Dr. Zengxi Pan

Schedule

July 8th,2016

Topic

Automated Offline Programming for Robotic Welding

Abstract

Industrial robotic automation is a key tool for Small/Medium Enterprises to achieve flexibility and low pro- duction costs. However, for low production volumes the cost of re-programming such systems limit their usability. Automated Offline Programming is an approach which uses software algo- rithms to plan robot operations, rather than requiring expensive and time consuming manual programming. This paper presents an Automated Offline Programming solution developed for a steel fabrication company and the planning algorithms involved. By directly integrating automatic robot program generation into the design pipeline, high quality robot programs can be efficiently and flexibly generated.

Resume

• YuMing Zhang has been with the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA since 1991 where he is currently Professor and the James R. Boyd Professor in Electrical Engineering and directs the Welding Research Laboratory.
• He received his BS and MS degrees in control engineering major from Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) where he finished his PhD degree in welding engineering major in 1990.
• His research in innovative welding processes and sensing and control of welding processes at the University of Kentucky has continuously been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and brought him over 170 peer-reviewed journal publications, 8 US patents, and recognitions including Donald Julius Groen Prize from The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, United Kingdom, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Congress Poster Paper Prize (2002), IFAC Congress Application Paper Finalist (2002), and numerous awards from the American Welding Society (AWS).
• Four of his PhD students received the Henry Granjon Prize (2015, 2013, 2012, 2009) from the International Institute of Welding (IIW).
• YuMing Zhang currently serves a Lead Principal Reviewer for Welding Journal (Editor for the Research Supplement) and an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering and SME Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
• He is also a Fellow of the AWS, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).