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Robot Exporter
Tutorial
Provided to you by BXD
The Synthesis Robot Exporter allows you to export robot models from Inventor
and configure them to work in the simulator. Although you can edit many aspects
of your robot, exporting it is a simple process.
To begin, open up Inventor with the CAD model of your robot loaded. For the
current version of the exporter, Inventor must be open for the exporter to pull
the information it needs.
Now open the Robot Exporter through the main Synthesis Application. Once you
click on “Robot Exporter” the main application should minimize and a new
window will open up.
This is the Robot Exporter. Here you will be able to export your CAD model of a
robot into a model useable by the simulator.
Start by going to File -> Load from Inventor, or use the keyboard shortcut,
Control + L. This will open a new window where we will be pulling the CAD
model’s information from inventor.
Click the Add from Inventor button. A list of all the subassemblies on your robot
that are connected by joints will show up after a short period of time.
These are called nodes. Before you export the robot, you can change some
settings for each node. The first column is what the joint is attached to. The
second column is the name of the joint. These two columns’ values cannot be
changed in the exporter. The three columns that follow are the most important.
To change a value, double click on it.
The Accurate Colliders column allows you to export certain assemblies or parts
with complex collision shapes. For example, it would be used on an assembly that
is used to pick up a tote or container. It would not be used on a wheel, as it would
take more time than is necessary on a simple shape.
The Multi-Color Part column allows you to force assemblies or parts to export
with multiple colors per part. Depending on the complexity of the part, however,
the exporter might do this anyway, depending on if the part is colored on the part
level or the assembly level.
The High-Resolution Part column allows you to export parts and assemblies at a
higher resolution than normal.
When you’re finished, click “Start Exporter” and wait for it to complete. This may
take some time depending on the quality and complexity of the model.
After the export process is completed, close out the Export window.
Your robot should now be visible in the main window, with a list the joints
underneath, and a list of the meshes to the left.
The Robot Viewer allows you to view the robot and select parts by clicking on
them. To select multiple parts, hold the control key and click on the parts you
want to select. The camera controls are the same as Inventor; hold the middle
mouse button to pan, and the middle mouse button + shift to rotate. You can
also use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
The Joint Editor holds information about the robot’s joints. By right clicking on
selected joints, you can edit information about the joint driver, the sensors
attached to the joint, and the limits of motion on the joint. You can double click
on highlighted values to edit them.
The Mesh Editor lets you edit some properties of the robot such as mass and
visual properties. You can double click on highlighted values to edit them.
To give the robot some functionality in the simulator, add some basic joint
information to its wheels. Select the wheels on one side of the robot and right
click on the selected wheels in the join editor. Select Edit Driver and a window
will popup.
Under Joint Driver, select the type of joint (motor in our case) and more options
will popup.
Check the Drive Wheel option, set the PWM Port to the same port it is connected
to in the code, and then select the type of wheel it is under Wheel Type. You can
also set the friction level and gear ratio. Hit Save and close the window.
After editing more of the joints to your satisfaction as well as the rest of the
wheels, you are done! Just go to File -> Save and choose a location to where the
nodes will be created (choose a folder to keep things organized). You now have a
functional robot to use in the simulator!