Basic Overview of Straight Weld Seam Programming for OTC Daihen Welding Robots
For operators and workshop maintenance engineers who are new to OTC DAIHEN industrial welding robots, mastering the basic programming workflow of the teach pendant is the first step in conducting automated arc welding operations. In robot systems (such as the common FD11 and FD19 series control cabinets), the TCP (Tool Center Point) is defined at the tip of the welding wire by default. This means that the spatial coordinates we record in the program are the exact position of the welding wire tip, while the planned trajectory posture refers to the multi-angle rotation of the welding torch around this tip point.
To help beginners get up to speed quickly, this tutorial takes the most classic single straight weld seam welding as an example, detailing the 10 standard teach programming steps from finding the origin, creating a program, to inserting the AS (Arc Start) command, the AE (Arc End) command, and the LIN (Linear Interpolation) trajectory movement:
Retrieve and Lock the Safe Home Position of the System
Press the [Program] key on the teach pendant, enter the system standard home program number [9999] in the pop-up program call input box, and click [OK]. Then, press the deadman switch on the back of the teach pendant and click the [Forward Check] key. At this time, the corresponding step line in the program will be covered by a yellow highlight, indicating that the manipulator has successfully locked into the safe starting home position.
Create a Brand New Empty Program Within the System
Press the [Program] key on the teach pendant again, input a blank program number not currently occupied in the new program window (for example, Program 10). After confirming it is correct, press the [Record] key on the physical keyboard to open up a brand new arc welding process program space in the underlying Linux system.
Manually Teach and Record the Welding Trajectory Start Point
Switch the coordinate system to axis coordinates or the full-digital world coordinate system, manually manipulate the movement of each robot joint, and let the front end of the welding torch accurately move to the predetermined arc ignition position of the straight weld seam on the workpiece. After adjusting the welding torch inclination angle (usually a 70°-80° angle with the workpiece surface), press the [Record] key to save this point.
Axially Raise the Torch Using the Tool Coordinate System and Insert a Blank Line
To reserve a safe feed trajectory for arc ignition, switch the current control coordinate system on the teach pendant to the [Tool Coordinate System], press the [Z+] directional key to drive the welding torch to raise vertically along its own central axis line to a distance of about 10cm from the workpiece surface. Next, use the directional keys to move the cursor on the screen back up to the previous step position (using the combination key “Action Possible + ↑”), then press the combination key “Action Possible + Insert” and click [OK] in the pop-up window to successfully insert a blank line.
Input the AS Arc Start Control Command at the Welding Start Position
Click the [Forward Check] button to return the manipulator to the previously recorded weld contact starting point. Call up the arc welding process command library and enter the arc start command [AS] (Arc Start). In the pop-up command parameters detail window, according to the current steel plate thickness and process requirements, change or confirm the arc ignition welding current, arc voltage, and standard welding speed online. After setting the parameters, press [Write] to save the command (if no special modification is needed, click Write directly).
Manually Teach and Move to Record the Straight Weld Seam End Point
Continue manually manipulating the robotic arm to drive the welding torch steadily along the straight weld seam of the workpiece to the predetermined welding termination end point. Core Point: Before recording this position, you must change the default “JOINT (Joint Interpolation)” motion method to the “LIN (Linear Interpolation)” motion line through the teach pendant shortcut keys (combination key “Action Possible + 8”), ensuring that the robot maintains a perfect straight-line trajectory during the welding process. After adjusting the posture, press the [Record] key.
Input the AE Arc End Control Command at the Weld Termination Position
Below the recorded position line of the welding end point, press the shortcut combination key “Action Possible + AE” through the process command panel of the teach pendant to call out the Arc End command [AE]. This command is used to control the welding machine to execute arc breakage and crater attenuation repair welding parameters. After setting the crater current, arc ending voltage, and delayed arc distinguishing time constant, click the [Write] key to store the AE command.
