Introduction . . . 170 Parameters . . . 171 Viewing Parameters . . . 171 Setting Parameters . . . 172 Summary of Basic System Parameters . . . 172 Graphics-based System Terminal Settings . . . 174 Switches . . . 174 Viewing Switch Settings . . . 174 Setting Switches . . . 175 Summary of Basic System Switches . . . 175
Chapter 7 Introduction
Introduction
System parameters determine certain operating characteristics of the V+ system.
These parameters have numeric values that can be changed from the command line or from within a program to suit particular system configurations and needs.
The various parameters are described in this chapter along with the operations for displaying and changing their values.
System switches are similar to system parameters in that they control the
operating behavior of the V+ system. Switches differ from parameters, however, in that they do not have numeric values. Switches can be set to either enabled or disabled, which can be thought of as on and off, respectively.
All the basic system switches are described in this chapter. The monitor
commands and program instructions that can be used to display and change their settings are also presented.
Chapter 7 Parameters
Parameters
See the V+ Language Reference Guide for more detailed descriptions of the keywords discussed here.
Whenever a system parameter name is used, it can be abbreviated to the minimum length required to identify the parameter. For example, the
HAND.TIME parameter can be abbreviated to H, since no other parameter name begins with H.
Viewing Parameters
To see the state of a single parameter, use the PARAMETER monitor command:
PARAMETER parameter_name
If parameter_name is omitted, the value of all parameters is displayed.
To retrieve the value of a parameter from within a program, use the PARAMETER function. The instruction:
TYPE "HAND.TIME parameter =", PARAMETER(HAND.TIME) will display the current setting of the hand-delay parameter in the monitor window.
The PARAMETER function can be used in any expression to include the value of a parameter. For example, the following program statement will increase the delay for hand actuation:
PARAMETER HAND.TIME = PARAMETER(HAND.TIME) + 0.15
Note that the left-hand occurrence of PARAMETER is the instruction name and the right-hand occurrence is the function name.
Chapter 7 Parameters
Setting Parameters
To set a parameter from the command line, use the PARAMETER monitor command. The instruction:
PARAMETER SCREEN.TIMEOUT = 10 sets the screen blanking time to 10 seconds.
To set a parameter in a program, use the PARAMETER program instruction. The instruction:
PARAMETER NOT.CALIBRATED = 1 asserts the not calibrated state for robot 1.
In systems with AdeptVision VXL, some parameters are organized as arrays and must be accessed by specifying an array index. (See the AdeptVision Reference Guide for more information on such parameters.)
Summary of Basic System Parameters
System parameters are set to defaults when the V+ system is initialized. The default values are indicated with each parameter description below. The settings of the parameter values are not affected by the ZERO command.
If your robot system includes optional enhancements (such as vision), you will have other system parameters available. Consult the documentation for the options for details. The basic system parameters are shown in Table 7-1 on page 173.
Chapter 7 Parameters
aThe default value for TERMINAL is changed with the utility CONFIG_C.V2 on the Adept Utility Disk. See the Instructions for Adept Utility Programs.
KERMIT.RETRY Sets the number of times Kermit will attempt to transfer a data packet before quitting with an error.
15 1 1000
KERMIT.TIMEOUT Time, in seconds, that Kermit will wait before retrying the transfer of a
Chapter 7 Switches Graphics-based System Terminal Settings
Switches
System switches govern various features of the V+ system. The switches are described below. See the V+ Language Reference Guide and the V+ Operating System Reference Guide for more detailed descriptions of the keywords discussed here.
As with system parameters, the names of system switches can be abbreviated to the minimum length required to identify the switch.
Viewing Switch Settings
The SWITCH monitor command displays the setting of one or more system switches:
SWITCH switch_name, ..., switch_name
If no switches are specified, the settings of all switches are displayed.
Within programs, the SWITCH real-valued function returns the status of a switch.
The instruction:
SWITCH(switch_name)
returns TRUE (–1.0) if the switch is enabled, FALSE (0.0) if the switch is disabled.
In systems with AdeptVision VXL, some switches are organized as arrays and may be accessed by specifying the array index. (See the AdeptVision Reference Guide for more information on such switches.)
