One Lucky Bastard with a 6 axis SEF SR-25

[petter@defenceg]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum but newertheless i would call myself experienced designer.
I use mostly Inventor for modelling but could have used Solidworks just as easily. Uptil now i relied on others for Lasercutters and milling services mostly in China, Norway and Sweden.
I have my own Stratasys FDM modeller for plastic prototyping. but since the Stratasys comes with all the software it need for converting "files to plastic" i have never looked into CAM software.

I stubled upon an incredible deal today a SEF SR-25, with control unit (6 AXIS robot arm)for 1000 EURO, and ofcource i baught it by reflex(havent actually seen it yet but will be picking it up tomorrow).
I have for a long time wanted some kind of robot but has mainly taught about a tradisionam XYZ configuration this i hope is far better starting point than i ever imagined.

I need a starting point on my CAM software exploration.
I manage Linux pretty good.
I can pretty much produce a model of what i get into my head with Inventor but processing the model is something i newer has done myself.
I am hoping for an open source solution for controlling my new toy. But has absolutly no experience with a 6 axis arm, and even less experience with software to control an 6 axis arm.

Where shall i start looking for software to controling this thing?
Do i have to buy something like Mastercam or do i get away with some opensource software?
Is SEF producing any good software themselves?
As i use my own funds i am quite limited in the money spending department.

Every suggestion is appreciated.
Best Regards
The Beginner

[dertsap]

suppose it depends upon what you want to do , this may be a start http://www.cnc-toolkit.com/ , this is a plugin for gmax , both are free , there is a bit of a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it then you may find it will suit your needs

[petter@defenceg]

I have read from googeling that it wont handle my robot arm.
As i see from the cnc-toolkit.com website it's a maximum of 5 axis.
This is a 6 axis. I also think it's based on a xyz table with an additional 2 axis. This is an arm with only rotation axis.
Am i wrong?

I see that RobotMaster can do wery much with this kond of robot.
http://www.robotmaster.com/aboutus.php

YouTube- Robotmaster- Car Demo

YouTube- Robotmaster- Car Demo

Does anyone have any experience with it?
Is tere an Opensource alternative?

Petter

[rab]

The CNC-Toolkit will handle 6-axes as is and as many extra axes as you need if you're willing to delve into the (open-source) code a bit deeper. The main thing you need to do is model the inverse kinematics of your robot arm using GMAX or 3DS MAX and modify the post-processor to suit.

Rab
(author of the CNC Toolkit)

[petter@defenceg]

Thank's a lot for the tip, i will try this before i go for my second solution.

I was thinking of hijacking the servocontrollers with a microcontroller to translate xyz a+b into rotation degrees of movement for the arm. This would also prabably also work, but offer little cotrol over collition detection. and add an extra layer of logic.

Thank's again.