Introduction_to_RAPID_3HAC029364-001_rev-_en.pdf
Operating manual
Introduction to RAPID
Controller software IRC5
RobotWare 5.0
Operating manual
Introduction to RAPID
RobotWare 5.0
Document ID: 3HAC029364-001
Revision: -
The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by ABB. ABB assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this manual.
Except as may be expressly stated anywhere in this manual, nothing herein shall be construed as any kind of guarantee or warranty by ABB for losses, damages to persons or property, fitness for a specific purpose or the like.
In no event shall ABB be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of this manual and products described herein.
This manual and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without ABB's written permission, and contents thereof must not be imparted to a third party nor be used for any unauthorized purpose. Contravention will be prosecuted.
Additional copies of this manual may be obtained from ABB at its then current charge.
© Copyright 2007 ABB All rights reserved.
ABB AB
Robotics Products
SE-721 68 Västerås
Sweden
Table of Contents
2 RAPID robot functionality 23
4 Data with multiple values 43
5 RAPID instructions and functions 47
Index 51
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Table of Contents
4 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
Overview
Overview
About This Manual
This manual is intended as a first introduction to RAPID. A lot of functionality in RAPID is left out, but the most essential parts are described so that it can be easily understood for everybody. This manual does not make you an expert RAPID programmer, but it can help you understand the concept of programming with RAPID. The details can always be found in the reference manuals.
Usage
This manual should be read before starting to program. It does not contain everything you need to know, but you need to be familiar with most things in this manual, before starting to write a RAPID program.
This manual does not replace the educational courses in RAPID, but can complement it.
Who Should Read This Manual?
This manual is intended for someone with no previous experience in programming, e.g. a robot operator who wants to learn how to program the robot.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this manual.
Organization of Chapters
The manual is organized in the following chapters:
Chapter Contents
1. RAPID basics The fundamentals of programming. This functionality is similar in most high level programming languages.
2. RAPID robot functionality Describes the functionality that makes RAPID unique, i.e. move instructions, I/O signals and communication with a FlexPendant.
3. Structure Describes how to create procedures. Also contains a brief introduction to how to apply a structured design of a program.
4. Data with multiple values Describes arrays and complex data types.
5. RAPID instructions and functions
6. What to read next
A short explanation of what the RAPID instructions and functions are.
Where to find more information if you want to continue your studies of RAPID.
References
Reference
Technical reference manual - RAPID overview
Technical reference manual - RAPID Instructions, Functions and
Data types
Technical reference manual - RAPID kernel
Operating manual - IRC5 with FlexPendant
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Document Id
3HAC16580-1
3HAC16581-1
3HAC16585-1
3HAC16590-1
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5
Overview
Continued
Revisions
-
Revision Description
First edition
6 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
Product documentation, M2004
Product documentation, M2004
General
The robot documentation is divided into a number of categories. This listing is based on the type of information contained within the documents, regardless of whether the products are standard or optional. This means that any given delivery of robot products will not contain all documents listed, only the ones pertaining to the equipment delivered.
However, all documents listed may be ordered from ABB. The documents listed are valid for
M2004 robot systems.
Product manuals
All hardware, robots and controllers, will be delivered with a Product manual that contains:
•
Safety information
•
Installation and commissioning (descriptions of mechanical installation, electrical connections)
•
Maintenance (descriptions of all required preventive maintenance procedures including intervals)
•
Repair (descriptions of all recommended repair procedures including spare parts)
•
Additional procedures, if any (calibration, decommissioning)
•
Reference information (article numbers for documentation referred to in Product manual, procedures, lists of tools, safety standards)
•
Part list
•
Foldouts or exploded views
•
Circuit diagrams
Technical reference manuals
The following manuals describe the robot software in general and contain relevant reference information:
•
RAPID Overview: An overview of the RAPID programming language.
•
RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types: Description and syntax for all
RAPID instructions, functions and data types.
•
System parameters: Description of system parameters and configuration workflows.
Application manuals
Specific applications (for example software or hardware options) are described in
Application manuals. An application manual can describe one or several applications.
An application manual generally contains information about:
•
The purpose of the application (what it does and when it is useful)
•
What is included (for example cables, I/O boards, RAPID instructions, system parameters, CD with PC software)
•
How to use the application
•
Examples of how to use the application
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7
Product documentation, M2004
Continued
Operating manuals
This group of manuals is aimed at those having first hand operational contact with the robot, that is production cell operators, programmers and trouble shooters. The group of manuals includes:
•
Emergency safety information
•
Getting started - IRC5 and RobotStudio
•
IRC5 with FlexPendant
•
RobotStudio
•
Trouble shooting - IRC5 for the controller and robot
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Safety
Safety
Safety of personnel
A robot is heavy and extremely powerful regardless of its speed. A pause or long stop in movement can be followed by a fast hazardous movement. Even if a pattern of movement is predicted, a change in operation can be triggered by an external signal resulting in an unexpected movement.
Therefore, it is important that all safety regulations are followed when entering safeguarded space.
Safety regulations
Before beginning work with the robot, make sure you are familiar with the safety regulations described in Operating manual - IRC5 with FlexPendant.
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Terminology
Terminology
About the terms
This manual is generally written for beginners, regarding both programming and robots.
However, some terms are used that may be familiar only to those with some knowledge about programming and/or industrial robots. These terms are described in this terminology.
Terms
Term Description
FlexPendant A hand held terminal for controlling a robot system.
Robot controller The robot controller is basically a computer that controls the robot.
Syntax Rules for how a language is allowed to be written. It can be seen as the grammar of the programming language.
