Siemens’ PLM Software division has launched an easy-to-use robotic simulation and programming software package aimed at small and medium-sized manufacturers. The RobotExpert package can be used with robots from different suppliers and is intended to reduce downtime and increase throughput for shop-floor robots.

The software (above) supports common applications such as pick-and-place, arc welding, polishing and gluing. It simulates 3D operating environments, including complete manufacturing cells.

Industrial robots are traditionally programmed manually, which results in non-optimised programs. The new software allows most of the programming work to be done virtually while optimising robotic paths to reduce cycle times and increase throughput. It can also help to reduce potential hazards from robots.

According to Zvi Feuer, senior vice-president for manufacturing engineering software at Siemens PLM Software, SMEs need an easy-to-deploy package that removes the complexities of robot simulation and programming.

“That is why we have developed RobotExpert," he says. "We have taken more than two decades of experience delivering robotic solutions for some of the most complex applications and created a simple intuitive solution which will help small and medium-size manufacturing companies across industries to build better products.”