The RapidPlan Create application is divided into the sections described below. RapidPlan Create has two modes: Model Mode and Roadmap Mode. The Tool Bar will be different when either of the two modes is active.

Open

RapidPlan Create (with Roadmap mode active)

Menu Bar

Open

The menu bar contains the File, Edit, Camera and About menus, whose options are described below.

File Menu

New Project

New Project (Ctrl+N) – Create a new project. When RapidPlan Create opens up the first time, the application will open in Model Mode in a new project.

Save Project

Save Project (Ctrl+S) - Saves the current project. The first time you save a project, you will need to create and name new folder in which to save the project. After that, the save command will save the project to that folder.

Save Project As…

Save Project As… (Ctrl+Shift+S) - Copies the current project to a new location and a new name you choose.

Open Project

Open Project - Displays the project directory, from which you choose an existing project. The current project will be closed and the chosen project loaded into RapidPlan Create.

When opening a project, you may see the “auto save found” dialog if the application was terminated without manual saving of the latest file. If you want to recover the latest unsaved file, press yes.

Open Recent Project

Open Recent Project - Displays a submenu of recent projects from which to choose.

Import Frames

Import frame data from another project or from a spreadsheet, which has been saved as a .txt or .csv file using either comma or space delimiters. The selection is available in Model Mode only and is disabled in Roadmap Mode. If the imported frames' names already exist in the project, a pop up dialog is enabled to allow users to replace or skip the frame(s) with duplicate names.

Import Frames Dialog and duplicate names popup dialog

File - The name of a .txt or .csv file.

Each line of the file must contain only the information of one frame. The file cannot have empty lines. The names of the frames must follow RapidPlan Create naming conventions. The engineering units of the frames are based on current project settings. The example above uses engineering units next to the numbers. There is no obligation of having these units to be the same as project-set engineering units. However, the units used in this example(next to the numbers) are optional and if they’re omitted only then project-set units will be used.

Browse - Browse your file manager to open a .txt or .csv file, which can be imported. The default file location is your home folder.

Parent Frame - The parent frame for which the frame is to be imported. The selection is from the drop-down list of existing frames in the project. The default selection is the Origin.

Line Delimiter - Select Space, Comma or Tab as the delimiter for the imported file. (In this example, the delimiter is a space.

Include names on each line - Check the box if you want to include the names on each line of the imported file in your RapidPlan Create project. In this example, the names of the imported frames are rear_bottom_align, rear_top_align, front_bottom_align, etc. and they do follow RapidPlan Create naming conventions.

Name prefix - If the imported file does not include frame names on each line, you can add a name prefix to each frame. The imported frame names will start with the prefix, followed by the 0-based line number of each imported frame. For example, if Name Prefix = “newframe”, then imported frames will be newframe0, newframe1, newframe2, etc.

Import Targets

Import targets from a file of .txt or .csv format. This dialog is similar to the Import Frames dialog but is available in Roadmap Mode only and is disabled in Model Mode. Imported targets can be duplicates.

Import Targets Dialog

File - The name of a .txt or .csv file. Each line of the file must contain exactly one target’s information. The file cannot have empty lines. The names of the targets must follow RapidPlan Create naming conventions.

Browse - Browse your file manager to open a .txt or a .csv file, which can be imported. The default file location is your home folder.

Import As - Select the format of the imported targets as either Pose Coordinates or as a robot’s joint configurations.

Import as Joint Configurations - Import targets with the joint configurations of a robot preset. The engineering units can be specified for each value, e.g., rad or °. If engineering units are specified, they must be defined for all values. If the engineering units are not specified, the project settings will be applied to the coordinates values. The imported targets may also have robot driver indices included, e.g., J0, J1…etc. The driver indices must be defined in the first line and the number of indices must match the number of joint configuration values for each target.

Export Frames

Export frame data to a .txt or .csv file using either comma or space delimiters. Export frame data can be selected in either Model Mode or Roadmap Mode.

Export Frames Dialog

File - A .txt or .csv file.

Browse - The default location for the exported file is the home folder of the current user.