The syntax of a programming language is much more strict than in ordinary human language. Humans are intelligent and would understand if I say "I fast run" instead of "I run fast". Computers, on the other hand, are stupid and would not understand anything unless the syntax is absolutely correct.
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1 RAPID basics
1.1. About RAPID
1 RAPID basics
1.1. About RAPID
What is RAPID
If you want a computer to do something, a program is required. RAPID is a programming language for writing such a program.
The native language of computers consists of only zeros and ones. This is virtually impossible for humans to understand. Therefore computers are taught to understand a language that is relatively easy to understand - a high level programming language. RAPID is a high level programming language, it uses some English words (like IF and FOR) to make it understandable for humans.
Simple RAPID program example
Let us look at a simple example to see what a RAPID program can look like:
MODULE MainModule
VAR num length;
VAR num width;
VAR num area;
PROC main() length := 10; width := 5; area := length * width;
TPWrite "The area of the rectangle is " \Num:=area;
END PROC
ENDMODULE
This program will calculate the area of a rectangle and write on the FlexPendant:
The area of the rectangle is 50
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1 RAPID basics
1.2.1. Variables
1.2 RAPID data
1.2.1. Variables
Data types
There are many different data types in RAPID. For now, we will focus on the three general data types:
Data type
num string bool
Description
Numerical data, can be both integer and decimal number. E.g. 10 or
3.14159.
A text string. E.g. "This is a string". Maximum of 80 characters.
A boolean (logical) variable. Can only have the values
TRUE
or
FALSE
.
All other data types are based on these three. If you understand them, how to perform operations on them and how they can be combined to more complex data types, you can easily understand all data types.
Variable characteristics
A variable contains a data value. If the program is stopped and started the variable keeps its value, but if the program pointer is moved to main the variable data value is lost.
Declaring a variable
Declaring a variable is the way of defining a variable name and which data type it should have. A variable is declared using the keyword
VAR
, according to the syntax:
VAR datatype identifier;
Example
VAR num length;
VAR string name;
VAR bool finished;
Assigning values
A value is assigned to a variable using the instruction
:= length := 10; name := "John" finished := TRUE;
Note that
:=
is not an equal sign. It means that the expression to the right is passed to the variable on the left. There can only be a variable to the left of
:=
For example, the following is a correct RAPID code resulting in reg1
having the value 3: reg1 := 2; reg1 := reg1 + 1;
The assignment can be made at the same time as the variable declaration:
VAR num length := 10;
VAR string name := "John";
VAR bool finished := TRUE;
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1 RAPID basics
1.2.2. Persistent variables
1.2.2. Persistent variables
What is a persistent variable
A persistent variable is basically the same as an ordinary variable, but with one important difference. A persistent variable remembers the last value it was assigned, even if the program is stopped and started from the beginning again.
Declaring a persistent variable
A persistent variable is declared using the keyword
PERS
. At declaration an initial value mustbe assigned.
PERS num nbr := 1;
PERS string string1 := "Hello";
Example
Consider the following code example:
PERS num nbr := 1;
PROC main() nbr := 2;
ENDPROC
If this program is executed, the initial value is changed to 2. The next time the program is executed the program code will look like this:
PERS num nbr := 2;
PROC main() nbr := 2;
ENDPROC
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1 RAPID basics
1.2.3. Constants
1.2.3. Constants
What is a constant?
A constant contains a value, just like a variable, but the value is always assigned at declaration and after that the value can never be changed. The constant can be used in the program in the same way as a variable, except that it is not allowed to assign a new value to it.
Constant declaration
The constant is declared using the keyword
CONST
followed by data type, identifier and assignment of a value.
CONST num gravity := 9.81;
CONST string greating := "Hello"
Why use constants?
By using a constant instead of a variable, you can be sure that the value is not changed somewhere in the program.
Using a constant instead of writing the value directly in the program is better if you need to update the program with another value on the constant. Then you only have to change in one place and can be sure you have not forgotten any occurrence of the value.
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1 RAPID basics
1.2.4. Operators
1.2.4. Operators
Numerical operators
These operators operate on the data type num
and return the data type num
. I.e. in the examples below, variables reg1
, reg2
and reg3
are of data type num
.
/
*
Operator Description
-
+ Addition
Subtraction
Unary minus
Multiplication
Division
Example
reg1 := reg2 + reg3; reg1 := reg2 - reg3; reg1 := -reg2; reg1 := reg2 * reg3; reg1 := reg2 / reg3;
Relational operators
These operators return the data type bool
.
In the examples, reg1
and reg2
are data type num
while flag1
is bool
.
Operator
=
<
>
<=
>=
<>
Description
equal to less than greater than less than or equal to greater than or equal to not equal to
Example
flag1 := reg1 = reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
equals reg2 flag1 := reg1 < reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
is less than
reg2 flag1 := reg1 > reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
is greater than reg2 flag1 := reg1 <= reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
is less than or equal to reg2 flag1 := reg1 >= reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
is greater than or equal to reg2 flag1 := reg1 <> reg2; flag1
is
TRUE
if reg1
is not equal to reg2
Logical operators are often used together with the
IF
instruction. For code examples, see
Examples with logical conditions and IF statements on page 18
String operator
Operator Description
+ String concatenation
Example
VAR string firstname := "John";
VAR string lastname := "Smith";
VAR string fullname; fullname := firstname + " " + lastname;
The variable fullname
will contain the string
"John Smith".
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1 RAPID basics
1.3.1. IF THEN
1.3 Controlling the program flow
1.3.1. IF THEN
About the program flow
The program examples we have seen so far are executed sequentially, from top to bottom. For more complex programs, we may want to control which code is executed, in which order, and how many times. First we will have a look at how to set up conditions for if a program sequence should be executed or not.
