click
Add Files to Project. A Window titled Insert File(s)
into Project appears. Choose the appropriate
file(s) and Click open.
2. Right Mouse Click: When the cursor arrow is in
the Robot Files, Measurement File, or in the
Alignment Files field, Click the Right Mouse
button and a menu pops up. Select Add Files to
Project. A Window titled Insert File(s) into
Project appears. Choose the appropriate file(s)
and Click open.
Delete files
1. Delete Key: The user can select a file and press
the delete key on the keyboard to delete a file.
2. Right Mouse Click: When the cursor arrow is in
the one of the fields of a Master Project or
Subproject, the user can Click the Right Mouse
button and a menu pops up. Select Delete
Files. A message appears confirming the delete.

5-44 Operation
NOTES

A-1
Appendix A: Calibration File (.clb)
E ach MotoCal Encoder measurement device is

calibrated using equipment traceable to NIST
(National Institute of Standards and
Technology in Washington, D.C., USA).
Each MotoCal Encoder is delivered with an ASCII file
(.CLB extension) that contains a list of all the
Encoders certification values. Over time, some of
these original values will change due to subsequent
re-certification. The optional annual re-certification
of the device occurs as part of your optional annual
maintenance agreement. Make sure the MotoCal A
Software subdirectory contains the appropriate .CLB
file since these parameters are essential for accurate
operation of your MotoCal System. In case you
inadvertently erase your .CLB file from computer
memory, contact Motoman to receive a copy of your
original or most current certification file by e-mail or
floppy disk.

A-2
NOTES

B-1
Appendix B: Parameter File (.prm)
T he Parameter file (.PRM extension) contains

the Actual Calibrated Parameters for the robot
and end-effector, arrived at during the
Calibration process. Generally, the first column
contains the parameter names; the second column
the starting values before calibration (typically the
nominal values, or values from a previous
calibration); the third (and most important column)
contains the actual parameters calculated through
the calibration process; the fourth column if not set
to -1 (indicating no calibration was performed on
that particular parameter) shows the obtained
Standard Deviation for calibration of the parameter.
Actually, beyond just the geometric dimensions of Denavit-Hartenberg Parameters B
the robot and end-effector, the actual parameters
include any parameter that affects the positioning
accuracy of the robot that can be determined
through calibration. All these actual parameters are
described below in the sequence they appear in the
parameter file unless indicated otherwise.
Five Denavit-Hartenberg Parameters per Axis:
Each axis transformation can be represented by
traditional D-H parameters: the joint angle , the
link offset d, the link length a and the twist angle
. There is an additional twist angle in case of
parallel axes. In the case of a 6 DOF robot, the
parameter file would thus contain 30 D-H
parameters: 1, d1, a1, 1, 1, 2, d2, ... 6, Modified Denavit-Hartenberg Parameters
6.
Notice that really represents the ZERO OFFSET
angle for a revolute axis, whereas d represents the
ZERO OFFSET length in the case of a prismatic axis.
Furthermore, in the case of non-parallel axes, is
not applicable (therefore it can not be calibrated); in
the case of parallel axes, d is not applicable. Finally,
several D-H Parameters are often redundant. In that
case, one of them can not be calibrated and should
be kept frozen arbitrarily at its nominal value. The
following example demonstrates that different

