Category: Robotics Applications

IT and Robotics

Joe Kaminski Leave a comment

Information Technology involves storing, retrieving, altering and transmitting massive amounts of data.

Because IT is heavily reliant on computers, automating the field is definitely the most practical direction.

Slowly taking rein in the sector, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is terminating the manual effort associated with IT tasks and business processes.

RPA grips technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning and vision, big data analytics and, eventually, quantum mechanics, to complete several tasks.

There are two types of automated deployments:

  1. Simplified robots (such as FANUC Robotics products found here) that execute a script to recurrently execute a specific function.
  2. Cognitive RPA/software-based AI that learns the tasks they are presented with and learn how to make choices on their own.

Currently, large global IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) organizations are using lesser forms of RPA.

Using RPA enables organizations to provide IT services at higher efficiencies and minimize costs.

Utilizing RPA enables organizations to provide IT services at increased efficiencies while cutting costs.

Many say that a handful of companies are currently in the early stages of conducting RPA proof-of-concept trials, while some are entertaining production pilots.

Affected Areas

Many IT service lines are expected to come under RPA’s influence.

  1. Helpdesk is a field that falls under this category. RPAs could potentially automate non-ticketing activities that, as per IT reports, occupy 25% to 40% of a helpdesk’s tasks. Some of these tasks include monitoring, providing clarifications and reporting. As for ticketing, RPA could assist in automation common service requests such as password resets.
  1. IT infrastructure outsourcing is another area that is expected to be impacted by RPA. In this, robots (such as FANUC motors, amplifiers, and drives) could observe critical thresholds and, under certain threshold breach conditions, could even fix the issue.

Companies have already started to leverage RPA for many of their client projects.

Processes that mandate RPA include rule-based, high volume, several systems, repetitive tasks, data mining, or data entry tasks. MRO Electric and Supply has new and refurbished FANUC Robotics products available. We also offer repair pricing. For more information, please call 800-691-8511 or email sales@mroelectric.com.

Automation Advantages

  1. RPA slashes labor costs immensely.
  2. The technology offers a less prying way for integrating systems because software AI access applications through the user interface.
  3. Robots would connect to various UIs, including legacy green-screen applications, and would not touch the underlying software.
  4. RPA projects require less time and money when compared to traditional automation.
  5. AI robots will provide better quality, faster processing times (within hours compared to weeks with manual approach), major improvement in traceability for audit purposes, and increased high-speed analytics.
  6. RPA would easily scale and address fluctuations in volume.

Feasibility

Automation projects, as per industry experts, should not take more than a year to complete. They would likely cost between half a million USDs to two million or more, depending on the number of robots and their complexities. Check out our article on factory automation and machine-to-machine learning here.

Yaskawa Motoman Swordfighter

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Yaskawa Motoman Swordfighter

Industrial robotics is pretty under-recognized It’s easy to think they’re all about manufacturing. But just watch as Motoman-MH24 normally found assembling or packing products in a factory, takes on a new lease on its automation life and becomes a master sword fighter.

Motoman-MH24 is a 630-pound high-speed industrial robot made by Japan’s Yaskawa Electric Corporation. The Yaskawa Bushido Project is a short video clip showing Japanese master swordsman and five times Guinness World Record holder Isao Machii teach Motoman-MH24 the way of the sword. The company made this promotional clip to celebrate what they dub “manufacturing spirit” as they near their 100th anniversary.

To date, Machii has demonstrated some pretty radical feats with his blade: slicing a flying shrimp pelleted at him at 80mph in half, and a neon ball flung at him at 150mph – and these are just some of the things the dude can do.

The Yaskawa researchers examined Machii’s sword techniques in 3D. Next, they got Motoman to reproduce the very same movements, and the results are superb. In a showdown between master and robot-apprentice, the pair first demonstrates a four-directional cut in flawless sync. Then Motoman-MH24 reproduces each of Machii’s cuts down to a tee.

Things start really heating up when the robot actually looks like it’s gaining an upper hand over its human trainer. While Machii horizontally slices one orange, Motoman-MH24 takes down six in one fell swoop. The most epic scene is probably the one where Motoman splices a really thin pea pod in half.

While Machii looks visibly tired towards the end of the final “1000 cuts” scene, his mechanical counterpart could probably go on for at least an extra 100000.

Click to view our Yaskawa Drives and Controls currently for sale.

