Hi guys,

I was asked if a path that was recorded using the FT300 sensor on a Universal Robots could be played after removing the FT300 sensor from the robot's wrist. I was honestly not certain of the outcome, so I decided to test this idea. I recorded a simple path (the contour of a piece of furniture) with the stack of 3 Robotiq products (FT300 sensor, Wrist Camera and 2F85 gripper). I used a 3D printed tool to simulate the polishing of the part and recorded the path using the "Translation" mode in the Active Drive toolbar. Here is the result of the path recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX7Y8tznMEs
I then removed the FT300 sensor from the robot's wrist and reinstalled the camera and the 2F85 gripper. I then replayed the program without modifying any of the parameters. Here is the result:
https://youtu.be/MPytwKajGCk
As you can see, the tool has an offset in the Z axis. This offset is equal to the thickness of the FT300 sensor (31mm). This offset can be compensated in the TCP position. 

Can you think of an application where this could be of use? 

@Tyler_Berryman I think that this could be very beneficial to integrators as we are able to utilize the advanced features while programming the robot but not need to add a FT sensor to the application unless we actually need the feedback during the program.  That would be our primary use for them actually.  Not only does the PATH node help in programming, I really like the features on the Active Drive Toolbar such as squaring the TCP back to the world after using either active or free drive as well as the ability to put the robot into certain modes of operation such as planar or SCARA.