B-2
combinations of i, ai, and di+1 lead to the same

transformation from point A to B (in which case you AN
SK
16X
M
might want to freeze ai for example). MO
TO
AXIS 3
e2
AXIS 2
L5
AXIS 2 MOTOR L1
L4
e1
L3
AXIS 3 MOTOR
B
Redundancy in Calibration Parameters
Parallelogram Robot Structure
Non-Denavit-Hartenberg Geometric Parameters:
Depending on the mechanical structure of the Mechanical Compliance Parameters: Mechanical
robot (i.e. type of robot), certain geometric Compliance Parameters are non-geometric
dimensions not considered in the D-H convention parameters. These parameters can greatly affect
also affect accuracy of the robot. This is the case robot accuracy, and are a function of the payload.
for a parallelogram structure, or an axis joint Mechanical Compliance is modeled as torsion
driven by a ball-screw motor structure, etc. flexibility around the joint axes. Depending on the
robot type, there might be some additional
For a parallelogram Robot type, there are five Compliance Parameters in the robots structure,
additional geometric Parameters:
for example, flexibility of the l 4 link in the case
1. the length l 3 or l 5 (should not be calibrated). of a Parallelogram robot. For a detailed
2. the difference in length between l 4 and l 1. description, please contact Motoman.
Additionally, three more dummy axes each
3. the difference in length between l 5 and l 3. with torsional flexibility - can be located relative to
4. the horizontal offset e1 between axis 2 and the robots flange. This additional compliance is
motor axis 3. very useful when using a flexible end-effector (e.g.
a spring-loaded spot weld gun). When using a
5. the vertical offset e2 between axis 2 and motor standard rigid end-effector, the line labeled cgm1
axis 3. in the Parameter file contains the center of gravity
relative to the Flange-frame (x, y, z in mm), and
the mass (in kg); the following two lines remain at
zero. When using a flexible end-effector, the line
labeled cgm2 in the Parameter file contains the

B-3
location of the flexible frame relative to the

Flange Frame (x, y, z in mm and the orientation
in deg); the last lines, labeled cgm1 and cgm2,
contain the center of gravity and mass information
of the rigid portion of the end-effector directly
attached to the robots flange, and of its flexible
portion relative to the flexible frame,
respectively. Because of the influence of the mass
in these Compliance Parameters, it is essential that
the robot is calibrated with the intended payload!
End-Effector Flexibility
Finally, the last line of the Parameter file, labeled

grvty, indicates the direction of gravity relative to
the Z-axis of the robot base frame. For a standard
floor-mounted industrial 6-axis robot (with the Z-
axis pointing vertically up), this line should read 0
0 0. In other words, the gravity vector should be
opposite the Z-axis of the robot base frame. For a
ceiling mounted robot for example, the last line of
the Parameter file should be 0 180 0.
End-Effector Dimensions: The TCPs x,y,z values
and orientation is expressed in the tool frame
convention of the particular robot being
calibrated. When applicable, the tool orientation
can also be calibrated. The six lines before the last
four ones in the Parameter file represent the TCP
x,y,z and orientation, respectively.

B-4
NOTES

C-1
Appendix C: Cable Replacement
T he following sections provide instructions for

replacing a damaged measurement cable, or
replacing a cable that has become removed
from the drum.
Retraction of Measurement
Cable
When the measurement cable needs to be replaced,
the existing measurement cable must first be
removed from the encoder (i.e. wound off the
measurement drum) if it is not already off. Inside MotoCal Measurement Device
To unwind and remove the measurement cable:
1. Loosen two screws and remove side cover plate. Once the cable has been pulled out, the Encoder
latch mechanism locks on the measurement housing.
This latch mechanism serves two purposes. First, if C
the measurement cable exceeds its measurement
range, it simply comes off the drum without
breaking. Secondly, when the cable comes off, it
prevents the measurement drum from winding back
due to the tensioners torque.
Outside MotoCal Measurement Device
2. Manually pull measurement cable by metal

eyelet until it unlatches from the measurement
drum.
Note: A certain level of tension on the cable might be
required for the latch mechanism to operate.

C-2
Reattaching the Metal Eyelet Reattachment of

When installing a new measurement cable, Measurement Cable
disconnect the metal eyelet from the old cable and
The latch mechanism should be locked to the
install on new cable.
measurement housing (with the tensioner fully
1. Loosen both set screws of the metal eyelet wound) and the damaged measurement cable
holding the measurement cable. Pull the removed.
measurement cable off.
C
Measurement cable secured to metal eyelet using set
screws Latch locked against measurement housing
2. Totally remove both set screws from metal 1. With the swiveling pulley on bottom, insert
eyelet (it will help you when inserting the cable (small loop end) through the main
measurement cable in the next step), but do not swiveling axis shaft from the swiveling pulley
discard them. side. Then pass it over the inner fixed pulley.
3. Insert open end of measurement cable into the 2. Using a small screwdriver (or similar tool), push
small center hole of the metal eyelet. Make sure the latch holder (and measurement drum) away
the cable goes through this small center hold from the measurement housing, and push the
(i.e. on both sides of the set screw threaded latch back towards the center of the
holes), but does not obstruct the larger eyelets measurement drum.
opening.
4. Reinsert both set screws, and hand tighten them
(not too much) symmetrically around the center
hole (i.e. both screws should be inserted equally
deep into the metal eyelet).