IF
The
IF
instruction can be used when a set of statements only should be executed if a specified condition is met.
If the logical condition in the
IF
statement is true, then the program code between the keywords
THEN
and
ENDIF
is executed. If the condition is false, that code is not executed and the execution continues after
ENDIF
.
Example
In this example the string string1
is written on the FlexPendant if it is not an empty string.
If string1
is an empty string, i.e. contains no characters, then no action is taken.
VAR string string1 := "Hello";
IF string1 <> "" THEN
TPWrite string1;
ENDIF
ELSE
An
IF
statement can also contain program code to be executed if the condition is false.
If the logical condition in the
IF
statement is true, then the program code between the keywords
THEN
and
ELSE
is executed. If the condition is false, then the code between the keywords
ELSE
and
ENDIF
is executed.
Example
In this example the string string1
is written on the FlexPendant if it is not an empty string.
If string1
is an empty string, then the text "The string is empty" is written.
VAR string string1 := "Hello";
IF string1 <> "" THEN
TPWrite string1;
ELSE
TPWrite "The string is empty";
ENDIF
16
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ELSEIF
Example
1 RAPID basics
1.3.1. IF THEN
Continued
Sometimes you have more than two alternative program sequences. You can then use
ELSEIF to set up several alternatives.
In this example different texts are written depending on the value on the variable time
.
VAR num time := 38.7;
IF time < 40 THEN
TPWrite "Part produced at fast rate";
ELSEIF time < 60 THEN
TPWrite "Part produced at average rate";
ELSE
TPWrite "Part produced at slow rate";
ENDIF
Note that since the first condition is true the first text will be written. The two other texts will not be written (even though it is true that time
is less than 60).
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1 RAPID basics
1.3.2. Examples with logical conditions and IF statements
1.3.2. Examples with logical conditions and IF statements
Example
Use the
IF
statement to determine which text to write on the FlexPendant. Write on the
FlexPendant which part is fastest to produce.
VAR string part1 := "Shaft";
VAR num time1;
VAR string part2 := "Pipe";
VAR num time2;
PROC main() time1 := 41.8; time2 := 38.7;
IF time1 < time2 THEN
TPWrite part1 + " is fastest to produce";
ELSEIF time1 > time2 THEN
TPWrite part2 + " is fastest to produce";
ELSE
TPWrite part1 + " and " + part2 + " are equally fast to produce";
ENDIF
ENDPROC
Example
If it takes more than 60 seconds to produce a part, write a message on the FlexPendant. If the boolean variable full_speed
is
FALSE
the message will tell the operator to increase the robot speed. If full_speed
is
TRUE
, the message will ask the operator to examine the reason for the slow production.
VAR num time := 62.3;
VAR bool full_speed := TRUE;
PROC main()
IF time > 60 THEN
IF full_speed THEN
TPWrite "Examine why the production is slow";
ELSE
TPWrite "Increase robot speed for faster production";
ENDIF
ENDIF
ENDPROC
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1 RAPID basics
1.3.3. FOR loop
1.3.3. FOR loop
Repeating a code sequence
Another way of controlling the program flow is to repeat a program code sequence a number of times.
How does the FOR loop work
The following code will repeat writing "Hello" 5 times:
FOR i FROM 1 TO 5 DO
TPWrite "Hello";
ENDFOR
The syntax of the
FOR
statement is:
FOR counter FROM startvalue TO endvalue DO
program code to be repeated
ENDFOR
The counter does not have to be declared, but acts as a numeric variable inside the
FOR
loop.
The first time the code is executed, the counter has the value specified by the startvalue. The value of the counter is then increased by 1 for each time the code is executed. The last time the code executes is when the counter is equal to endvalue. After that, the execution continues with the programming code after
ENDFOR
.
Using the counter value
The value of the counter can be used in the
FOR
loop.
For example, calculating the sum of all numbers from 1 to 50 (1+2+3+...+49+50) can be programmed like this:
VAR num sum := 0;
FOR i FROM 1 TO 50 DO sum := sum + i;
ENDFOR
It is not allowed to assign a value to the counter in the
FOR
loop.
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1 RAPID basics
1.3.4. WHILE loop
1.3.4. WHILE loop
Repeating with condition
The repeating of a code sequence can be combined with the conditional execution of the code sequence. With the
WHILE
loop the program will continue repeating the code sequence as long as the condition is true.
WHILE syntax
The syntax for the
WHILE
loop is:
WHILE condition DO
program code to be repeated
ENDWHILE
If the condition is false to begin with, the code sequence will never be executed. If the
condition is true, the code sequence will be executed repeatedly until the condition is no longer true.
Example
The following program code will add numbers (1+2+3+...) until the sum reaches 100.
VAR num sum := 0;
VAR num i := 0;
WHILE sum <= 100 DO i := i + 1; sum := sum + i;
ENDWHILE
Do not create eternal or heavy loops without wait instruction
If the condition never becomes false the loop will continue constantly and consume vast amount of computer power. It is allowed to write an eternal loop, but then it must contain some waiting instruction that allows the computer to perform other tasks in the meantime.
Heavy loops (with lots of calculations and writing on the FlexPendant, without move instructions) can require some waiting instruction even if the number of loops are limited.
WHILE TRUE DO
! Some code
...
! Wait instruction that waits for 1 second
WaitTime 1;
ENDWHILE
Note that move instructions work as waiting instructions, since the execution does not continue until the robot has reached its target.
