Okuzeka
Robotics & Automation vocabulary · Motion and Kinematics

Tool center point

Meaning in robotics & automation, with examples

/ˌtuːl ˈsentər pɔɪnt/nounCommon term

In robotics & automation, tool center point means: The reference point at the working tip of the robot's tool, such as the tip of a welding wire or the center between gripper fingers. The robot moves and positions this point.

In Turkish: takım merkez noktası, TCP, takım uç noktası

How it is used

Almost always called the TCP. Programmers define, teach, measure or calibrate the TCP, and a wrong TCP makes the robot rotate around the wrong point. When a tool is bent after a crash, the TCP has to be checked again.

Example sentences

  1. After the crash the torch was bent, so we had to teach the tool center point again.

  2. Set the tool center point between the gripper fingers, not at the flange.

Common collocations

  • define the TCP
  • TCP calibration
  • TCP speed
  • tool frame
  • end effectorThe tool fixed to the end of a robot arm that does the actual work, for example a gripper, a welding torch, a spray gun or a screwdriver.
  • coordinate frameA set of X, Y and Z axes with a fixed origin, used to describe positions and orientations. Robots use several frames, such as world, base, tool and user frames.
  • calibrateTo adjust or measure a robot, sensor or instrument against a known reference so that its readings or positions are correct.
  • linear moveA robot motion in which the tool center point travels in a straight line from its current position to the target, at a programmed speed.
  • teachIn robotics, to move the robot to a position and save that position in the program, so the robot can return to it automatically later.

More terms: Motion and Kinematics

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: