Workbench Offline Programming
Offline programming is the authoring method to generate controller programs for a manufacturing process and using different kinds of manufacturing technologies. Starting from a layout, the workpiece includes the generic geometrical information, called process geometry, from which the manufacturing toolpath is generated. Based upon the applied technology the toolpath steps individually can be optimized using automatic and manual manipulation and interpolation algorithms. Enriching the toolpath with (technology specific) technical events and signal handling generates the final program for simulation and analysis.
After simulation and verification a set of downloaders and uploaders are available to transform the internal data to the machine specific output.
The Offline Programming workbench (OLP) offers the base functionality to generate a program for a generic manufacturing process. Technology Packages enhance and configure the OLP application to cover and support different specific manufacturing technologies to allow programming with a maximum comfort and reliability. Technology packages are available for point, curve and surface based manufacturing processes.
The function toolbar, that is placed at the left side in the 3D View, has a group of commands to setup the manufacturing process and to program the intended operations.
| Icon | Command |
|---|---|
 | Select the program controller unit Setup the OLP project Process geometry Program a toolpath Balancing & sequencing Events & teach Download the program Save the project |
The dashboard toolbar, that is placed at the right side in the 3D View, includes a group of commands for advanced editing and information of the OLP program and simulation.
| Icon | Command |
|---|---|
 | Program attribute defaults Process geometry Program manager Active program attributes Toolpath monitor Simulation monitor Teach Process imaging |
The workbench includes the Simulation player toolbar to run a simulation with various options of the programmed manufacturing process.
