Industrial robot control method

An industrial robot control method for use in a system having a machine tool for machining workpieces, a numerical control device for controlling the machine tool under one of a plurality of numerical control programs, an industrial robot and a robot control device for controlling the industrial robot under one of a plurality of robot control programs, comprising the steps of:

• (a) storing the relationship between the workpieces, the NC programs, and the NC control programs, so that a particular workpiece corresponds to a predetermined NC program and a predetermined robot control program;
• (b) determining the size or shape of the workpiece to be machined;
• (c) automatically selecting the corresponding one of the NC programs based on the results of said determining step (b);
• (d) transmitting a robot control program selection signal to the robot control device in accordance with the selected NC program, to select the corresponding robot control program;
• and
• (e) executing robot service processing under the control of the robot control device based on the selected one of the robot control programs corresponding to the robot control program selection signal.