Hi pros,
We are working on a proof of concept for a client for a painting application. The goal of the application is to paint rectangular panels that varies in dimensions. Lets say that the client runs a batch of 24''x24'' panels and then switches to 18x20 panels. So the key here is to be able to quickly reprogram robot trajectories. First idea that came to mind was to use the pallet tool. Since we know the Fan Width we can calculate the last position of a line pallet and the number of pass that needs to be made. Of course there is more calculations to do to calculate positions in the pallet trajectories but before I dig any further I would like to know if it is possible to set startPos and EndPos of the pallet using a variable that would be calculated? Below is the program and a video of the robot running this program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6YKvDB6kk4&feature=youtu.be

 Program
   Robot Program
     Pallet
       Pattern: Line
         StartPos_1
         EndPos_1
       PalletSequence
         Approach_1
         PatternPoint_1
         Approach_1

@sebastien I don't see anyway in the wizard to set the line to a variable position, but I rarely use the built-in wizards honestly.  

In my opinion, I would skip the wizard for something like this, its not that hard to calculate the points where you want to go and you could have better control of the end product.  You could set up a line feature in the installation and make it variable so that it can be driven by variables.  Another would be to teach the first corner point and then simply use the width and length dimensions that the customer plugs in to the beginning of the program to calculate the other corners, the spacing that you would need between each pass and the length of the pass assuming a slight overlap above and below the panel on each pass as I assume they want full edge coverage.

Also, are you planning to paint in both directions or just one and the other move is a return to the next point?  If so, you could save cycle time by having the robot go from the end of one line to the start of the next line.

@matthewd92
Thanks for the tips. The video does not really show the real trajectory, as you mentioned the robot will go in one direction then move and come back on a new painting pass. I will go your way if client moves along with project!

@JeanPhilippe_Jobin
As I was moving the robot along the path to teach point, I did not have the FT300 sensor on the robot at that moment. I wish I had it on simply because of the Active Drive option that it adds. I think in this kind of application, the sensor is useful for locking robot in plane and bring the tool back to 90 degrees easily. One thing that would be even nicer would be to able to lock motion into only 1 axis, and that this axis could be a line feature. This way, when programming painting application or even polishing applications, you could set a feature that will be in the direction that you want the robot to move and then simply guide the robot by end and do path recording. 

I second that feature request!

@Sebastien
sorry for the delay, I just found that email in my junk???

Thanks for the request. I like the idea. Cannot promise anything but I'll see how we could do that.