Chapter 7 Switches
Setting Switches
The ENABLE and DISABLE monitor commands/program instructions control the setting of system switches. The instruction:
ENABLE BELT
will enable the BELT switch. The instruction:
DISABLE BELT, CP
will disable the CP and BELT switches. Multiple switches can be specified for either instruction.
Switches can also be set with the SWITCH program instruction. Its syntax is:
SWITCH switch_name = value
This instruction differs from the ENABLE and DISABLE instructions in that the SWITCH instruction enables or disables a switch depending on the value on the right-hand side of the equal sign. This allows you to set switches based on a variable or expression. The switch is enabled if the value is TRUE (nonzero) and disabled if the value is FALSE (zero). The instruction:
SWITCH CP = SIG(1001)
will enable the continuous path (CP) switch if input signal 1001 is on.
Summary of Basic System Switches
The default switch settings at system power-up are given in Table 7-2 on page 176. (The switch settings are not affected by the ZERO command.)
Optional enhancements to your V+ system may include additional system switches. If so, they are described in the documentation for the options.
Chapter 7 Switches
Table 7-2. Basic System Switches
Switch Use
BELT Used to turn on the conveyor tracking features of V+ (if the option is installed).
This switch must be enabled before any of the special conveyor tracking instructions can be executed. When BELT is disabled, the conveyor tracking software has a minimal impact on the overall performance of the system.
Default is disabled.
CP Enable/disable continuous-path motion processing (see
”Continuous-Path Trajectories” on page 199).
Default is enabled.
DRY.RUN Enable/disable sending of motion commands to the robot. Enable this switch to test programs for proper logical flow and correct external communication without having to worry about the robot running into something.
(Also see the TRACE switch, which is useful during program checkout.) The manual control pendant can still be used to move the robot when DRY.RUN is enabled.
Default is disabled.
FORCE Controls whether the (optional) stop-on-force feature of the V+
system is active.
Default is disabled.
INTERACTIVE Suppresses display of various messages on the system terminal. In particular, when the INTERACTIVE switch is disabled, V+ does not ask for confirmation before performing certain operations and does not output the text of error messages.
This switch is usually disabled when the system is being controlled by a supervisory computer to relieve the computer from having to process the text of messages.
Default is enabled.
MCP.MESSAGES Controls how system error messages are handled when the controller keyswitch is not in the MANUAL position.
Default is disabled.
Chapter 7 Switches
MCS.MESSAGES Controls whether monitor commands executed with the MCS instruction will have their output displayed on the terminal.
Default is disabled.
MESSAGES Controls whether output from TYPE instructions will be displayed on the terminal.
Default is enabled.
POWER Tracks the status of Robot Power. This switch is automatically enabled whenever Robot Power is turned on. This switch can be used to turn Robot Power on or off—enabling the switch turns on Robot Power and disabling the switch turns off Robot Power.
Default is disabled.
WARNING: ADEPT RECOMMENDS THAT YOU NOT TURN ON ROBOT POWER FROM WITHIN A PROGRAM since the robot can be activated without direct operator action. Turning on Robot Power from the terminal can be hazardous if the operator does not have a clear view of the robot workspace.
RETRY Controls whether the PROGRAM START button on the front panel of the system controller causes a program to resume.
Default is disabled.
ROBOT This is an array of switches that control whether or not the system should access robots normally controlled by the system.
Default is disabled.
SET.SPEED Enable/disable the ability to set the monitor speed from the manual control pendant.
Default is enabled.
TRACE Enable/disable a special mode of program execution in which each program step is displayed on the system terminal before it is executed. This is useful during program development for checking the logical flow of execution (also see the DRY.RUN switch).
Default is disabled.
Table 7-2. Basic System Switches (Continued)
Switch Use
Chapter 7 Switches
UPPER Determines whether comparisons of string values will consider lowercase letters the same as uppercase letters. When this switch is enabled, all lowercase letters are considered as though they are uppercase.
Default is enabled.
Table 7-2. Basic System Switches (Continued)
Switch Use