The work envelope is the geometric volume encompassing all possible positions an industrial robot can extend its tooling. It dictates where fixtures, conveyors, and safety fences must be placed on the factory floor. The shape of this envelope depends heavily on the robot's kinematics, forming a sphere for articulated arms, a cylinder for SCARA robots, or a rectangular box for Cartesian gantries.
Heard on the job
Make sure the new welding fixture is completely inside the work envelope, or axis three will hit its hard stop before reaching the back seam.
Insider tip
Always check the work envelope diagram in the manufacturer's spec sheet before designing a cell layout, keeping in mind that adding a massive end-effector reduces the effective reach.
Also heard as
- reach envelope
Do not mix it up with
- Workspace: Work envelope refers to the physical outer boundary of reach used for floor planning, while workspace refers to the mathematical set of all reachable points.