Vertically Raise Torch for Safety and Record Safe Retract Point
Switch the coordinate system back to the [Tool Coordinate System], press the [Z+] axis direction key to drive the welding torch vertically upward leaving the workpiece surface by a safe distance of about 10cm to prevent the front end of the welding torch from physically scraping high-temperature workpieces or tooling after arc breakage. After recovering or changing the motion interpolation command back to standard “JOINT (Point)” or keeping “LIN (Line)”, press the [Record] key to save this torch retract position.
Call the Step Return Command to Plan Cycle Return to Home
Click the [Step] retrieval function on the teach pendant, enter the number [1] in the called-up step line number positioning box, and press [OK]. Coordinate with the [Forward Check] key to let the robot fully return along the original path to Step 1 (i.e., the starting 9999 working home position). Then click the [Step] button on the teach pendant again, select [Go to Final Step] from the menu, click [OK] to return to the end of the program, and press the [Record] key to plan the cycle logic where the robot automatically returns to the home point after welding is finished.
Input Program Termination Command END to Close Loop the Program
At the very last blank line of the entire program, press the shortcut combination key “Action Possible + END” to officially mark the terminal end marker [END] command at the end of the program. At this point, the complete straight weld automatic arc welding programming is entirely closed-loop.
Core Process Specifications for Error Prevention and Pitfall Avoidance on the Frontline of Automatic Arc Welding Straight Weld Programming:
- Logic series expansion for multiple weld seams: This tutorial detailed the gold standard workflow for a single straight weld seam. If there are multiple different straight weld seams that need to be welded continuously in your workpiece workshop, please strictly avoid frequently calling to create new programs. You only need to **repeat Step 3 to Step 8 in the current program** (i.e., Plan movement to non-welding rapid transit trajectory point of the second seam start point → Insert AS arc start → LIN linear interpolation welding to end point → Insert AE arc end → Torch raise safety transition), to realize efficient linkage of multiple weld seams within a single program.
- Why is it emphasized that interpolation must be changed from JOINT to LIN during welding?
JOINT (Joint Interpolation)allows each joint axis of the robot to move from Point A to Point B with the fastest and most energy-saving curved trajectory, and its spatial motion trajectory is an arc line. If not forcefully changed toLIN (Linear Interpolation)in Step 6, the welding torch will trace out a largely drifting arc motion between the start and end points, and the welding wire will completely deviate from the straight weld seam. In non-welding no-load fast jump stages (such as from home to the arc ignition point), it is recommended to use JOINT interpolation to maximize saving idle run time.
️ Fast Access to Complete Robot Function Boards and Official Technical Support
In the process of on-site teach programming and commissioning, if you encounter physical buttons of the teach pendant failing to touch due to aging of high-frequency combination keys like “Action Possible/Record/Write”, program data loss on the CFAST system storage card, or an error reported by the Arc Interface Board (such as L23400S00 / L21700S00) specially responsible for processing full digital arc welding full-duplex communication inside the control cabinet, you are welcome to contact us to get the latest official standard spare parts quotes, original brand new teach pendant assemblies, and more in-depth advanced system integration wiring diagram support:
How to Ensure Strict Reproducibility of Automated Robot Programming Trajectories with Genuine High-Standard Actuation Components?
The long-term high uptime of a fully automated digital robot workstation is built on rigorous teach programming programs and the high rigidity of the front-end transmission actuation components. Non-compliant non-original wear and tear electromechanical parts (such as aftermarket unshielded master control relay heavy cables, or uncertified imitation fully fluorinated wire feeding conduits) are extremely prone to severe electromagnetic wave radiation crosstalk at the moment of high-current arc ignition and high-frequency discharge in the workshop, directly inducing sudden drift in wire feeding speed or teach pendant memory data loss and crashes; while low-end non-original joint reducers will also directly lead to drift and deviation of the established LIN linear trajectory in the teach program due to excessive internal backlash. We guarantee that all multi-axis body highly flexible shielded cable assemblies, full-digital control cabinet mainboards and expansion baseboards, and original highly sensitive human-machine teach pendants sold are 100% brand new, genuine products from official channels. If you need to confirm today’s real-time spot inventory of parts, obtain full wiring diagrams for safety interlock loops of the control cabinet terminal block, or Fronius special high-precision welding accessories information, please feel free to inquire our technical service team at any time.