An offline programming method and relevant parameter resolution process were proposed to economically enhance the efficiency of industrial robot which used for light cutting of aerospace aluminum alloy during digital airplane assembly. Based on automatic programming tool(APT) cutter location source files and interface programs, the cutter location data from CAD/CAM system were integrated into the robot programming system. According to robot control requirements, cutter location information was transformed into the move path of end effecter and the robot program by post processing. Finally a kinetic emulation module was used to validate the robot program. The results of example showed that this method is effective for control program generation of complex workpiece light cutting process using industrial robot, and the programming efficiency is significantly improved compared with the teaching programming method.
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