Simulation Mismatch: NexBot Drives 232-002 Cycle Time Inaccurate for R-100 Robot

Description

We are using our NexBot Drives 232-002 Simulation Software License to develop and optimize a new palletizing cell for our R-100 series robot. The primary issue is a significant performance discrepancy between the simulation and the physical robot. The software is predicting cycle times that are approximately 15% faster than what we are observing on the factory floor. This is causing major planning issues for our production ramp-up. Furthermore, we've noticed minor path deviations in the simulation, particularly with complex wrist movements involving joints 5 and 6, when the robot is operating near a newly imported CAD fixture. These deviations are not present on the real robot but cause intermittent and false collision detection flags within the software. We received an error code E-8104 during one of the longer simulation runs. We need the simulation to accurately reflect the real-world performance to validate our process before deployment.

Symptoms

• Simulated cycle time does not match physical robot performance
• Path deviation observed near J5 and J6 in simulation
• False positive collision detection with imported CAD fixtures
• E-8104 error (Kinematic Solver Desynchronization) during long simulation runs

Resolution

The investigation determined that the performance discrepancy was caused by two factors: an outdated robot dynamic model within the simulation software library and an incorrect payload configuration that did not match the physical end-of-arm tooling (EOAT). The E-8104 error was a symptom of the kinematic solver struggling with the inaccurate physics model. Applying Patch 2.1.5 updated the R-100 robot's dynamic and kinematic models to the latest revision. Guiding the customer to accurately define the EOAT's mass and center of gravity in the simulation's payload settings resolved the remaining deviation and brought the simulated cycle time to within 1.5% of the physical robot's actual performance.

Resolution Steps

1. 1. Verified the customer was running version 2.1.1 of the NexBot Drives 232-002 software.
2. 2. Provided and guided the installation of Patch 2.1.5 from the NexBot support portal, which contains updated dynamic models for all R-series robots.
3. 3. Instructed the customer to relaunch the simulation software and load the project file.
4. 4. Navigated the customer to the 'Robot Setup' > 'Payload Configuration' menu for the R-100 model.
5. 5. Assisted in updating the payload mass to 92.5 kg and setting the Center of Gravity (COG) coordinates to match the physical gripper's specifications.
6. 6. Directed the customer to run the 'Environment Solver Calibration' utility from the Tools menu to re-baseline the physics engine.
7. 7. Confirmed with the customer that a new simulation run showed a cycle time of 42.8 seconds, closely matching the physical robot's time of 43.2 seconds, and that the false collision alerts were no longer present.