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1 RAPID basics
1.4.1. General RAPID syntax rules
1.4 Rules and recommendations for RAPID syntax
1.4.1. General RAPID syntax rules
Semicolon
The general rule is that each statement ends with a semicolon.
Examples
Variable declaration:
VAR num length;
Assigning values: area := length * width;
Most instruction calls:
MoveL p10,v1000,fine,tool0;
Exceptions
Some special instructions do not end with a semicolon. Instead there are special keywords to indicate where they end.
Example of instructions that do not end with semicolon:
Instruction keyword Terminating keyword
IF
FOR
WHILE
PROC
ENDIF
ENDFOR
ENDWHILE
ENDPROC
These keywords are very important to create a good structure of a RAPID program. They are thoroughly described later in this manual.
Comments
A line starting with ! will not be interpreted by the robot controller. Use this to write comments about the code.
Example
! Calculate the area of the rectangle area := length * width;
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1 RAPID basics
1.4.2. Recommendations for RAPID code
1.4.2. Recommendations for RAPID code
Capitalized keywords
RAPID is not case sensitive, but it is recommended that all reserved words (e.g.
VAR
,
PROC
) are written in capital letters. For a complete list of reserved words, see Technical reference
manual - RAPID overview.
Indentations
To make the programming code easy to grasp, use indentation. Everything inside a
PROC
(between
PROC
and
ENDPROC
) should be indented. Everything inside an
IF
-,
FOR
- or
WHILE
statement should be further indented.
When programming with the FlexPendant, the indentation is done automatically.
Example
VAR bool repeat;
VAR num times;
PROC main() repeat := TRUE; times := 3;
IF repeat THEN
FOR i FROM 1 TO times DO
TPWrite "Hello!";
ENDFOR
ENDIF
END PROC
Note that it is easy to see where the
IF
statement starts and ends. If you would have several
IF
statements and no indentations, it would be virtually impossible to find which
ENDIF corresponds to which
IF
.
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.1. MoveL instruction
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1 Move instructions
2.1.1. MoveL instruction
Overview
The advantage with RAPID is that, except for having most functionality found in other high level programming languages, it is specially designed to control robots. Most importantly, there are instructions for making the robot move.
MoveL
A simple move instruction can look like this:
MoveL p10, v1000, fine, tool0; where:
•
MoveL
is an instruction that moves the robot linearly (in a straight line) from its current position to the specified position.
•
p10
specifies the position that the robot shall move to.
•
v1000
specifies that the speed of the robot shall be 1000 mm/s.
•
fine
specifies that the robot shall go exactly to the specified position and not cut any corners on its way to the next position.
•
tool0
specifies that it is the mounting flange at the tip of the robot that should move to the specified position.
MoveL syntax
MoveL ToPoint Speed Zone Tool;
ToPoint
The destination point defined by a constant of data type robtarget
. When programming with the FlexPendant you can assign a robtarget
value by pointing out a position with the robot. When programming offline, it can be complicated to calculate the coordinates for a position.
robtarget
will be explained further later, in section
Composite data types on page 44
now, let us just accept that the position x=600, y=-100, z=800 can be declared and assigned like this:
CONST robtarget p10 := [ [600, -100, 800], [1, 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0,
0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
Speed
The speed of the movement defined by a constant of data type speeddata
. There are plenty of predefined values, such as:
Predefined speeddata
v5 v100 v1000
Value
5 mm/s
100 mm/s
1000 mm/s
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.1. MoveL instruction
Continued
Predefined speeddata
vmax
Value
Maximum speed for the robot
A complete list of predefined speeddata
values is found in Technical reference manual -
RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Data types and speeddata.
When using a predefined value, it should not be declared or assigned.
Zone
Specifies a corner zone defined by a constant of data type zonedata
. There are many predefined values, such as:
Predefined zonedata
fine z10 z50
Value
The robot will go to exactly the specified position
The robot path can cut corners when it is less than
10 mm from ToPoint.
The robot path can cut corners when it is less than
50 mm from ToPoint.
A complete list of predefined zonedata
values is found in Technical reference manual -
RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Data types and zonedata.
When using a predefined value, it should not be declared or assigned.
The following RAPID instructions will result in the robot path shown below:
MoveL p10, v1000, z50, tool0;
MoveL p20, v1000, fine, tool0;
Tool
24 xx0700000358
Specifies the tool that the robot is using, defined by a persistent variable of data type tooldata
. If a welding gun, glue gun or a pen is attached to the robot, we want to program the ToPoint for the tip of this tool. This is done automatically if a tooldata
is declared, assigned and used in the
MoveL
instruction.
tool0
is a predefined tool, representing the robot without any tool mounted on it, and should not be declared or assigned. Any other tool should be declared and assigned before being used.
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.2. Coordinate systems
2.1.2. Coordinate systems
Base coordinate system
The position that a move instruction moves to is specified as coordinates in a coordinate system. If no coordinate system is specified, the position is given relative to the robot base coordinate system (also called base frame). The base coordinate system has its origin in the robot base.
xx0700000397
Customized coordinate systems
Another coordinate system can be defined and used by move instructions. Which coordinate system the move instruction shall use is specified with the optional argument
\WObj
.
MoveL p10, v1000, z50, tool0 \WObj:=wobj1;
For information about how to define a coordinate system, see Technical reference manual -
RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Data types and wobjdata.
For more information about coordinate systems, see Technical reference manual - RAPID
overview, section Coordinate systems.
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.3. Examples with MoveL
2.1.3. Examples with MoveL
Draw a square
A robot is holding a pen above a piece of paper on a table. We want the robot to move the tip of the pen down to the paper and then draw a square.
