What is the Tool Center?

What is the Tool Center?

The tool center is a vital part of a robotic system. It allows for program transfer between identical robot cells and it saves programs if the robot controller loses files or experiences a hard crash. It also makes jogging and motion programming much simpler. It is one of the best places to start when troubleshooting issues with a system.

Depending on the type of tool being used (a suction cup, two-finger gripper, etc), the tool may have a compliant element along its pick approach path. This element can compress to allow the gripper or tool to reach and grab product. The tip of the tool must be able to move back to its original uncompressed state. This position is called the Tool Center Point or TCP.

When the TCP is set up properly, a programmer drives the robot to various orientations with the tool and records it in the controller. The robot then calculates the exact TCP based on those orientations. Once the TCP is established, it can then be used to create a coordinate system for the tool and used to define all motions, jogging, and waypoints for the end of arm tool. The process to create a TCP is very straightforward and can be done in a matter of minutes.

Tags:all hand tool | center tools