Fanuc OT switch membranes

So I have an old lathe with a Fanuc OT control, and the keypad buttons are falling apart!

I by chance found a replacement one from china on eBay, but I have no idea what it takes to change them over. anyone on hear ever done one?

it looks like its just a thin sheet of plastic that sticks over the buttons, but I would like to have an idea how much work it is before i dig into it!

1Pcs Touch Screen Panel Fanuc Membrane Keypad Ot - A98l-1-518#T Switchli P J | eBay

Thanks for any help!

I did this a few years ago to a OTA control. I don't recall it taking a long time at all. I had to replace the switches as well as some of them quit working. Got them from Victor USA. Also the switch membrane under the CRT.
For that price, you might as well order two of them as they do wear out over time.

I replaced one on a 10t and recently within the last 2 years on an Om
I had to order the Om membrane from the machine builder NTC as it had a few special options

Both were fairly easy
small screws
small wire connections on the back of the panels

take plenty of pics to show orientation of cable connections evan though you may not need them

I think the only thing that didn't go as planned was the thin gaskets that fell apart during removal.
I used black rtv approved for electrical to create the new seals
Amazing what a new switch pad feels like and hopefully you'll swap before a switch fails

New Fanuc were not priced as bad as I thought
China copies may not fit or give the same feel ass the oem

They are dead easy to change ,just unscrew the plastic frame around the membrane ,strip the old one off put the new one on ,they are supposed to be stuck down but work fine without.

HOWEVER

The important thing is to be careful with the Chinese ones ,apparently they can be not properly made such that on sticking the thing on you lose all the machines parameters and programs etc,this is because the keys get pushed down all at once .

I have only used genuine ones (or at least they came from a reputable source but they did cost a lot. Worth it cus it's like having a new machine after.

sable said:

They are dead easy to change ,just unscrew the plastic frame around the membrane ,strip the old one off put the new one on ,they are supposed to be stuck down but work fine without.

HOWEVER

The important thing is to be careful with the Chinese ones ,apparently they can be not properly made such that on sticking the thing on you lose all the machines parameters and programs etc,this is because the keys get pushed down all at once .

I have only used genuine ones (or at least they came from a reputable source but they did cost a lot. Worth it cus it's like having a new machine after.

Click to expand...

I agree with Sable. I bought a Chinese knock off to try out years back. Thought I would save a few bucks on a rather simple item....Wrong.

The ones I got look exactly the same online, and almost in person. But....The materials used are very different. It's much thicker, stiffer, and where the buttons sit in the back of it is not cutout deep enough. What you end up with is the membrane pressing buttons on it's own.

so it looks like its an easy job, as long as it dosent go massively wrong!

i will see if i can get a price on some real fanuc ones, better safe than sorry and all that.

Thanks chaps.

Alloy Mcgraw said:

I agree with Sable. I bought a Chinese knock off to try out years back. Thought I would save a few bucks on a rather simple item....Wrong.

The ones I got look exactly the same online, and almost in person. But....The materials used are very different. It's much thicker, stiffer, and where the buttons sit in the back of it is not cutout deep enough. What you end up with is the membrane pressing buttons on it's own.

Click to expand...

Hello Alloy Mcgraw,
Yes, I've seen that a lot with After Market units. They seem to work OK without being stuck down using the self adhesive surface, but I'd rather do the job correctly. The great drama with the buttons being held down by the membrane when its stuck to the metal fascia, is that the button combination that initializes the control when the power is cycled may be pressed. That may be enough to spoil your day.

Regards,

Bill

Considering I replied to this thread 4 years ago I should have known better, but I'm now one of the latest victims of a knockoff membrane, in this case for an Omb number pad.

I was replacing the keypad(nos hardware) and thought it would be a good idea to swap out the membrane.
Made the decision at night, found a bunch on the bay and a seller in the US that had one for $45...
I offered $35 and it was accepted, then delivered in a few days.
The other day I set aside the morning to swap out the parts.
Everything went as planned.
Machine started up fine, I went into my warmup program and used it to test all the keys , and they worked great.
The membrane surface was different than the original, but I figured, new...it must be ok.
That was just before lunch.
I came back after lunch ready to load a part, and the machine was non responsive.
I had left it running and also still in program edit mode

Tried swapping out the old keypad without it mounted, and I was able to get movement(after dumping my programs)
End up finding out, like mentioned above, one of the keys, the "reset" was not being fully released.
So my replacement keypad was good, but the knockoff membrane ruined my day.
Just ordered a real one directly from Fanuc, $100.00 + shipping, should have from the start.

Be nice if this or a simular post was sticky.
Thinking you can save a buck on a(how can you screw this part up ) part, I would have gladly just ordered from Fanuc
where's the Tylenol....

Mike

I know I have posted a couple times warning of "plastic" membranes.

I seem to remember starting a thread about running the actual circuit board in an ultrasonic bringing ALL of the dead keys back to life.

"I know I have posted a couple times warning of "plastic" membranes."

It only became an issue when your staring at the only vmc you have and it won't do a damn thing......
if I had searched for membrane problems I surely would have found many a post

If your old one peels off intact they're an easy swap as said, I replaced one some years ago (not on an OTA but should be much the same) which was long overdue replacement, I ended up spending a lot of time removing the old residue from around the keys so I had a completely clean surface to stick onto.

From what I recall the membrane I bought was actually a lot cheaper than I expected for a genuine Fanuc part, given what industrial CNC machines cost it seems a bit odd cheaping out on a Chinese membrane of questionable/unknown quality, also bugs me that people let them get as bad as the one I replaced, or that machine dealers don't replace worn out ones in order to get a better price.

Recvd the real one from Fanuc within a couple days of ordering.(shipped Ground)

one on right is the real deal.

"buttons" have approx 1/16" more recess/pocket
There is a rise to each button instead of a smooth radius to the slight dimple that's already pushing on the switches
defiantly more flexible/pliable