Any one have tips on backing up and restoring various Fanuc controls?

snipped-for-privacy@lycos.com wrote in news:4y1gk.247257$ snipped-for-privacy@en-nntp-01.dc.easynews.com:

Wes, On the 15,18,21 series (not sure about the others), Insert your PCMCIA card in the slot. Then reboot the control while holding the 2 right-hand most softkeys (under the screen). You will get a menu that will have the option to save all of the DRAM (Ladder, etc) to the card. You reload it the same way. It will *NOT* save the NC progams or Parameters via this method, only the PMC.

Saving parameters through serial port is easy, cannot remember the exact keystrokes, look for punch. Also back up the 9000 programs, your toolchange routine is there. It happened to me once to lose memory once and could not restore till all the com parameters have been input manually. Having the factory printout helped so is a good idea to keep a hardcopy of parameters and toolchange program inside your machine.

DanP

Oops. If you have a similar machine you can try copying that ones ladder (no guarantee that will work) or you talk to the manufacturer. Have no idea how to restore the ladder.

DanP

Wes,

A noble, yet daunting task. The whole parameter issue is a ticking time bomb. Up until the last few years ago, backing up parameters (and ladder) on any Fanuc control was a daunting task. Since the advent of the built in PCMCIA cards (16/18/21 series), things are much easier.

This last week, a guy in Gardena,CA, who was just trying to do the right thing, called us for help restoring parameters on his Fanuc

10TA. His operator replaced the batteries during a scheduled P.M. and put in a battery with a rusted terminal by mistake. The next morning the machine was dead. The generic parameter list furnished by the MTB didn't include the proper keep relay setting (PC Parameter) needed to get the chucking to work, and a smeared number on the fax resulted in the diameter/radius feature getting set wrong. Three days later they were up and running.

We are a very small independent service company in Southern California and we get a call like this every week or two.

My suggestion for a first step in dealing with this problem:

Tomorrow, start a list of every Fanuc controlled CNC machine in your shop. Ask someone the if the following information is in a safe place off site:

1) Parameters - preferably punched out, not hand written. They must include recent things like backlash, leadscrew comp and RS-232 things. 2) P.C. Parameters - These include Timers, Counters, Keep Relays. 3) Tool change macros - sometimes these are hidden, but nearly always are in the 8000-9000 range. Watch the upper right corner of the screen during a tool/pallet change - if the part program number changes during a tool or pallet change, you probably have a hidden macro. Back these up. 4) Spindle drive parameters - almost always need to be backed up by hand up until 10 years ago. 5) Axillary motion controller parameters - some tool change axes parameters (PC controlled, Fanuc Powermate) are stored separately. 6) Electrical diagrams. 7) Ladder logic - this, until the PCMCIA card sockets came on the scene, is a really tough one. Before they came, ladders were usually stored in E-Proms. They are very reliable, but, when they go bad, tough to find. At the very least make sure that a written ladder is available, in case someone needs to reconstruct it.

Warren

Uptime Electronics, Inc.

============= First Error! Personally verify that the information, preferably in both hard copy and machine readable format, is stored off-site AND RECORD WHERE. Then personally check that the information is still there every few months and that someone did not get a "wild hair" during a clean-up campaign.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]

------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

======= No -- through a "wild-hair" clean-up. They got the back-up photocopies of the manuals also. Never did find out who actually pitched the stuff.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]

------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

learned about

information.

Wes, if you want the Idocs for all Fanuc controls, it gives the procedure for complete backups. I can email you the pdf. Daveb

Sure would. Use wess at wess.mdns.org if you would please.

Thanks,

Wes

On the way Daveb

Excellent. I got it.

I learned a bit tonight. On my older 16 controls I had to set keep relay 17.1 to get the i/o option to come up in PMC. I found that on the memex site.

Managed to back up PMC data but in looking at it, I see keep relay and counter but I don't seem to see timer data in it. I may have that backwards.

The pdf also told me that my PC Card / compact flash card isn't going to work with my slightly newer 16 controls. I need a SRAM type card. Newer control has many more things to back up.

This has been an excellent help to me. I thank you again.

Wes

Yes, I would agree on that. Sure wish an 'idiots guide to doing it right' was in my fanuc manuals.

The pcmcia type cards seem to have 3 generations though. Not everyone works with every control. ARRGH.

I hired a company to service my fanuc robots where I used to work 7 or so years ago. I didn't want to do the PM on them since I had better things to do and I didn't trust the maintenance tech's to do it. Well the guy that was likely well qualified didn't catch on that the controller he was looking at and was powered up wasn't attached to the robot he was changing batteries in. Water jet application profiling headliners. Pick mastering doesn't get it.

I can guarantee with certainty that I'm the only person in this facility that has given this a thought. Engineers buy machines, engineers go. Tech's tend to stay longer but don't have the appreciation of how valuable bits are.

Before I landed here at my current position in seriously depressed northern michigan I had IT as one of my duties. If I can't wipe something and bring it back alive I'm not sleeping very well well.

I'd like to get added to our list of hoops to have vendors jump through is wipe the machine, restore it from vendor provided data submitted to us prior to wipe.

Thank you for your well reasoned response. Oh, btw,

Is an excellent source of backup info, they sell memory upgrades.

I also noticed while playing around that I could punch out ladder on some of my fanuc 16 controls. I'm wondering if that means it is not burned into eprom? Kind of scary if it is subject to a few keys pressed on powerup.

Wes