Post Processor

The Stäubli add-on allows you to translate the program of a robot in the 3D world to a VAL 3 application. This is known as post-processing a robot program. The generated VAL 3 application is a set of XML files that form a project, which can be opened in Stäubli Robotics Suite (SRS) 2013 and 2016 as well as VAL3 Studio 7.

Note:

• The VAL3 application name can contain characters a-z, A-Z, and 0-9 and it must start with a letter. Otherwise, the VAL3 application cannot be used by the controller.
• When you are connected to a CS9 controller, the transfer manager cannot be used to transfer VAL3 application to an emulated CS9 controller, but it can be used to transfer the VAL3 application to a real CS9 controller.

 

For more information on how to post-process a robot program, see Create VAL 3 Application.

Supported Statements

The language used for robot statements in Visual Components Premium 4.9 is similar to the VAL 3 language. In many cases, the translations are straightforward, but VAL 3 does not support Break and Continue statements.

Name	Remarks
Assign Variable	See limitations for translating expressions and program variables.
Call Sequence	None
Comment	Adds a single line comment to the VAL 3 code. See special instructions for using keywords in Comment statements.
Define Base	None
Define Tool	None
Delay	None
Halt	Writes a stopMove() instruction, which stops robot movement and prevents the execution of other move commands. This does not stop the program from running other code.
If	See limitations for translating expressions.
Linear Motion	Accuracy method and value of motion can be used if the method is Distance.
Point-to-Point Motion	Accuracy method and value of motion can be used if the method is Distance.
Print	Writes a line of text to the user interface of controller. The text should only contain ASCII characters.
Return	None
Set Binary Output	The output port must have an I/O mapping.
Wait for Binary Input	The input port must have an I/O mapping.
While	See limitations for translating expressions.

Notes:

• Motion statements in Visual Components Premium 4.9 are executed sequentially with other statements, whereas motion statements in VAL 3 are asynchronous and added to motion queue.
• To make the generated VAL 3 application behave similar to its Visual Components Premium 4.9 counterpart , the post processor inserts waitEndMove() instructions between blocks of movement and other types of instructions. This means the next instruction will not be executed until completing all queued movements.
• In order to support motion blending, a waitEndMove() instruction is not inserted between adjacent motion statements.
• If a while loop only contains motion statements, a waitEndMove() instruction is inserted after the loop.

Instructions for using Keywords

Special keywords can be used to generate specific instructions in a VAL 3 program. The keywords are case-sensitive and used with Comment statements.

Keyword	VAL 3 Instruction	Purpose
lastMove	bLastMove=true	Allows you to specify that next timer call should write cycle time summary to controller screen.
timer <text>	call timer("<text>")	Allows you to write the given text and elapsed time since previous timer call to controller screen.
waitEndMove()	waitEndMove()	Allows you to manually insert a waitEndMove() instruction in a block of movements.

Limitations of Expressions

Some robot statements have properties that allow you to define expressions.

Please be aware of the following limitations:

• The && operator is translated as "and".
• The || operator is translated as "or".
• Variable names, for example routine variables, are translated using I/O mappings information.
• Routine variables and user-defined properties of a robot can be used in expressions and are supported by the post processor.
• Both "True" and "False" are translated to lowercase.
• Everything else is not translated, so it will only work if its syntax is the same in VAL 3, for example most Boolean and simple calculation expressions.

Program Variables

VAL 3 has global application and local program variables. The post processor creates global VAL 3 variables for the component properties of a robot as well as routine variables in its program. This is because routine variables in Visual Components Premium 4.9 do not reset like VAL 3 local variables do when you execute a routine.

Please be aware of the following information:

• Component properties are translated to VAL 3 application variables with the same name.
• The post processor will create dictionaries, which are collections in VAL 3 Studio, for routine variables according to each data type. A dictionary will have the same name as the corresponding routine but have a single letter prefix to identify its type. Key-value pairs are formed using the name and value of each variable. For example, a routine named "Pick" with Boolean and string variables would be translated as two dictionaries, bPick and sPick. Accessing the value of a Boolean variable named "Skip" would done via bPick["Skip"].
• The post processor includes the initial values of Visual Components Premium 4.9 variables in the variable definitions of the VAL 3 application.