Restoring FANUC Beta Drive Parameters

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fanuc robotics

Restoring FANUC Beta Drive Parameters

Some instructions to help out when replacing your drives and restoring the Fanuc beta drive parameters. With Beta series drives the parameters are stored in the drive so if you
replace the drive the parameters will go with it. MRO Electric and Supply maintains a comprehensive stock of new and used FANUC Robotics Drives parts. If you need a replacement part, please call 800-691-8511 or email sales@mroelectric.com.

To save and restore Power Mate CNC Manager parameters to Beta Servo Drives:

This is required when replacing a Beta drive and applies to the following
controls. 16iA,18iA,21iA,16iB,18iB,21iB,20i,16,18,21,0i,Powe rate-iD and Powermate-iH.

1. Make NC PRM 960.3 (PMN) = 0 (Enables PMM function).
2. Select where parameters are to be saved (to save to memory card on i series controls make PRM 960.2
(MD2) = 0 and PRM 960.1 (MD1) = 1, to save as a part program make PRM 960.1 = 0).
3. Set parameter 8760 to the program number you want the parameters to be stored as. Note 1.
4. Press the SYSTEM button then the RIGHT CHAPTER button until the Power Motion Manager screen is displayed.
5. Press the SYSTEM soft key.
6. Press the PARAM soft key.
7. Press the OPRT soft key.
8. Press the RIGHT CHAPTER button. READ and PUNCH soft keys will be displayed.
9. Select EDIT mode.
10.To save parameters from Beta drive to CNC press the READ soft key, press the ALL soft key then the EXEC soft key.
11.To restore the parameters from the CNC to the Beta drive press the PUNCH soft key, press the ALL soft key, then the EXEC soft key.

Be sure to check out our A06B-6105-H002 – FANUC Robotics R-2000iA Servo Amplifier product page to get the best deals.

Fanuc 911 RAM PARITY ERROR Troubleshooting

Joe Kaminski 4 Comments

Fanuc 911 Error

Fanuc 911 RAM PARITY ERROR Troubleshooting

MRO Electric and Supply maintains a comprehensive stock of new and used FANUC CNC and FANUC Robots parts. If you need a FANUC replacement part, please call 800-691-8511 or email sales@mroelectric.com.

Last week we had a customer who was running an RNC 16 STAR 1990 vintage machine which failed so he decided to replace the main A16B-1010-0280 motherboard. His original problem was that he was receiving a 401 [VRDY Off] Error which then led to a 911 Error. When he replaced the A16B-1010-0280 motherboard, the machine would go directly to the 911 Error.

The first thing we checked for was to make sure that he transferred over all of the EEPROM modules from his original board to the replacement board, which he did. Since that wasn’t the issue, we double checked on the 911 Error, which shows as a RAM PARITY ERROR in the manual. The main cause of this error is an issue with the memory in the unit, which is caused by the memory board failing or losing the parameters in the system.

To check to see if the memory board was causing it or not, you can turn the control off, reset it, and delete the parameters. If this clears the alarm, the control would come up with a different series of servo alarms meaning that the parameters need to be reloaded. If the Fanuc 911 Error comes back it would mean that there is a problem with the memory board which needs to be replaced. Before trying any of this, be sure to confirm that you have all of the parameters saved so you can load them back in. Check out our article on IT and Robotics here.

Once the 911 Error was cleared, the customer was able to load the parameters back on to get the machine up and running.

FANUC CHECKSUM Error

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We recently shipped out two Fanuc A16B-3200-0040 boards to a customer and upon installation, they received a Fanuc CHECKSUM error on their control. Here are the notes that we use to troubleshoot this Fanuc error which can be used to try and solve the problem.

There are two common causes for this problem.  The first and most likely is TP communications.  If you see 3-5 “_” appear under the checksum number, and no red LED’s on the CPU, then this is the problem.  This means that 1/2 the communications signal is missing.  Swap the Pendant and cable (Cable is probably crushed or cut), and everything should hopefully be great.  There is a possibility of damage on the CPU side, however.

MRO Electric and Supply has new and refurbished FANUC CNC and FANUC Robotics parts available. We also offer repair pricing. For more information, please call 800-691-8511 or email sales@mroelectric.com

The second is a corruption of software on the CPU.  This will result in the middle red LED (going from memory, so it might be a different LED) on the CPU turning on.  The only way to recover from this is to dump in an image, or reload core & put in your most recent backup.  Corruptions can occur from the backup battery being dead, noisy power being supplied, or any major power glitch while the system is on (power loss, lightning strike, etc.)