Owner's manual

7-2 Advanced Programming
7.3 Creating and Placing Patterns
7.3.1 Creating a Pattern
Patterns are essential building blocks of complex dispensing programs. A pattern is a sequence of related
instructions that are grouped together and saved as a single unit. All FmXP programs include a
Workpiece Pattern, which can contain all of the instructions needed to dispense an entire workpiece.
However, to add flexibility and reduce the number of programming instructions, you have the option to
create additional patterns. This is especially beneficial when the same pattern is dispensed in multiple
locations. For example, if you need to dispense ten identical rectangles, you only need to define one
rectangle pattern and then instruct the system where to place them.
 NOTE Refer to 5.3 Program Logic and Structure for additional information.
All patterns have a pattern origin and may contain fiducial and/or skip mark information in addition to
dispensing and process instructions. Skip Marks are specialized fiducials that identify patterns or
workpieces to be skipped during the dispensing process. For more information, see 7.3.4 Skip Marks.
A pattern can be called for placement from the Workpiece Pattern or from other patterns. When a pattern
encounters an “End” command, FmXP executes the next line in the pattern from which it was called. In
Figure 7-1, the Workpiece Pattern contains a command to do the Dots pattern. After the program reaches
the End command in the Dots Pattern, it returns to the next line of the Workpiece pattern. In this example,
the next line is a command to do the Lines pattern. When all the instructions in the Workpiece pattern
have been completed, FmXP executes the next line in Main.
Main
Workpiece Pattern
Begin
End
End
Do: Workpiece
Do: Dots
Do: Lines
Dots Pattern
End
Lines Pattern
End
Main
Workpiece Pattern
Begin
End
End
Do: Workpiece
Do: Dots
Do: Lines
Dots Pattern
End
Lines Pattern
End
Main
Workpiece Pattern
Begin
End
End
Do: Workpiece
Do: Dots
Do: Lines
Main
Workpiece Pattern
Begin
End
End
Do: Workpiece
Do: Dots
Do: Lines
Dots Pattern
End
Dots Pattern
End
Lines Pattern
End
Lines Pattern
End
Figure 7-1 Program Command Sequence