C-3
4. Carefully grasp the measurement cable

somewhere between the metal eyelet and the
swiveling pulley. At the same time, carefully
release pressure on latch, allowing the drum to
wind back with the cable properly attached with
the help of the latch.
5. The cable should wind properly around the
drum by itself. Once properly wound, place
cable in its reference position.
Latch away from measurement drums center
3. While holding the latch in that position

(preventing measurement drum from winding
back), connect small loop end of measurement
cable to the drum latch, and place the C
measurement cable on top of the latch
mechanism (i.e. in the measurement drum
opening).
Measurement cable fully wound around

Measurement Drum.
Measurement cable connected to Measurement

drum latch.

C-4
NOTES

D-1
Appendix D: Trigger Cable Kit
W hen using the Digital Input measurement

mode to trigger measurements, connections
must be made between the robot controller
and the MotoCal Encoder.
DB 9 Connections between Robot controller and

MotoCal Encoder
The Trigger Input expects a 0 or +5 Volt DC TTL

input. Therefore, we suggest that you use the 0V
Ground and the 5V Power provided right on this
connector through the use of some external relay,
so that the Trigger Input is never left open (it
D
should always be connected to either 0 or +5 V ).
Note: The two 9- pin connectors on the MotoCal encoder
are functionally equivalent.
The hardware to make this connection is available
from Motoman. Please refer to the electrical prints
(P/N 144304) for assembly instructions.

D-2

D-3
NOTES

D-4

E-1
Appendix E: ASCII Measurement Files
T The following are the required

formats for the ASCII measurement
files (.MSR extension) for
..
line N: NameN mN XN1 YN1 Zn1 XN2 YN2 ZN2
XNmn YNmn ZNmn
measurement systems other than the
MotoCal Encoder currently supported in (Italics should NOT appear in the file).
the MotoCal software. Please contact Where Namei is the name of Measurement
Motoman for the availability of other
measurement systems not listed below. Calibration Point; mi is the number of measured
1. Generic 3D Measurement Systems (e.g. Leica, LEDs for that particular point; X11 Y11 Z11 is the 3D
SMX, etc.) position of the first LED measured by the Metronor
line 1:N Inspection System for the first Calibration Point; etc;
X1m1 Y1m1 Z1m1 is the 3D position of the m1th and
line 2:X1, Y1, Z1
last LED measured by the Metronor Inspection
line 3:X2, Y2, Z2 System for the first Calibration Point; X21 Y21 Z2 is
.. the 3D position of the first LED measured by the
Metronor Inspection System for the second
.. Calibration Point; etc.; XNmn YNmn ZNmn is the 3D
.. position of the mNth and last LED measured by the
line N+1: XN, YN, ZN Metronor Inspection System for the Nth and last
Calibration Point.
(Italics should NOT appear in the file).
E
Where N is the number of Measured Calibration
Points; X1, Y1, Z1 is the 3D position of the first
Calibration point measured by the Generic
Measurement System; X2, Y2, Z2 is for the second
Calibration Point; etc.; XN, YN, ZN is for the Nth and
last Calibration Point.
2. Metronor Inspection System
line 1: Name1 m1 X11 Y11 Z11 X12 Y12 Z12
X1m1 Y1m1 Z1m1
line 2: Name2 m2 X21 Y21 Z21 X22 Y22 Z22
X2m2 Y2m2 Z2m2
..
..