Parent Frame - A parent frame for the targets to be exported. The selection is from the drop-down list of the existing frames. The default selection is the Origin.

Line Delimiter - select Space, Comma or Tab as the delimiter for the exported file.

Include names on each line - Check to include frame names on each line.

Include units - Check to include engineering units for each frame’s coordinates values.

Export Targets

Export target data to a .txt or .csv file using either comma or space delimiters. Export target data can be selected in either Model Mode or Roadmap Mode.

Export Targets Dialog

File - a .txt or .csv file.

Browse - The export file location, which defaults to the home folder of the current user.

Export As - To select the format of the exported targets as either Pose Coordinates or as a robot’s joint configurations.

Export as Pose Coordinates - Export targets with x, y, z, r, p, y pose coordinates.

Export as Joint Configurations - Export targets as joint configurations of a robot preset. Only targets assigned to the selected robot preset will be exported.

Export Target Sequence

Export target sequence information, including joint configurations at each via location, connection types, etc. to a .txt file using comma, space, or tab delimiters.

Export Target Sequence Dialog

File - a .txt file.

Browse - The export file location, which defaults to the home folder of the current user.

Target Sequence - The name of the target sequence to be exported (selected from the Property Tree).

Robot - The robot containing the target sequence.

Robot Preset - The name of the robot preset containing the target sequence.

Export As - Joint Configurations is the only option.

Line Delimiter - Select Space, Comma or Tab as the delimiter for the exported file.

Include names on each line - Check to include target names on each line.

Include units - Check to include engineering units for each target's joint configurations values.

Include driver indices - Check to include driver indices, e.g., J0, J1, etc., for each target's joint configurations values.

Project Settings

Units - Set the length, angle, and area measurement units for your model; set how many decimal places to display for the desired level of precision. The default values are mm, °, mm2.

Voxel Size - Size of the voxel for collision detection calculation. The minimum value is 2mm. The recommended value, which is also the default value, is 20 mm. This is only used for robot-robot collision checking.

Robot Dilation - Robot dilation is used to increase the voxelization volume of every robot to avoid collisions with other robots, or DSM/RapidSense voxels. The minimum value is 2mm. The recommended value, which is also the default value, is 15mm. You can only change the dilation value in Model Mode.

Robot-World Clearance - Defines minimum distance that should be respected by Rapid Plan during motion planning and roadmap creation for a robot. Currently, this is used for a complete robot-to-world collision checking and in planned connections (Auto-Connect). The default Robot-World clearance value is 0.1 mm. While the default clearance value for Auto-Connect, as accessible under the Roadmap Mode - Connect - Auto-Connect dialog, is 10mm, the clearance value accepted here cannot be lower than the value specified under Robot-World clearance.

Scene - Display or hide edges on robots and other objects in the workcell, and choose the type of robot drag mode to be used: Natural or Screen Y.

Close Application

Close Application - Exit the application with the option to save or not save a project.

Edit Menu

Undo

Undo (Ctrl+Z) undoes your last action. Note that Undo is available for most – but not all – actions.

Redo

Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z) – Redo an action that has been undone.

Cut

Cut (Ctrl+X) – Cut the selected item(s).

Copy

Copy (Ctrl+C) - Copy the selected item(s).

Paste

Paste (Ctrl+V) - Paste an item or items that have been copied or cut.

General Rules for Cut/Copy/Paste

• Any robot and/or object can be copied but the pasted result will be weak-mated.

• Robots can be copied as a whole object only. However, selecting only links or a robot TCP is enough to trigger the copy of the whole robot.

• When a robot is being copied, all robot presets that are created for the robot will be copied, with each preset information copied as much is possible, i.e., the robot TCP’s and assigned states will be copied.

• Unlike robots, part(s) of an object can be copied.

• Anything that is attached or assigned to copied objects, for example, targets or frames, will also be copied.

• Frames and targets cannot be copied without the parent item.

• If copied items have a direct connection between each other, for example, joints or mates, they will be copied as well.

• In case of mates, all mate states, i.e., object states, will be copied as well.

• No roadmap data is copied at any time, e.g., target assignments, roadmap connections, and auto-connects cannot be copied.

