Overview
A previous article covered the ABB robot MOVE command and common terminology. This article continues with additional commonly used programming commands.
1. Proccall: Calling a routine
In ABB programming, a routine can be called multiple times. On the teach pendant, other routines can be called using Proccall. Usage: in the main routine, select proccall.
After selecting PROCCALL, a dialog appears listing callable programs. As shown, two callable programs are available: the main program and a subroutine named routine. Note that the main program can also call itself.
Select the desired program. In this example, routine1 is selected; after confirming, the call to routine1 appears in the main routine on the teach pendant.
When programming on the teach pendant, routines can be called using proccall. In RobotStudio, you can copy the routine name and paste it into the main routine. The number of nested Proccall calls is not unlimited: routines can call each other and can call themselves (recursion). The allowed program levels depend on the number of parameters; typically more than 10 levels are permitted.
2. stop instruction
In ABB programming, the stop instruction halts program execution, equivalent to the stop button on the teach pendant. It is usually used at the end of a program section; after execution, the robot program remains stopped until restarted.
This article covered two common instructions: Proccall and stop. A subsequent article will continue with other ABB commands.
