Abstract: A welding system includes a collaborative robot, a robot controller, a welding torch having an end located at a tool center point (TCP), a welding power supply, and a teach pendant. The teach pendant includes a UI application configured for programming welding points and parameters. In a first operation mode, the UI application displays the plurality of welding points in a list that includes a highlighted closest welding point having a three-dimensional position that is closest to the TCP. The highlighted closest welding point automatically updates upon manual movement TCP. In a second operation mode, the list includes a highlighted selected welding point, and the UI further displays a selector button that shows a straight line distance of the TCP to a three-dimensional position of the highlighted selected welding point. Activation of the selector button causes the TCP to move to the position of the highlighted selected welding point.

Abstract: A method of path planning via a collaborative robot system is provided. The method includes programming a first welding path along a first welding seam of a first part of a sequence of multiple identical parts to be welded by a user moving a welding torch along the first welding seam to define a first weld pattern. The user positions the welding torch at a start position of the first part and an end position of a last part of the sequence which are recorded. The user informs the system of the number of parts in the sequence. The system calculates a welding path for each part based on the start position, the end position, the number of parts, and the first welding path, thus defining a weld pattern for each part. The system automatically records each weld pattern independently, each of which can be independently modified by the user.