E-2
NOTES

F-3
Appendix F:Troubleshooting
Soft Limit Errors Caused by Display Preferences
Finesync.jbi Display of some MotoCal input screens can be
controlled. To change these settings, from the
The Finesync.jbi jogs the robot to the corrected
MotoCal main window menu choose Project-
home position calculated by MotoCal. Arms that park
>Select Windows.
with the lower arm horizontal have a soft limit set at
By selecting from the main MotoCal menu Projects-
zero pulse counts for the L-axis. If the calculated,
> Select Windows ->Preferences you can
corrected home position for the L-axis is lower than
determine whether certain screens are displayed.
zero pulse counts it is not possible to run
Screens without checks will not be shown.
finesync.jbi. To avoid this problem before taking
measurements set the L-axis home position a little bit
low. This causes the lower arm to slope slightly
toward the back of the robot when it is at its home
positioner. This prevents the finesync.jbi from
running the L-axis past its soft limit. To correct this
problem, proceed as follows:
1. Jog arm to Specified Point.
2. Release soft limits.
3. Display robot position in pulse counts. All values
must be zero.
4. Double click finesync.jbi in MotoCal Robot files
window to open it. Note the values on the C001
line for ERC arms, or the C0001 line for other
arms. The first number after the equal sign is
always zero. This means no change to the S-axis. By selecting from the main MotoCal menu Projects-
The following numbers are the change to the >Select Windows ->Update Template the default
L,U,R,B and T axes. After calibration, the change settings for the robot type of the current project will
to the T-axis should be zero. Example line for an be updated.
F
ERC finesync.jbi:
C001=0,-17,63,-24,-21,0 Selecting from the main MotoCal menu Projects-
This line indicates:
0 no change in S-axis home position. >Select Windows ->Load allows you to choose
-17 pulse count change in L-axis home position previously established default settings for the current
63 pulse count change in U-axis position. project.
-24 pulse count change in R-axis home position
-21 pulse count change in B-axis position.
0 no change in T-axis home position
5. After positions are set to correct pulse values,
set new home position.

F-4
NOTES

Glossary
mastering Determination of accurate values for the entered in MotoCal by the User. Machining and
robot and tool, thus calibrating the robot. The values accurate measurement will be required to provide
determined are updated on the controller so the TCP the necessary Measurement Adapter attachment
of the robot is improved. The values updated are: points. Six Degrees of Freedom End-Effector
Motor encoder home position pulse counts. calibration can be accomplished simultaneously with
Automatic Alignment or External TCP Calibration.
Tool XYZ values and optionally RxRyRz values.
T-Axis calibration Determination of the accurate External TCP Calibration MotoCal 3.0 can
Motor Encoder home position pulse count for the T- determine the location of an External TCP relative to
Axis, Axis 6. It is almost always best to calibrate the the robot base. Four Measurement Adapter locations
End-Effector and not the Axis 6. Calibration of the are required as specified above for the Six Degrees of
End-Effector, or Tool, is always important and Freedom End-Effector calibration. Also, the Encoder
calibration of the End-Effector makes calibration of must be mounted at the External TCP, or at a known
Axis 6 meaningless. offset from it.
End-effector calibration The robot tool is typically Filter File A .prm file that holds information about
bolted to the tool flange without alignment pins. how a real robot arm and tool differ from the ideal
Robot tools are subject to bending. There is an model of these. Each Filter is for a particular arm and
endless variety of end effectors, many being made for tool. It may be appropriate to make multiple Filters
special applications. For all of these reasons the TCP for an arm because of differences in workload and
of the End-Effector must be measured. End-Effector TCP. Parameters that may be evaluated are:
Calibration is an excellent way to make the Motor Encoder home position pulse counts,
measurements. The Measurement Adapter Swivel usually tt2 through tt5 (LURB). Home positions are
must be attached to the End-Effector so that the TCP often significant sources of error and should be
is matched. When the End-Effector is calibrated Axis included in the Filter.
6 cannot be calibrated. End Effector XYZ values and optionally RxRyRz
values. These parameters should always be
included in the Filter.
Six Degrees of Freedom End-Effector Twists in robot links (aa1 aa6 and bb1 bb6).
Calibration MotoCal 3.0 can be used to calibrate These are often useful to include.
the orientation of the TCP in addition to its location. Variation in robot link lengths (a1 a6 and d1
A single Measurement Adapter attachment point at d6). It is usually not useful to include these.
the TCP of the End-Effector cannot yield information Sagging of links due to load (k1 k6, and kw, kp
about the TCP orientation. Four different and kr). This error could result from gear
Measurement Adapter attachment points are compliance and link bending. It is useful to include
required. The position of these attachment points these parameters in the Filter if the robot will be
relative to the TCP must be known accurately and working near its weight capacity.

