Case Study: ABB achieves lifelong robot accuracy with Hexagon Leica Laser Trackers

ABB has two adjacent work cells for calibrating robots, each of them measuring 10 x 10 metres. Between the cells stands the Leica Laser Tracker

The customer, ABB, a leading global industrial robot manufacturer, required a method to guarantee and maintain the absolute positional accuracy of its robots throughout their entire lifecycle to bridge the gap between theoretical CAD models and real-world performance. The vendor, Hexagon, through its Leica Geosystems division, provided high-precision Leica Laser Tracker and Leica Total Station systems to enable this innovative calibration process.

Hexagon's solution involved using its laser tracking technology to measure the precise 3D positions of robots, allowing ABB to generate unique compensation parameters for each unit. This process, known as Absolute Accuracy, reduced the typical robot positioning error from 8-15 mm down to an average of just 0.5 mm. The result is that ABB can now offer its customers robots with lifelong precision, enabling immediate high-accuracy installation and operation, and can also perform this calibration on-site at customer facilities using Hexagon's portable equipment.

ABB