Auto Axis Map
Automatic redundant axis control for robot cells. One button computes every redundant axis of a robot cell — axis limits, singularities and collisions included — and the map stays editable.
Redundant axes in a robot cell
- Five degrees of freedom position a rotating tool. Almost every real cell has more, and the surplus has to be resolved before a toolpath can run.
- A typical industrial robot has six degrees of freedom where five position the cutter, so one is always free to choose.
- The sixth joint at the tool flange lets the other joints move while the tool holds its position and orientation — more reach, fewer collisions.
- Cells add more: rails can carry the robot on up to three axes, a rotary table adds one, a tilting rotary table two. Nine-axis cells are ordinary.
- The same tool position can also be reached through different joint configurations — the base, elbow and wrist flips — one more choice someone has to make.
Smart Motion: the whole trajectory from one button
- Auto Axis Map has two halves: Smart Motion computes the redundant axes, and the axes map stays open for edits. ENCY 3.0 improves the calculation.
- Smart Motion generates robot trajectories for 5D and 6D points without requiring an axes map: the result stays within the axis limits and steers clear of singularities.
- On a 5D point the rotation about the tool axis is free; on a 6D point the tool holds it too — welding usually needs 6D, cutting and milling often do not.
- The starting configuration of the robot is found automatically for every contour, and the flips are chosen with it.
- Before it, every additional axis was set by hand in the maps: expert work, and on a project with ten toolpaths it took days.
- The result is not locked: the computed trajectory stays open for fine-tuning in the map.
Collision avoidance
- Collision avoidance is a separate stage of the calculation, and it is optional on purpose.
- With it enabled, Smart Motion shapes the trajectory so the robot clears the surrounding objects — the scene, the workpiece, the rails and the rest of the cell.
- It is off by default, which keeps the first calculation fast: you check that the job is set up correctly and the trajectory looks sane before committing to the full solve.
- Turn it on only when the first pass actually reports collisions — that is what keeps the calculation short the rest of the time.
The collision map: seeing where a toolpath fails
- The Redundant axes optimizer draws, for each toolpath point, which values of an axis are usable and which are not, each kind of zone in its own colour: Out of reach, Out of limits, Singularities and Collisions.
- The trajectory SmartMotion computed is drawn on top with its control points, and Verification under the map reports Ok when it stays clear of every zone. Each controlled axis has its own tab and its own map.
Fine-tuning in the map
- An expert can look at what Smart Motion produced and improve it, without giving up the automatic solve.
- Build map draws the collision map, Build graph builds the control law for the additional axes, and the map then shows the computed trajectory on it.
- Edit the line directly: drag a control point, delete the ones that make the axis move more than it needs to, or add a point where the path needs shaping.
- Update toolpath applies the edited map to the toolpath, so the change reaches the NC program.
Frequently asked questions
Five degrees of freedom position a rotating tool relative to a workpiece. A six-axis robot has six; rails and rotary tables add more, and nine-axis cells are ordinary. The surplus has to be resolved into real axis values, and the choice changes reach, collision risk and how near the robot runs to a singularity.
Yes. That is what Auto Axis Map does: Smart Motion computes the robot, the linear axes, the rotary axes and the moving workpiece as one connected system, respecting axis limits and singularities, for both 5D and 6D points. Collision avoidance is a separate option on top of it.
Yes. The computed trajectory is drawn in the Redundant axes optimizer, where you can move, add or delete control points on any axis and push the result back with Update toolpath. Beyond the standard axes, any parameter defined as an axis in the machine schema can join the map through the Force control with map flag.
Whether each combination of toolpath point and axis value is usable. Four zone types can be drawn, each switched on and off separately: Out of reach, Out of limits, Singularities and Collisions.
Cells where a rail or a positioner carries the work, long travels, parts too large for the robot's reach, and jobs with many contours — the cases where every extra axis used to be programmed by hand. Welding usually needs the tool orientation held, so it leans on 6D points; cutting and milling can often leave that rotation free.
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