• Disable collision checking for objects persist in the copied object.

Camera

• Perspective - Option for viewing the workcell in which the objects in the 3D View are presented in two dimensions while still displaying the effect of distance.

• Orthographic - Option for viewing the workcell in which the parallel lines of the shape of objects in 3D View are depicted as orthogonal (at right angles) to the projection plane.

About

About RapidPlan Create

Displays the version number and build ID for the current RapidPlan Create software.

License Info

Displays information about the license and allows user to install a new license.

Mode Selector

Choose here between Model Mode and Roadmap Mode. A new project always begins in Model Mode.

Rules of Mode Transitioning

• RapidPlan Create will display feedback messages when you transition from one mode to the other.

• The Undo history and copy and paste cache will be preserved.

When Moving from Model Mode to Roadmap Mode

RapidPlan Create will retain or remove target assignments, based on changes made in Model mode regarding:

• Adding or removing joints

• Changes to robot presets

• Any additional kinematic chain/TCP changes on a given robot

• When the relative offset between a target and a robot base has changed so the robot configuration can’t reach its target

If there are no changes in the above categories, the target assignments will still be retained.

RapidPlan Create verifies project integrity during the transition. The transition may take some time.

If the project is unfinished under Model Mode, the transition to Roadmap Mode will be disabled. A project is considered unfinished if any of the following are true:

• Free joints have been assigned without a robot.

• There are joints with duplicate driver indexes.

• There are objects/robots that are not mated to the world.

When Moving from Roadmap Mode to Model Mode

There is no restriction moving from Roadmap Mode to Model Mode. However, all validation states will be reset and auto-connects are invalidated during the transition. Once back to Roadmap mode, all roadmaps must be re-validated and this change may result in different generated paths based on the previous changes.

To ensure motion paths are maintained the same during transition, convert auto-connects to targets and direct connections.

Tool Bar

Quick-access pushbuttons are arranged from left to right, based on the sequence of the workflow in Model Mode or in Roadmap Mode of RapidPlan Create.

Toolbar in Model Mode

Much of the creation, modifying, and measuring of the workcell starts here. The Tool Bar contains buttons for adding robots and robot presets, objects and object states, setting robot dynamics, creating mates, joints, frames, a tool for taking measurements of the model, and tool for disabling collision checks for static objects.

Toolbar in Roadmap Mode

Much of the robots' target management and robots' motion planning starts here. The Tool Bar contains target creation, target sequencing, and target assignment functions; and inspection and validation of the collision-free robot motion planning. You can also modify collision checking for parts of the project export the final workcell model project from here.

3D View

The interactive view of the workcell where you can see and modify the model in Model mode or build a roadmap in Roadmap mode. Also known as the canvas.

Cursor coordinates

The values in the lower left corner of the 3D View give the current location of the cursor in 3D space.

Frame Rate

The frame rate, aka frame per second that is a metric to indicate amount of images a display can render per second. It is located on the bottom right corner

Collision View

Turning off collision view will disable the animation of collision rendering (red in color). For more information, see Model Mode | Collision View

The Property Tree

The components of the workcell model (robots, objects, mates, targets, etc.) are listed here. You can select items, display more details, and delete or edit items.

Only items that are allowed in the current mode are accessible in the property tree.

The property tree view can be filtered based on texts in the search box.

Expand/Reduce

Press “>” on the left of an object from the property tree to expand.

Press “V” on the left of an object from the property tree to reduce.

Visibility

You can change the level of visibility for items in the 3D View.

Context Menus

Context menus are displayed when you right-click on an item in the property tree. These submenus differ depending on what has been selected. Specific options are illustrated below, for each type of item in the property tree.)

Workcell

The workcell is made up of the origin and the floor. The origin is the root of the workcell; everything needs to be attached to, or defined by, the transforms of this point in space.

General Context Items

Undo - Undoes the last action. (Available for most but not all actions.)

Undo Set Visibility - Undoes the way the current visibility for the item is set.

Cut (Ctrl+X) - Cuts the selected item.

Copy (Ctrl+C) - Copies the selected item.

Paste(Ctrl+V) - Pastes an item that has been copy or cut.