26 xx0700000362
PERS tooldata tPen := [ TRUE, [[200, 0, 30], [1, 0, 0 ,0]], [0.8,
[62, 0, 17], [1, 0, 0, 0], 0, 0, 0]];
CONST robtarget p10 := [ [600, -100, 800], [0.707170, 0, 0.707170,
0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
CONST robtarget p20 := [ [600, 100, 800], [0.707170, 0, 0.707170,
0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
CONST robtarget p30 := [ [800, 100, 800], [0.707170, 0, 0.707170,
0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
CONST robtarget p40 := [ [800, -100, 800], [0.707170, 0, 0.707170,
0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
PROC main()
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p20, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p30, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p40, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.3. Examples with MoveL
Continued
Draw with corner zones
Draw the same figure as in the previous example, but with a corner zone of 20 mm at p20
and a corner zones of 50 mm at p40
.
xx0700000363
VAR tooldata tPen := ...
...
VAR robtarget p40 := ...
PROC main()
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p20, v200, z20, tPen;
MoveL p30, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p40, v200, z50, tPen;
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.4. Other move instructions
2.1.4. Other move instructions
Several move instructions
There are a number of move instructions in RAPID. The most common are
MoveL
,
MoveJ and
MoveC
.
MoveJ
MoveJ
is used to move the robot quickly from one point to another when that movement does not have to be in a straight line.
Use
MoveJ
to move the robot to a point in the air close to where the robot will work. A
MoveL instruction does not work if, for example, the robot base is between the current position and the programmed position, or if the tool reorientation is too large.
MoveJ
can always be used in these cases.
The syntax of
MoveJ
is analog with
MoveL
.
Example
MoveJ p10, v1000, fine, tPen;
MoveC
MoveC
is used to move the robot circularly in an arc.
Example
MoveL p10, v500, fine, tPen;
MoveC p20, p30, v500, fine, tPen;
MoveL p40, v500, fine, tPen; xx0700000364
28 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.5. Execution behavior in corner zones
2.1.5. Execution behavior in corner zones
Why the special execution in corner zones?
The execution of a program is usually carried out in the order the statements are written.
In the following example the robot first moves to p10
, then calculates the value of reg1
and then moves to p20
:
MoveL p10, v1000, fine, tool0; reg1 := reg2 + reg3;
MoveL p20, v1000, fine, tool0;
But now look at this example:
MoveL p10, v1000, z50, tool0; reg1 := reg2 + reg3;
MoveL p20, v1000, fine, tool0;
If the calculation of reg1
would not start until the robot was at p10
, then the robot would have to stop there and wait for the next move instruction. What actually happens is that the code is executed ahead of the robot movement. reg1
is calculated and the robot path in the corner zone is calculated before the robot reaches p10
.
How does this affect my program
In many cases the exact time of execution does not affect the program. There are however examples of when it does affect the program.
If you want to draw a line with a spray gun between p10
and p20
, and write the program like this:
MoveL p10, v300, z10, tspray;
! Start spraying
SetDO do1, 1;
MoveL p20, v300, z10, tspray;
! Stop spraying
SetDO do1, 0;
MoveL p30, v300, fine, tspray;
The result may look something like this:
Solution
xx0700000387
If you want to set signals in corner zones, and not use fine
, then there are special instructions for solving this, e.g.
MoveLDO
,
TriggL
and
DispL
. For more information about these instructions, see Technical reference manual - RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types.
3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
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29
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.1.5. Execution behavior in corner zones
Continued
Avoid wait instructions or heavy calculations after corner zone
The robot controller can calculate the robot movement in corner paths even if there are instructions in between the move instructions. However, if there is a wait instruction after a move instruction with a corner zone, the robot will not be able to handle this. Use fine
in the move instruction before a wait instruction.
There is also a limitation as to how many (and complex) calculations the robot controller can calculate in between move instructions with corner zones. This is mainly a problem when calling procedures after a move instruction with a corner zone.
30 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.2.1. I/O signals
2.2 I/O signals
2.2.1. I/O signals
About signals
Signals are used for communication with external equipment that the robot cooperates with.
Input signals are set by the external equipment and can be used in the RAPID program to initiate when to perform something with the robot. Output signals are set by the RAPID program and signals to the external equipment that they should do something.
Setting up signals
Signals are configured in the system parameters for the robot system. It is possible to set customized names for the signals. They should not be declared in the RAPID program.
Digital input
A digital input signal can have the values 0 or 1. The RAPID program can read its value but cannot set its value.
Example
If the digital input signal di1
is 1 then the robot will move.
IF di1 = 1 THEN
MoveL p10, v1000, fine, tPen;
ENDIF
Digital output
A digital output signal can have the values 0 or 1. The RAPID program can set the value for a digital output signal, and thus affect external equipment. The value of a digital output signal is set with the instruction
SetDO
.
Example
The robot has a grip tool that can be closed with the digital output signal do_grip
. The robot moves to the position where the pen is and closes the gripper. The robot then moves to where it shall draw, now using the tool tPen
.
MoveJ p0, vmax, fine, tGripper;
SetDO do_grip, 1;
MoveL p10, v1000, fine, tPen;
Other signal types
Digital signals are most common and easy to use. If a signal needs to have another value than
0 or 1, there are analog signals and groups of digital signals that can have other values. These types of signals are not covered in this manual.
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2 RAPID robot functionality
2.3.1. Communicate with the FlexPendant
2.3 User interaction
2.3.1. Communicate with the FlexPendant
About read and write instructions
In RAPID, there are several instructions for writing information to the robot operator, as well as receiving input from the operator. We have already seen
TPWrite
in previous examples.