Glossary
Filtering a Job To use a Filter File to adjust a .jbi file Fixture A structure made to hold work for the robot.
so that it will run accurately on the robot and tool for The fixture is important for MotoCal because it is
which the Filter File was made. The process of used to make Alignment files. For Automatic
filtering can also be done in reverse so that a job Alignment the Fixture must include four accurate
running on a real arm and tool can be adjusted to run mounting points for the Encoder. Also for Automatic
accurately on an ideal arm and tool. Forward and Alignment, Fixture calibration must be turned on and
Reverse Filtering are also called Downloading and the user must enter the locations of the Encoder
Uploading respectively. mounting points.
Alignment The position of a work fixture relative to Cloning a Job The transfer of a job taught on one
the robot base. MotoCal keeps this information in robot and its fixture so that it can be run on another
.aln files. Each alignment file represents one robot robot and its fixture. This is done using information
base and fixture. (Note the exception for manual from both .prm Filter Files and .aln Alignment files.
alignment specified below.) If multiple fixtures are Information in the Filter files is used to adjust the
used in a cell it will be necessary to make multiple points in the job to compensate for differences
alignment files. MotoCal 3.0 can produce Alignment between the two robots and their respective TCPs.
Files by two different methods. The information in the Alignment files is used to
adjust the job to compensate for differences in where
Manual Alignment There must be four accurate the work fixture is relative to the robot base.
points on the fixture. On Robot 1 a job must be
taught that touches the TCP to the four points in
order on Fixture 1. The same job must be taught on OLP, Off Line Programming Using a software
Robot 2 for Fixture 2. See the Manual Alignment system (such as MotoSim) to simulate a robot and
diagram above. An Alignment file created by this work cell. Jobs can be created easily off line and then
method provides the difference in the alignment of cloned to run on real arms. This is also called
the two fixtures to the two robot bases in two Downloading.
different robot cells. Thus realignment of a job
between the two cells will use only one alignment Maintenance After an arm has been changed due
file. A nominal alignment file holding zero values is to a crash or a motor replacement, the jobs it used to
used as the second alignment file. run need adjustment before they can be run again.
MotoCal Maintenance allows this adjustment to be
Automatic Alignment There must be four accurate done automatically. A Filter file must be made before
mounting points for the Encoder on the fixture. the change to the arm occurs. After the change
MotoCal determines the location of these points occurs another Filter is made. MotoCal uses these
relative to the robot base, and thus the alignment of two filters to adjust the existing jobs so they run
the fixture to the robot base. See the Automatic accurately after the change. If the position of the
Alignment diagram above. When a job is to be Fixture relative to the robot is changed, it is also
aligned between two cells two alignment files will be necessary to use Alignment files.
used, one for each cell. This method of alignment
typically yields superior results because it does not
rely on operator skill in teaching points.