Zoom to fit - Zooms the 3D View to focus on the origin.

Hide <name> - Hides the display of the property tree items in the 3D View.

Show only <name> - Only the selected property item is displayed in the 3D View.

Delete <name> - Deletes the named property tree item.

Rename <name> - Enters a new name for the selected object.

Edit <name> - Displays the Edit dialog for the named object.

Origin

Visibility (eye) Icon Behavior on Origin:

• Visible =Visibility(eye) icon displayed on hover

• Hidden =Visibility(eye) icon displayed fulltime

Context Menu

Floor

Visibility (eye) Icon Behavior on Floor:

• Visible =Visibility (eye) icon displayed on hover

• Hidden =Visibility (eye) icon displayed fulltime

Context Menu

Edit Floor

Displays the Edit Floor dialog.

You can adjust the size of the floor and its grid using Step Count and Step Size, in X and Y directions.

Robots

The names of robots that are not yet mated are displayed in the Property Tree in blue text. When mated, the names display in black text.

Links

Links are the parts of the robot arm connected by joints. Joints allow the links to move.

Base

The robot base is the local origin frame of an object/link that has the first robot joint as a parent. The base of a robot can be moveable or non-moveable, depending on the robot’s kinematic chain. A linear rail is an example of a moveable robot base.

Default_TCP

The default Tool Center Point for the robot, provided by the robot’s manufacturer. The TCP is a special frame often positioned at the robot's end-effector, which is usually the tip of a gripper or welding tool.

• Robot TCP may be reset to default TCP after changing a frame parent that has tcp as descendant

• Robot TCP may be reset to default TCP after changing a mate parent that has tcp as descendant

Context Menu

Active Preset - Choose from among the robot presets in the submenu which is the active preset.

Objects

An object is any 3D model in the workcell that represents an obstacle that robots need to avoid (walls, boxes, etc). Objects can be simple primitives like cubes, cylinders, or spheres, or CAD models (stl, step, stp, dae files). End of arm tooling, for example, a gripper or weld gun, is also an object.

The names of objects that are not yet mated are displayed in the Property Tree in blue text. When mated, the names display in black text.

Subassemblies

A subassembly is a CAD model made up of multiple components. These components are displayed individually within the Property Tree and can be treated as individual parts that can be moved, hidden, deleted, etc. In the example below, the object workcell is made up of the parts latch, base plate, BRACKET, etc.

Context Menu

Object with subassemblies only

Object with subassemblies and object states

Set Color of Object <name> - Display the Select Color dialog where you can change the display color of the selected object.

Note: The following options are only available when the object is mated to a robot.

Mates

A mate is a way to constrain geometry, “gluing” one thing to another with a fixed transform. Mates are used to attach robots and objects to frames. A mate has a parent frame, a child frame, and an offset (position and rotation). When mated, the object is no longer moveable (except for prismatic and resolute joints).

Parent/Child

Parenting is a way to link items in a hierarchy. The child item is subordinate to and is defined by and/or offset from the parent item, using frames. In the example below Floor (1,0), a frame on the floor’s grid, is the parent to the child Robot1 (Robot’s base). This is accomplished by mating one of the Robot base to the frame on the Floor.

Context Menu

Mates with fixed Parent and Child (fixed states)

Mates with multiple states

Active State - Choose from among the mate states in the submenu which is active.

Joint

A joint is similar to a mate (geometry that is constrained with a fixed transform), but with one degree of freedom. Revolute joints allow a link to rotate. Prismatic joints allow a link to slide linearly along a single axis, for example, a rail. Joints can be native (if they are built-in in the original robots) or user-defined (if they were added by users).

Context Menu

Double clicking a joint in the property tree will open the Joint dialog.

Frames

A coordinate system used as a way to orient the world in which you are working. It is a 3D point in space with X, Y, Z coordinates as well as Rx, Ry, Rz rotation information. Its purpose is to make other 3D objects relate to it by using its coordinate system. In Model Mode, you can, among other things, mate items to a frame, measure distances between frames, and convert a frame into a tool center point (TCP).

Context Menu

Double clicking a frame will open the frame dialog.

Targets

An X,Y,Z, Rx, Ry, Rz node in a roadmap. A target is a desired position and orientation that a robot end-effector should be able to move to. Like a frame, a target is specified by users as a position in Cartesian coordinates and a rotation, relative to a parent frame.

Context Menu

Double clicking a target from the property tree will open the target dialog.

Filtering Sets of Targets in Roadmap Mode

You can filter which sets of targets are displayed on the canvas in Roadmap Mode. Right-click on the robot on the canvas or in the Property Tree:

You can then select which sets of targets (assigned, unassigned, etc.) to display or hide.

Target Sequences

A target sequence is a series of targets you design so that the robot will follow them in order.

Context Menu

Double clicking a target sequence will open the target dialog.

Create Auto-Connect - Create auto-connects between adjacent pairs of targets in the sequence. This option will trigger the Create Auto-Connect for Target Sequence dialog box.

Auto-Connects

A method to automatically find collision-free paths between a number of targets. An Auto-connect takes a number of targets as input and returns a set of new via points and edges that are needed to move from any input target to any other input target without collisions. The connections created between the two targets will be the shortest paths possible. Auto-connects are non-deterministic, so whenever they are validated, their paths may change.

Auto-connects status

Validated:

Not validated:

Validated with error. (Double click to re-open the auto-connect dialog to edit and check error messages):

Context Menu

Convert to Manual Connections - Convert a valid auto-connect, including waypoints, to a series of targets and manual connections. After conversion, the auto-connect will be automatically deleted.

Double clicking an auto-connect will open the dialog.

Collision

Collision Rules

Provides ability to disable collision checking for a robot/preset roadmap or part of that roadmap. Collision rules allows to govern roadmap for a robot/preset as this rule is taken into consideration during path planning.

NOTE: Validation needs to be done after creation or edition of any such rule to view the change the change in roadmap.

Context Menu

The context menu can be triggered by right-clicking any rule under the “Collision Rules” in the property tree.

Globally Disable Object

Provides a list of objects that have collision checking disabled. Objects can be added or removed from the list.

NOTE: Validation needs to be done after any change in this list for the computed path to take the same into account.

Context Menu

The context menu can be triggered from any object under the “Globally Disable Object” tree. Enabling or disabling collision checking is also possible from the Object context menu.

Collision Analysis

Generated list of pairs of links/objects in the project that (a) will never collide, (b) are always equidistant, or (c) almost always collide. All these detected pairs can be selected, or a subset of them, to disable collision checking for path planning.

Context Menu

The context menu can be triggered from any pairs under the “Collision Analysis” tree.

Clearance Rules

Provides ability to set clearance rule for a robot/preset roadmap or part of that roadmap.

Clearance rules, like collision rules, allows to govern roadmap for a robot/preset as this rule is taken into consideration during path planning.

For more information, please refer to to the Roadmap Mode section.

Context Menu

The context menu can be triggered by right-clicking any rule under the “Clearance Rules” in the property tree.

Status Bar

RapidPlan Create displays feedback messages and progress information here.

Controlling the Layout/3D View

Pan the view – Press and hold the scroll wheel and drag the mouse.

Rotate the view – Press and hold the right mouse button and drag the mouse.

Zoom in and out – Spin the scroll wheel up and down. 

Screen Control Widgets

Resize panels horizontally – Hover your cursor over the vertical line separating the 3D View from the Property Tree. When your cursor becomes a two-headed arrow, you can click and drag to resize the 3D View relative to the Property Tree.

Orientation Cube

Snap to the Top, Bottom, Back, Front, Right or Left views automatically by clicking on the desired view on the widget in the upper right corner of the 3D view.

Click on the corners of the cube for angled views of the workcell.

Click on the edges of the cube to reverse the view.

Moving the Robot

Access the Robot Jog dialog as linked here and described below. The robot’s jog widgets are displayed on the canvas along with the Jog dialog.

Robot Control Widgets

The robot control widgets are used to move the robot quickly and easily.

White ball at the Tool Center Point

Click and hold on the white ball located at the TCP and drag it to move the robot. This is generally the fastest way to move the robot’s TCP to the desired location.