The only instructions we will look at here are
TPWrite
,
TPReadFK
and
TPReadNum
.
TPWrite
Writing a message to the operator can be made with the instruction
TPWrite
.
TPWrite "Now producing exhaust pipes";
Write a string variable
xx0700000374
The text string written on the FlexPendant can come from a string variable, or the written text can be a concatenation of a string variable and another string.
VAR string product := "exhaust pipe";
! Write only the product on the FlexPendant
TPWrite product;
! Write "Producing" and the product on the FlexPendant
TPWrite "Producing " + product;
Write a numerical variable
A numerical variable can be added after the string using the optional argument
\Num
.
VAR num count := 13;
TPWrite "The number of produced units is: " \Num:=count;
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3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
TPReadFK
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.3.1. Communicate with the FlexPendant
Continued
When writing a RAPID program that requires the operator to make a choice,
TPReadFK
is a useful instruction. It allows up to five function keys to be displayed, and the operator can choose which one to tap. The buttons will correspond to the values 1 to 5.
VAR num answer;
TPReadFK answer, "Select which figure to draw", "Square",
"Triangle", stEmpty, stEmpty, stEmpty;
IF answer = 1 THEN
! code to draw square
ELSEIF answer = 2 THEN
! code to draw triangle
ELSE
! do nothing
ENDIF xx0700000376
If the user selects "Square", the numeric variable answer
gets the value 1. If the user selects
"Triangle", the numeric variable answer
gets the value 2.
Five functions keys can be specified. If a key is not being used, write stEmpty
instead of the text on the button.
TPReadNum
TPReadNum
allows the operator to write a number on the FlexPendant, rather than just making a choice.
VAR num answer;
TPReadNum answer, "How many times shall I draw the figure?";
FOR i FROM 1 TO answer DO
! code to draw figure
ENDFOR
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33
2 RAPID robot functionality
2.3.1. Communicate with the FlexPendant
Continued
xx0700000378
The numeric variable answer
gets the value that the operator types.
34 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
3 Structure
3.1. RAPID procedure
3 Structure
3.1. RAPID procedure
What is a procedure
So far, all the RAPID code examples we have looked at have only executed code in the procedure main
. The execution automatically starts in the procedure named main
, but there can be several procedures.
A procedure must be declared with the keyword
PROC
followed by the procedure name, the procedure arguments and the program code that the procedure should execute. A procedure is called from another procedure (except main
, which is automatically called when the program starts).
Example
If we want to draw four squares of different sizes, we could write almost the same program code four times. This would result in a lot of code and make the program difficult to understand. A much more efficient way to write this program is to make a procedure that draws the square, and let the main procedure call this procedure four times.
PERS tooldata tPen:= ...
CONST robtarget p10:= ...
PROC main()
! Call the procedure draw_square draw_square 100; draw_square 200; draw_square 300; draw_square 400;
ENDPROC
PROC draw_square(num side_size)
VAR robtarget p20;
VAR robtarget p30;
VAR robtarget p40;
! p20 is set to p10 with an offset on the y value p20 := Offs(p10, 0, side_size, 0); p30 := Offs(p10, side_size, side_size, 0); p40 := Offs(p10, side_size, 0, 0);
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p20, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p30, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p40, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
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35
3 Structure
3.1. RAPID procedure
Continued
Procedure arguments
When declaring a procedure, all arguments are declared inside parenthesis after the procedure name. This declaration contains data type and argument name for each argument. The argument gets its value from the procedure call and the argument acts as a variable inside the procedure (the argument cannot be used outside its procedure).
PROC main() my_procedure 14, "Hello", TRUE;
ENDPROC
PROC my_procedure(num nbr_times, string text, bool flag)
...
ENDPROC
Inside the procedure my_procedure
above, nbr_times
has the value 14, text
has the value "Hello" and flag
has the value
TRUE
.
When calling the procedure, the order of the arguments is important to give the right value to the right argument. No parenthesis are used in the procedure call.
Variables declared inside the procedure
Variables declared inside a procedure only exist inside that procedure. I.e. in the example above, p10
can be used in all procedures in this module, but p20
, p30
and p40
can only be used in the procedure draw_square
.
36 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
3 Structure
3.2. Modules
3.2. Modules
About modules
A RAPID program can consist of one or several modules. Each module can contain one or several procedures.
The small and simple programs that are shown in this manual only use one module. In a more complex programming environment, some standard procedures, used by many different programs, can be placed in a separate module.
Example
The module
MainModule
contains code that is specific for this program and specifies what the robot should do in this particular program. The module figures_module
contains standard code that can be used by any program that wants to draw a square, triangle or circle.
MODULE MainModule
...
draw_square;
...
ENDMODULE
MODULE figures_module
PROC draw_square()
...
ENDPROC
PROC draw_triangle()
...
ENDPROC
PROC draw_circle()
...
ENDPROC
ENDMODULE
Program modules
A program module is saved with the file ending .mod, e.g. figures_module.mod.
It makes no difference for the robot controller if the program is written in several modules.
The reason to use several program modules is only to make the program easier to grasp and easier to reuse for the programmers.
There can only be one program active on the robot controller, i.e. only one of the modules can contain a procedure named main
.
System modules
A system module is saved with the file ending .sys, e.g. system_data_module.sys.
Data and procedures that should be kept in the system even if the program is changed should be placed in a system module. For example, if a persistent variable of type tooldata
is declared in a system module, a recalibration of the tool is preserved even if a new program is loaded.
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3 Structure
3.3. Structured design
3.3. Structured design
About structure
When first confronting a problem that you want to solve with a RAPID program, sit down and analyze the problem and its components. If you start programming without first thinking through the design, your program will be irrational. A well designed program is less likely to contain errors and is easier for others to understand. The time spent on design is paid back many times in testing and maintenance of the program.