Index
A Cloned 5-30, 5-31, 5-32 External TCP Calibration
About this Manual 1-1 Cloning 4-66, 5-4, 5-28, 5-29, compared to Automatic
5-30, 5-31, 5-32 Alignment 4-52, 4-59
Actual Parameters 5-4, 5-9, B-1
Actual Robot Cell 5-39 Connecting the Cables 3-3 F
Add Files 5-43 Connecting to the Robot Filter 5-26, 5-30, 5-31, 5-32, 5-
Controller 3-4 33, 5-35, 5-36, 5-37, 5-39, 5-
Alignment file 5-4, 5-11, 5-20,
5-24, 5-30, 5-31, 5-34, 5-35, Creating a New Project 5-1 41, 5-42
5-38, 5-39, 5-41, 5-42 Customer Service 1-3 Fixture 5-4, 5-9, 5-11, 5-12, 5-
Alignment Points 5-15, 5-16, 5- Cylindrical Hole Adaptor 5-14 14, 5-15, 5-16, 5-18, 5-20, 5-
18, 5-22, 5-23, 5-25, 5-29, 5- 21, 5-22, 5-24, 5-25, 5-29, 5-
D 31, 5-32, 5-33, 5-34, 5-35, 5-
30, 5-40
Delete files 5-43 36, 5-38, 5-39, 5-40, 5-41, 5-
ANSI/RIA 2-1
Download 5-15, 5-22, 5-41, 5- 42
C 42 Fixture Calibration 5-14, 5-25
CAD 5-4, 5-13, 5-18, 5-22, 5- Downloaded 5-41, 5-42 Forward Filter 5-32, 5-36
23, 5-25, 5-26, 5-30, 5-32, 5- DynaCal Measurement Device 5-
33, 5-37, 5-39, 5-40, 5-41, 5- 4, 5-14, 5-15 G
42 DynaCal Software 5-8, A-1 General Safeguarding Tips 2-2
Calibration 5-9 DynaCal System 5-5, A-1 H
Calibration Measurement File 5-
4 E Hardware Setup 3-1
Calibration Parameters 5-4, 5-9, Encoder Shipping Protection 3-1 I
5-11, 5-12, 5-13, 5-18, 5-19, Protective Spring Connector 3-1 Identification 5-4, 5-9, 5-32
5-20, 5-21, 5-29, 5-30, 5-33, Protective Tape
Import Capabilities 1-1
5-34, 5-36, 5-37, 5-38, 5-39, 3-1
Installation 3-1
5-41 End-Effector 5-4, 5-9, 5-11, 5-
12, 5-13, 5-14, 5-18, 5-20, 5- Installation Safety 2-2
Calibration Points 5-4, 5-5, 5-
11, 5-12, 5-15, 5-19, 5-20, 5- 21, 5-22, 5-24, 5-25, 5-26, 5- J
24, E-1 29, 5-31, 5-32, 5-33, 5-35, 5-
Job Filter 4-9, 4-15
Calibration Results 5-19 36, 5-38, 5-39, 5-40, 5-42, B-
Calibration Robot Program 5-4, 1, B-2 L
5-8, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 5-33 End-Effector Calibration 5-12 Latch C-1, C-2, C-3
Care of Components 1-3 Equipment Description 1-2 Latch Holder C-2
Clone 5-22, 5-26, 5-28, 5-29, External TCP 5-17, 5-19, 5-25, Latch Mechanism C-1, C-2, C-3
5-30, 5-32, 5-33, 5-37, 5-40 5-30, 5-31, 5-35, 5-38, 5-42

