METHOD FOR CONTROLLING PRESSURIZATION DIRECTION

PURPOSE:To permit easy control of the pressurization direction of a robot operation by calculating the unit vectors in the pressurization direction to a working point by means of long and short probes successively mounted on a pressurizing means and correcting the pressurization direction in accordance with the calculated values. CONSTITUTION:Two pieces of the long and short probes 5, 6 are successively mounted on the pressurizing rod 3 of a welding gun 1 which is the pressurizing means mounted on a wrist 2 of an industrial robot and the respective top ends are aligned to the pressing point position 4 of the working point. The unit vectors l1, m1, n1 in the pressurization direction are calculated and stored by a robot control device from the three-dimensional coordinates of the respective positions of the gun 1 at this time. The unit vectors l2, m2, n2 in the pressurization direction are calculated in the same manner as mentioned above when the pressurization direction by the rod 3 is changed by an exchange of the gun 1. The deviation value thereof is calculated by the above- mentioned control device in accordance with both the vectors mentioned above and the data on the robot operation is so corrected as to maintain the specified pressurization direction, by which the control of the pressurization direction is executed.