Jog ball will snap to visible targets or frames only by default.

X, Y, and Z Translation Arrows and Squares, and Rotation Curves

Click and hold on the X, Y, or Z axis arrows and drag. The robot will translate along the selected axis. It will move in discrete distance units as defined in the Jog dialog’s Translation Step field.

Select an X, Y, or Z square to move the robot along the designated plane. In this example, the robot is locked to Z but its X and Y positions can change:

Change the roll, pitch or yaw of the TCP by selecting an X, Y, or Z axis arc and dragging your mouse. The position stays the same, but the rotation changes by increments of the value in the Jog Robot  dialog’s  Rotation Step field.

Robot Jog Dialog

To access the Jog dialog:

• Double-click the robot in the 3D View or the name of the robot in the property tree.

• Right-click on the name of the robot and select Jog Robot from the submenu.

• Right-click on the robot in the 3D View or its name in the property tree and select Jog Robot from the context menu.

• Click Jog icon on the toolbar

If there are multiple robots in the workcell, each robot will have its own tab in the dialog. The currently selected robot is displayed.

Note: Whether you are in Model Mode or Roadmap Mode, the Jog dialogs are nearly the same. The difference is that in the Model Mode Jog dialog, you can add a frame from the current TCP; in Roadmap Mode, you can add a target from the current TCP. Another difference is that collision checking is only available in Roadmap Mode.

Live Robot Connection

Live Robot Connection is an experimental feature and only tested with limited number of robot brands. This feature connects to the robot controller directly and read robot joint state in Model mode or Roadmap mode. Please consult with RTR engineers regarding supported robot brands and connection parameters.

While connected, a user can create frames or targets from the live robot joint state.

Many robot controllers allow only one TCP connection to the control interface. To establish a Live Robot Connection, any RTR project must be unloaded in the Control Panel.

Live Robot Connection - expand to enter parameters to connect to a live robot .

Robot - The name of the currently selected robot.

Presets - The robot presets are accessible via these tabs.

Translation Step – The distance to be traveled by the robot’s TCP in each translation step.

Rotation Step – The degree of rotation for each rotation step.

Add Frame/Target From Current TCP – Create a frame (Model Mode) or target (Roadmap Mode) using the current position and orientation of the TCP. You can change the name of the frame/target as desired.

Add button - Adds the frame/target.

Joint Jog – Displays the current joint angles. Use the sliders to rotate the robot’s joints.

Tool Jog

Base - The frame/target created can be relative to the Origin or to the robot base.

TCP – Select the TCP from a list of TCPs. (There is only one TCP in this example, so the list box is not present.) This field displays the robot’s current TCP.

Snap to Frame/Target, Key Frame, Edge, Face, or Edge/Face:

• Frame/Target – Snaps the TCP ball to frames or targets, which would allow you to easily create multiple  points of interest. In this snap mode, when a user drags the jog ball to an assigned target, or, double-clicks a frame or a target, the jog ball will automatically snap to the frame using an IK solution that is seeded from the current position of the robot, or snap to a target location using the assigned configuration associated with the target.

• Key Frame – Snaps the TCP ball to keyframes, which would allow you to easily create multiple  points of interest. In this snap mode, when a user drags the jog ball to a key frame, the jog ball will automatically snap to the key frame location.

• Face – Snaps the TCP’s white ball so that you can only move it along the face of a part. This option does not snap the TCP to any of the keyframes on the face.

• Edge – As with Snap to Face, Snap to Edge locks the white ball of the TCP to an edge of a part, which would allow you to set multiple positions along the edge.

• Edge/Face – A combination of the two, snapping the TCP ball to a face and/or edge.

X, Y, Z and Rx, Ry, Rz – Display of current position and rotation of the selected TCP. These fields are not editable.

Number Solutions – RPC automatically generates and continuously updates Inverse Kinematic solutions for achieving the TCP location and rotation using different, possible joint angles. You can click on the arrows to step through the solutions. The robot in the 3D View moves to each possible solution and the Jog Robot dialog displays its associated joint angles.

Keyboard Shortcuts