Break down the problem
Follow these steps to break down the problem into manageable parts:
Action
1. Identify larger functionality. Try to split the problem into smaller pieces that will be easier to handle.
2. Create a design structure. Draw a map of the functionality and how they relate to each other.
3. Look at each block in the design structure. Can a block be further split into smaller pieces? What is required to implement the block?
Example
Problem description
Create a RAPID program that can draw squares or triangles on a piece of paper. Let the operator decide if it is a square or triangle that should be drawn next. When the robot is finished drawing the figure the user shall be able to make the same selection again until the operator taps on a Quit button.
When the robot has drawn 10 figures on the same paper, write a message that the paper should be replaced and wait for the operator to tap an OK button.
Between drawings, check if di1
is 1. If it is, move to a pencil sharpener and set do1
to 1 to start the sharpener and slowly move the pencil into the sharpener. Normally we would need to redefine the tool since it gets shorter when it is sharpened, but we will skip that step in this example.
Design structure
38 en0700000381
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3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
Program code
3 Structure
3.3. Structured design
Continued
MODULE MainModule
PERS tooldata tPen := [ TRUE, [[200, 0, 30], [1, 0, 0 ,0]], [0.8,
[62, 0, 17], [1, 0, 0, 0], 0, 0, 0]];
CONST robtarget p10 := [ [600, -100, 800], [0.707170, 0,
0.707170, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9,
9E9] ];
CONST robtarget pSharp1 := [ [200, 500, 850], [1, 0, 0, 0], [0,
0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
PERS num count := 0;
PROC main() user_selection;
IF count >= 10 THEN change_paper;
! Reset count count := 0;
ENDIF
IF di=1 THEN sharpen_pencil;
ENDIF
ENDPROC
PROC user_selection()
VAR num answer;
TPReadFK answer, "Select which figure to draw", "Square",
"Triangle", "Quit", stEmpty, stEmpty;
IF answer = 1 THEN draw_square; count := count + 1;
ELSEIF answer = 2 THEN draw_triangle; count := count + 1;
ELSE quit;
ENDIF
ENDPROC
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39
3 Structure
3.3. Structured design
Continued
PROC draw_square()
VAR robtarget p20;
VAR robtarget p30;
VAR robtarget p40;
! Define points that give a square with the side 200 mm p20 := Offs(p10, 0, 200, 0); p30 := Offs(p10, 200, 200, 0); p40 := Offs(p10, 200, 0, 0);
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p20, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p30, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p40, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
PROC draw_triangle()
VAR robtarget p20;
VAR robtarget p30;
! Define points for the triangle p20 := Offs(p10, 0, 200, 0); p30 := Offs(p10, 200, 100, 0);
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p20, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p30, v200, fine, tPen;
MoveL p10, v200, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
PROC quit()
TPWrite "Good bye!"
! Terminate the program
EXIT;
ENDPROC
PROC change_paper()
VAR num answer;
TPReadFK answer, "Change the paper", "OK", stEmpty, stEmpty, stEmpty, stEmpty;
ENDPROC
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3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
3 Structure
3.3. Structured design
Continued
PROC sharpen_pencil()
VAR robtarget pSharp2;
VAR robtarget pSharp3; pSharp2 := Offs(pSharp1, 100, 0, 0); pSharp3 := Offs(pSharp1, 120, 0, 0);
! Move quickly to position in front of sharpener
MoveJ pSharp1, vmax, z10, tPen;
! Place pencil in sharpener
MoveL pSharp2, v500, fine, tPen;
! Start the sharpener
SetDO do1, 1;
! Slowly move into the sharpener
MoveL pSharp3, v5, fine, tPen;
! Turn off sharpener
SetDO do1, 0;
! Move out of sharpener
MoveL pSharp1, v500, fine, tPen;
ENDPROC
ENDMODULE
Note that in production a program is normally run in continuous mode, so that when the execution reaches the end of the main
procedure it starts from the beginning again. If this is not used, a
WHILE
loop can be used to repeat everything inside the main
procedure.
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - 41
3 Structure
3.3. Structured design
42 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
4 Data with multiple values
4.1. Arrays
4 Data with multiple values
4.1. Arrays
What is an array
An array is a variable that contains more than one value. An index is used to indicate one of the values.
Declaring an array
The declaration of an array looks like any other variable, except that the length of the array is specified inside { }.
VAR num my_array{3};
Assigning values
An array can be assigned all its values at once. When assigning the whole array the values are surrounded by [ ] and separated by commas.
my_array := [5, 10, 7];
It is also possible to assign a value to one of the elements in an array. Which element to assign a value to is specified inside { }.
my_array{3} := 8;
Example
This example use a
FOR
loop and arrays to ask the operator for the estimated production time for each part. It is a very efficient way to write code compared to having one variable for each part and not be able to use the
FOR
loop.
VAR num time{3};
VAR string part{3} := ["Shaft", "Pipe", "Cylinder"];
VAR num answer;
PROC main()
FOR i FROM 1 TO 3 DO
TPReadNum answer, "Estimated time for " + part{i} + "?"; time{i} := answer;
ENDFOR
ENDPROC
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - 43
4 Data with multiple values
4.2. Composite data types
4.2. Composite data types
What is a composite data type
A composite data type is a data type that contains more than one value. It is declared as a normal variable but contains a predefined number of values.
pos
A simple example of a composite data type is the data type pos
. It contains three numerical values (x, y and z).
