Dynamic modelling, identification and simulation of industrial robots: for off-line programming of robotised laser welding

Robotised laser welding is an innovative joining technique which is increasingly finding applications, especially in the automotive industry. In order to reduce the time needed to prepare and programthe laser welding robot, off-line programming systems are used. The off-line programming systems currently available only allow kinematic simulations of the robot motion, which are insufficient for a proper a priori prediction of the ability to weld the seam as dynamic effects in the path tracking accuracy are not taken into account. Combining off-line programming systems and dynamic simulations of the robot motion makes it possible to predict the path tracking errors in advance.