06 Programming Logic, Routines & Error Handling

🤖 Robot Programming Ch.6: Programming Logic, Routines & Error Handling (2026) This is where you stop being a robot operator and start being a robot programmer. Teaching points is day one. Writing structured, production-grade code with error recovery is what separates professionals from beginners. What you'll learn: 📝 Variables and data types: num, bool, string, robtarget, jointtarget — across all OEMs 🔀 Conditional logic: IF/THEN, TEST/CASE, SELECT — making the robot think 🔁 Loop constructs: FOR, WHILE, infinite loops — production cycles that run 24/7 📦 Routines and functions: modular code that's testable, reusable, and maintainable 🚨 Error handling: the ERROR trap that catches unexpected faults before they kill production 🔄 State machines: INIT, IDLE, PICK, PLACE, ERROR, RECOVERY — the architecture every production cell needs The difference between demo and production: A demo program runs 50 cycles and looks great. A production program runs 500,000 cycles and handles every gripper failure, sensor timeout, part misalignment, and power glitch without calling the operator. That difference is error handling. Multi-OEM code included: Complete production state machine in ABB RAPID — 80+ lines with state tracking, multi-level error recovery (auto-retry, re-approach, operator alert), diagnostic logging, and cycle counting. Error recovery hierarchy: L1: Auto retry (1-5s) — handles 80% of faults L2: Re-approach (5-15s) — handles alignment issues L3: Skip and log (0s) — keeps production moving L4: Operator alert (variable) — last resort before shutdown L5: Safe stop (immediate) — only when safety is at risk Real-world result: One automotive cell went from 15 operator interventions per shift to 2 after implementing this pattern. Uptime jumped from 82% to 96.5%. Programming effort: 3 extra days. Annual value: $180K in reduced downtime. 📘 From "Robot Programming: From Fundamentals to Production-Ready Code" — First Edition 2026 by Shuvash Aryal | Geek Engineering (GeEn)