Developed by the French company Kineo CAM, Kineo Path Planner™ is a software tool designed for automated motion planning in computer-aided design. Kineo Path Planner allows the operator to automatically calculate, in a 3D environment, the optimal trajectory of an articulated system (manipulator robot) or other systems (mechanical assembly). The software ensures the determination of assembly or extraction paths in continuous, collision-free motion.
Kineo Path Planner provides solutions that are technological innovations in specific phases of product design and numerical model correction by integrating into various design systems already used by operators. Thus, all requirements for assembly, disassembly, maintenance, and interchangeability of parts applicable in the automotive or aerospace industries are taken into account from the moment of product design.
Research work in the field of motion trajectory was previously performed manually by specialists on an interactive basis. Today, Kineo Path Planner provides access to this field for a wide range of non-expert users, turning hours into minutes, and in areas where other solutions do not lead to results or require significantly more time. Kineo Path Planner can be used without any special parameterization and allows the user to utilize and save calculation results.
“Programs using traditional methods in this field have not been particularly convincing until now. For example, to compare calculation times, we re-conducted studies on the assembly and disassembly of certain instruments placed in the engine struts and the flap control system of the Airbus A340 aircraft. In the first case, using previous tools, it took us about 2 hours to determine the optimal trajectory; Kineo did it in 2 to 5 minutes depending on the element. In the second case, Kineo found a solution in 35 seconds, while it took us 2 hours” – this is how Ludovic Graux, Digital Mock-Up Visualization Methods Manager at Airbus, presents the Kineo program.
During the review of a digital mock-up, particularly in terms of accessibility, ergonomics, production robotics, and maintenance conditions, Kineo Path Planner takes into account specific geometric requirements (no collision with obstacles) or kinematic requirements (such as robot movements).
Kineo Path Planner uses the latest technology in the field of motion design, based on a probabilistic approach: it automatically finds a solution with minimal calculation time, even for systems with many degrees of freedom in a densely packed environment.
“Using Kineo Path Planner, we were able to quickly detect if any design assumption hindered the movement of a given element. The ability to precisely communicate such information leads to design modifications and the achievement of a new solution. The ability to accurately estimate and solve problems early enough during the design phase is a way to reduce repair costs and increase customer satisfaction,” states Peter Kinch, C3P Supervisor – Service Engineering Operations at Ford.
Kineo Path Planner accurately analyzes the obtained motion trajectories in order to provide valuable information for design, and to propose and precisely present adequate modifications.
You can learn more about Kineo Path Planner at two conferences:
– from June 20 to 21, 2005, in Stuttgart at the «Virtual Product Creation» conference;
– from July 19 to 21 in Montreal at the ISATP 2005 symposium, during the «Mechanical part assembly planning with mannequins» conference.