Is the 2006 Fadal 4020 good to buy?

Hello folks. I've got a chance on buying a 2006 Fadal 4020 at an attractive price. Needs a chip conveyor motor but other than that, looks to be in good shape. Still in operation at its shop.

Anything I need to be aware of with this year/vintage of a machine? As well as the "smart", applicable questions to ask before purchase? Are they solid? POS? I've got a '90 4020 that I'm super comfortable with that although is slow, she's built like a Sherman tank, easy to work on, and still makes good parts. Don't know anything else beyond that with these machines.

The controller on the 2006 is a Fanuc 18iMB5. I have no idea if this is factory installed or not. Power on time is 22k hours and cutting time is 8300 hours.

I'll be cutting 90% of the time aluminum.

Any advice/direction would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Probably ok.
Can you still get parts/service for them?

DouglasJRizzo said:

Probably ok.
Can you still get parts/service for them?

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Even with my 90, that hasn't ever been an issue.

I have a 2010 Fadal 3016 with an 18iMB. The controller was a factory option. Parts and service for the Fadal side are readily available and Fanuc still supports the controller and related parts.

if you aren't familiar with Fanuc (see some previous posts) if you buy the machine be sure and do a complete SRAM backup before moving the machine.

xyzzy said:

I have a 2010 Fadal 3016 with an 18iMB. The controller was a factory option. Parts and service for the Fadal side are readily available and Fanuc still supports the controller and related parts.

if you aren't familiar with Fanuc (see some previous posts) if you buy the machine be sure and do a complete SRAM backup before moving the machine.

Click to expand...

Good deal. Thanks for chiming in on this. I'm not too worried about parts or serviceability of a Fadal. Never have been. I'm pretty comfy with them and have great resources for such. What I'd like to know is there anything wonky I need to look out for when getting into a more "modern" Fadal? Just because a machine is "newer" doesn't necessarily mean they built it "better" if you know what I'm saying.

I'm also not at all familiar with Fanuc controllers. Maybe they are more desirable to work with than the Fadal controller. Someone that has used both could better answer that I'm sure.

As far as SRAM goes, the machine HAS been moved into a rigger's warehouse. I'll have to ask if they backed up SRAM...but I'm doubting it.

I only know Fanuc controls, not Fadal, so someone else will have to wade in on that.

Check out this thread - Samsung SL25Y Fanuc18I-TB controller issues. You don't want to run into the same issues. With a 15 year old machine I'd like to think the previous shop did at least 1 backup. Search for other threads about the type of PCMCIA card and memory you need for these controllers to load/store SRAM. Ebay is your friend. Good luck!

Pass pass Fanuc with Fadal = trouble

We've been running ours with a Fanuc control + 4th axis for 10 years without a problem. Curious why you feel that way?

When you do have a problem you will have nowhere to turn to. The Fanuc guys will say no thats a fadal issue and the fadal guys that understand fanuc integration are only available as independents which will have a heck of a time getting ladder logic from fanuc. Its a half ass control even on a new machine with lots of support. Fanuc is like seimens.. lots of options to buy and lots ...lots of part numbers that wont swap over without logic changes