Index
M N 37, 5-39
Main Swiveling Axis 5-14, C-2 Nominal 5-4, 5-10, 5-11, 5-19, Robotic Industries Association
Maintenance 5-30, 5-33, 5-36, 5-23, 5-25, 5-31, 5-35, 5-38, 2-1
5-37, 5-38, 5-39, 5-40, A-1 5-40, 5-42, B-1 S
Maintenance Safety 2-4 O Save 5-43
Master Robot Project Off-Line Programming 5-22, 5- Selecting Calibration Points 5-5
Organization 5-3 32, 5-39 Selecting Encoder Location 3-2
Measurement Adaptor 5-8, 5- OLP 5-17, 5-22, 5-25, 5-39 Setting Robot Home Position
12, 5-30
Operation 5-1 (MRC) 4-7
Measurement Cable 3-1, 5-5, 5-
Operation Safety 2-3 Setting Robot Home Position
7, 5-8, C-1, C-2, C-3
Optional Items 1-3 (XRC) 4-7
Measurement Device 5-9, 5-11,
Side Cover Plate 3-1
5-14, 5-15, 5-18, 5-21, 5-24, P
5-29, 5-30, 5-40 Simulation 5-3, 5-5, 5-16, 5-
Pedestal 5-12 17, 5-22, 5-23, 5-25, 5-26, 5-
Measurement Drum 3-1, 3-2, C- Positioner 5-9 39, 5-40, 5-41, 5-42
1, C-2, C-3
Programming Safety 2-3 Simulation Model 5-16, 5-17, 5-
Measurement Housing C-1, C-2
22, 5-23, 5-40, 5-41, 5-42
Measurement Origin 5-14 R
Software Installation 3-4
Measuring Calibration Points 5- Reference Position 5-6, 5-7, C-3
Special Functions 5-43
4 Reference to Other
Standard Conventions 2-1
Measuring calibration points Documentation 1-3
Standards Items 1-2
with other measurement systems Reverse Filter 5-26, 5-39
5-8 Swiveling Pulley C-2, C-3
Re-zero 5-20, 5-37
Measuring Calibration Points System Requirements 1-3
Robot 5-2, 5-4, 5-5, 5-7, 5-8,
with the MotoCal Encoder 5-6 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 5-13, 5- T
Mechanical Safety Devices 2-2 14, 5-15, 5-16, 5-18, 5-19, 5- TCP 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 5-13, 5-
Metal Hook 3-1, 3-2 20, 5-21, 5-22, 5-23, 5-24, 5- 14, 5-17, 5-18, 5-19, 5-21, 5-
Metal Loop C-2 25, 5-26, 5-28, 5-29, 5-30, 5- 22, 5-23, 5-24, 5-25, 5-29, 5-
Model Robot Cell 5-39 31, 5-32, 5-33, 5-34, 5-35, 5- 30, 5-31, 5-33, 5-34, 5-35, 5-
36, 5-37, 5-38, 5-39, 5-40, 5- 36, 5-37, 5-38, 5-40, 5-41, 5-
MotoCal Components 1-2
41, 5-42, 5-43, B-1, B-2, B-3 42, B-3
MotoCal Overview 1-2
Robot Base Frame B-3 Tensioner C-1, C-2
Mounting the Encoder 3-2
Robot Calibration 4-3, 5-11 Tool Center Point 5-10, 5-31, 5-
Move 5-11, 5-21, 5-22, 5-24,
Robot Cells 5-29, 5-33 34, 5-38, 5-41
5-28, 5-32, 5-33, 5-35, 5-40,
5-43 Robot Programs 5-33, 5-36, 5-

U
Updating Your .CLB File 3-5
Upload 5-41, 5-42
Uploaded 5-41, 5-42
Using an Existing Project 5-3
Z
Zeroing File 5-20

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MotoSoft

Part Number: 140724-1

Getting Started Chapter 1:

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

Appendix A: Calibration File (.clb)

Appendix C: Cable Replacement

Appendix D: Trigger Cable Kit

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

M otoCal 3.0 is a fully integrated robot

Chapter 1: Getting Started Maintenance

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

I t is the purchasers responsibility to ensure

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

In accordance with ANSI/RIA R15.06, section 6.13.4

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

All modifications made to the controller will

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

T his chapter provides information for setting up

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

The spring connector can remain in its position on

Selecting Encoder Location

2. Position the encoder to allow the maximum

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

To mount the encoder, proceed as follows: Connecting the Cables

may cause misalignment of the optical

No strong forces are typically aplied to the emcoder,

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

Connecting to the Robot Controller

documentation that came with your computer if unsure ROBOT CABLE

To Install MotoCal, proceed as follows:

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

Robot and Tool YASNAC XRC SK16X

The following basic steps are used to 26 MEASUREMENTS FROM

TOOL XYZ FINESYNC.JBI

To calibrate a robot and its tool, proceed as follows:

Note: Make sure the displayed .clb file matches the

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

20. Attach the measurement cable to the

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

27. The base of the Encoder has small screw holes

26. The Calibration screen is displayed with buttons

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

Note: Be sure the robot is at the last position of the

Setting Robot Home Position (XRC)

MOTOMAN MotoCal Users Manual

i) Cursor over to Edit and Select All Axes.

MotoCal Users Manual MOTOMAN

Using Taught Alignment to Clone Jobs from Real to Real

If a CAD system will be used, follow

the CAD version of this procedure. R1 R2