The declaration looks like a simple variable:
VAR pos pos1;
Assigning all values is done like with an array: pos1 := [600, 100, 800];
The different components have names instead of numbers. The components in pos
are named x
, y
and z
. The value in one component is identified with the variable name, a point and the component name: pos1.z := 850;
orient
The data type orient
specifies the orientation of the tool. The orientation is specified by four numerical values, named q1
, q2
, q3
and q4
.
VAR orient orient1 := [1, 0, 0, 0];
TPWrite "The value of q1 is " \Num:=orient1.q1;
pose
A data type can be composed of other composite data types. An example of this is the data type pose
, which consists of one pos
named trans
and one orient
named rot
.
VAR pose pose1 := [[600, 100, 800], [1, 0, 0, 0]];
VAR pos pos1 := [650, 100, 850];
VAR orient orient1; pose1.pos := pos1; orient1 := pose1.rot; pose1.pos.z := 875;
robtarget
robtarget
is too complex a data type to explain in detail here, so we will settle for a brief explanation. robtarget
consists of four parts:
Data type Name Description
pos orient confdata extjoint trans rot robconf extax x, y and z coordinates
Orientation
Specifies robot axes angles
Specifies positions for up to 6 additional axes. The value is set to 9E9 where no additional axis is used.
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3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
4 Data with multiple values
4.2. Composite data types
Continued
VAR robtarget p10 := [ [600, -100, 800], [0.707170, 0, 0.707170,
0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [ 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ];
! Increase the x coordinate with 50 p10.trans.x := p10.trans.x + 50;
Detailed descriptions
Detailed descriptions of these data types and many more can be found in Technical reference
manual - RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Data types.
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - 45
4 Data with multiple values
4.2. Composite data types
46 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
5 RAPID instructions and functions
5.1. Instructions
5 RAPID instructions and functions
5.1. Instructions
What is an instruction
A RAPID instruction acts as a premade procedure. An instruction call looks like a procedure call with the instruction name followed by argument values.
Some RAPID instructions are simple and could easily have been written as a procedure in
RAPID. For example the instruction
Add
.
Add reg1, 3;
! The same functionality could be written: reg1 := reg1 + 3;
Other RAPID instructions perform complicated processes that could not have been programmed without these premade instructions. For example
MoveL
, which may seem like a simple instruction but in the background there are calculations of how much to move each robot axis and how much current each motor should have. Because the program code for these calculations is already made, all you have to do is write a simple instruction call.
MoveL p10, v1000, fine, tool0;
Detailed descriptions
Detailed descriptions of instructions can be found in Technical reference manual - RAPID
Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Instructions.
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - 47
5 RAPID instructions and functions
5.2. Functions
5.2. Functions
What is a function
A RAPID function is similar to an instruction but returns a value.
! Calculate the cosine of reg2 reg1 : = Cos(reg2);
Since the function returns a value, the result of the function can be assigned to a variable.
The arguments in a function call are written inside parenthesis and are separated with commas.
Include a function call in a statement
Anywhere, where a value can be used, a function returning a value of the same data type can be used.
! Perform something if reg1 is smaller than -2 or greater than 2
IF Abs(reg1) > 2 THEN
...
! Convert the num time to string and concatenate with other strings string1 := name + "’s time was " + NumToStr(time);
Simplify complicated calculations
A single function call can often replace several complex statements.
For example: p20 := Offs(p10, 100, 200, 300); can replace the following code: p20 := p10; p20.trans.x := p20.trans.x + 100; p20.trans.y := p20.trans.y + 200; p20.trans.z := p20.trans.z + 300;
Detailed descriptions
Detailed descriptions of functions can be found in Technical reference manual - RAPID
Instructions, Functions and Data types, section Functions.
48 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
6 What to read next
6.1. Where to find more information
6 What to read next
6.1. Where to find more information
What to find in which manual
What do you want to know Where to read about it
• How to write programs on the FlexPendant
• How to load programs to the robot controller
• How to test the program
Operating manual - IRC5 with
FlexPendant, section
Programming and testing
• More detailed information about the functionality mentioned in this manual
• What instructions are there for a specific category
(e.g. move instructions or clock functionality)
• Descriptions of more advanced functionality (e.g. interrupts or error handling)
Technical reference manual -
RAPID overview
• Information about a specific instruction, function or data type
• Details about how the robot controller handles different parts of RAPID
Technical reference manual -
RAPID Instructions, Functions and
Data types
Technical reference manual -
RAPID kernel
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - 49
6 What to read next
6.1. Where to find more information
50 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
Index
A
arguments
arrays
assigning values
B
base coordinate system
base frame
bool
C
comments
communication
complex data types
computer performance
conditional execution
,
constants
coordinate systems
corner zones
D
data types
declaration of variables
design
digital input
digital output
E
ELSE
ELSEIF
eternal loops
F
FlexPendant
FOR
functions
I
I/O signals
IF
indentations
input signal
instructions
L
logical conditions
loop
M
main
module
move instructions
MoveC
MoveJ
MoveL
N
num
O
operators
orient
3HAC029364-001 Revision: - output signal
P
performance
pos
pose
PROC
procedure
R
RAPID functions
RAPID instructions
RAPID procedure
repetition
,
robot controller
robtarget
S
safety
semicolon
signals
speeddata
string
syntax
T
terminology
tooldata
TPReadFK
TPReadNum
TPWrite
V
variable declaration
variables
W
WHILE
WObj
work object
Z
zonedata
51
Index
52 3HAC029364-001 Revision: -
ABB Robotics
S-721 68 VÄSTERÅS
SWEDEN
Telephone: +46 (0) 21 344000
Telefax: +46 (0) 21 132592
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