On Fanuc "i" controls, how long will parameters stay with battery disconnected ?

[Milacron]

On Fanuc "i" controls, how long will parameters stay with battery disconnected ?

21iT, proceedure for changing CPU battery is to run control for 30 seconds, shut it down and then change the battery. According to Fanuc literature you have 30 minutes to do this before you might loose parameters.

First off, I'm curious why they recommend shutting the system off in the first place....why not just change the battery while the control is still running like in the old days ?

But secondly, I'm curious is 30 minutes being conservative, or pretty much right to the minute ? I ask this because I'd like to inspect some boards behind the yellow plastic case but the only way to do this is remove the yellow case but when you remove that case you also are removing the backup battery ! I hate the thought of having to reload parameters just to reseat some boards...seems ridiculous. Then again reseating a certain board I might loose parameters anyway...not sure which one they reside on. Thoughts ?

 

[Ox]

I had the boards out of my 18i last summer, and I was pushing the 30m mark a time'r two, and no loss here.

I would guess that as the cap that is powering it gets older - that time would lessen, but mine is '99, so you should be good to go on your 2004. (and I have more boards than you will too.)



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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

21iT, proceedure for changing CPU battery is to run control for 30 seconds, shut it down and then change the battery. According to Fanuc literature you have 30 minutes to do this before you might loose parameters.

First off, I'm curious why they recommend shutting the system off in the first place....why not just change the battery while the control is still running like in the old days ?

But secondly, I'm curious is 30 minutes being conservative, or pretty much right to the minute ? I ask this because I'd like to inspect some boards behind the yellow plastic case but the only way to do this is remove the yellow case but when you remove that case you also are removing the backup battery ! I hate the thought of having to reload parameters just to reseat some boards...seems ridiculous. Then again reseating a certain board I might loose parameters anyway...not sure which one they reside on. Thoughts ?

The reasoning was that every so often, someone would forget to keep the NC power on, yank the battery pack and...oops.
I wouldn't flaunt the 30 min rule too much, there may be a little bit O' tolerance there, but not by much.

 

[Admin5]

The reasoning was that every so often, someone would forget to keep the NC power on, yank the battery pack and...oops.

I think your understanding of my question is the opposite of what I meant. What I am wondering is why is it not ok to change the battery with the power on anymore. I suspect in reality it is ok to do so, but it is curious they don't state that fact.

Milacron

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

I think your understanding of my question is the opposite of what I meant. What I am wondering is why is it not ok to change the battery with the power on anymore. I suspect in reality it is ok to do so, but it is curious they don't state that fact.

Milacron

Heh..ok
Gotcha..
May have to do with potential arcing. I asked the service guys, and I'll post their answer pronto.

 

[metaltech]

I think you're right, Don, that you could change it powered up. Actually, I had not run across that procedure to power it off first. However, I would want it on more than 30 seconds to let the supercap charge before I relied on it to hold the memory. Just me personally, I'd want it on 10 minutes, if not 30. Ox has a good point about caps aging and losing some of their capacity, which would cut into that 30 minute margin.

 

[Milacron]

Just me personally, I'd want it on 10 minutes, if not 30. Ox has a good point about caps aging and losing some of their capacity, which would cut into that 30 minute margin.

Except that would be a bit silly for changing the memory battery since if you had the control panel open when you turned the control off it would take all of 20 seconds* to change the battery. My interest was how much time I might have to delve into some more elaborate investigations with the motherboard and it's young'uns.

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*Well, ok, maybe a couple of minutes in my case since I would be too cheap to buy the official battery with integral wires/plug and would need time to desolder and resolder the original wires to the new battery tabs.

 

[Ox]

*Well, ok, maybe a couple of minutes in my case since I would be too cheap to buy the official battery with integral wires/plug and would need time to desolder and resolder the original wires to the new battery tabs.

I save that feasco for the NEXT time after getting a spare set of wires THIS time.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Admin5]

I save that feasco for the NEXT time after getting a spare set of wires THIS time.

The wires are not the issue...it's the unique tiny plug that is the issue. Where did you get a spare of that ??

Milacron

 

[ewlsey]

I think your understanding of my question is the opposite of what I meant. What I am wondering is why is it not ok to change the battery with the power on anymore. I suspect in reality it is ok to do so, but it is curious they don't state that fact.

Milacron

I would guess that OSHA or some other safety regs prompted them to provide a method to change it with the machine locked out.

 

[Ox]

The wires are not the issue...it's the unique tiny plug that is the issue. Where did you get a spare of that ??

Milacron

If you buy them from Fanuc - they come with the wiring harness already to rock and roll.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox