Samsung SL25Y Fanuc18I-TB controller issues

christie628 · Feb 12, 2021

Just recently purchased a used 2010 Samsung SL25 lathe that had been sitting for a few months. Put it under power and backup batteries for axis were low, Replaced them only to find MDI touch panel was not working. All control buttons would work but non of the mdi so i couldn't home the machine . Jump two days later while searching wiring for loose connections i found a blown 5a fuse in the control panel. I replaced the fuse and powered the controller back on to black screen , It wont boot at all. Tried cycling power to the machine / went back through fuses and all were good including the one i had replaced.

In the machine cabinet the controller driver shows a alarm :
Alarm:
A data transfer alarm for the
nonvolatile memory has been
issued.

Countermeasure:
Turn the power off then back on.
If this alarm recurs. replace the
servo amplifier module.

Tried several reboots to no avail .

Is there a controller issue or is the servo amplifier really bad ? All the servo amp have the double horizontal hash with no faults.

Guest · Feb 12, 2021

Was it demonstrated under power before it was moved to your location?

christie628 · Feb 12, 2021

Yes it was . This is the 8th machine we have purchased from the same dealer and never had any issues .

Guest · Feb 12, 2021

I would just clean and reseat all board connections, and cables to the servo motors. That is usually a good place to start if something arrives DOA from a move. That has cured the DOA CNC machine more than once for me.

christie628 · Feb 15, 2021

Update:

Have pulled board connections / cables and seated them. No progress , It seems like its something in the Fanuc 18I controller itself but there are several boards and im not sure where to start. Whats weird is the controller main board has all four lights green but its not communication with the rest of the machine , Could i have a bad communication board? Is there a good way to test this before buying one to plug and play ?

xyzzy · Feb 15, 2021

A few thoughts:

Agree with clean and reseat everything. Sometimes using one of the spray contact cleaners on the boards and their seats can help. Visual inspection doesn't always catch everything.

You said you replaced the batteries for the axis, did you do that "hot" with the machine powered up? An NVRAM error makes me wonder if it got wiped out during your battery swap.

do you have a SRAM backup? Can you get as far to follow this procedure (https://www.cnc1.com/hubfs/fanuc-library/Fanuc_16i_18i_21i_SRAM_Backup.pdf) to reload the SRAM? I would verify you can get to the System Monitor main menu and your SRAM is loaded properly before I tried anything else.

As a last resort in the past I have called Fanuc tech support. No support contract or anything but the techs have been willing to spend a few minutes with me and offer suggestions.

Good luck!

christie628 · Feb 16, 2021

Update:

So speaking with fanuc support and rebooting the machine holding the 2 furthest right soft keys the controller did not pull up any menus . AKA not booting at all. So im going to start by replacing the CPU board / If that doesnt fix it the main board is the last option and i will have to re upload all software

memoryman · Feb 16, 2021

If you replace the CPU on that control, you will need to get Fanuc to restore the options, as they are linked to the cpu serial number.

christie628 · Feb 22, 2021

Alright ,

Going to finish this out so if anyone ever has this problem they might be able to troubleshoot better. So turns out the main board was bad along with the MDI ( key pad unit) . The MDI unit had a short in it somewhere and me trying to fix it without thinking ( Hey there is a reason that fuse was blown ) Put the 5A fuse in. Once i powered the machine it blew the main board .

So i have called in Fanuc to help with the fix / Currently main board is replaced but im going to lose all of my controller info. Trying to get a factory backup has proved to be impossible . All i have for backups are the following

SL25ASY-5PA

SL25ASY-5PC

That being said we will push forward and attempt to get this machine rolling. Will update soon

Hardplates · Feb 22, 2021

christie628 said:
Alright ,

Going to finish this out so if anyone ever has this problem they might be able to troubleshoot better. So turns out the main board was bad along with the MDI ( key pad unit) . The MDI unit had a short in it somewhere and me trying to fix it without thinking ( Hey there is a reason that fuse was blown ) Put the 5A fuse in. Once i powered the machine it blew the main board .

So i have called in Fanuc to help with the fix / Currently main board is replaced but im going to lose all of my controller info. Trying to get a factory backup has proved to be impossible . All i have for backups are the following

SL25ASY-5PA

SL25ASY-5PC

That being said we will push forward and attempt to get this machine rolling. Will update soon

Any hopes of backups will come from Samsung or a previous owner. Fanuc will not have anything of any use. They may have option parameters but it's not uncommon for the MTB to upgrade options after purchasing the control from Fanuc.

I believe what you are looking for will begin with SRAM*_*.**

But I've only messed with i A controls, never an i B

Let this be a lesson to you and others to never buy a machine without backing it up before it is disconnected from power. Even if it has the factory parameters with it, it may have been upgraded over the years and not noted in the original list. When fooling around I always make notes in the original list as to what has been tuned and changed.

Only way I will buy a machine without a copy of the parameters is if it is worth what I am paying in parts/scrap

Also any used dealer worth a crap would have backed up the parameters when they powered up the machine.

xyzzy · Feb 24, 2021

You need 2 files for an iB: SRAM1_0A.FDB and SRAM1_0B.FDB, each is 512Kb. Hardplates nailed it - Fanuc will not have those files, they come from the MTB. If you can't get those files from someone you are in for a long road, and about to discover the joys of Fanuc ladder logic and PLCs.

Here is another idea - even if you cannot get those files for your machine, see if someone on the board or elsewhere has the same model and approximate year and get a copy of their files. You'll be far ahead with any SRAM files rather than nothing. A machine with similar hardware (Servos, encoders, options, etc.) might be pretty close.

I don't know if SRAM from one machine will load in another, Fanuc will know about that. Some years ago I found on the web a copy of the Fanuc ladder editor for Windows. Even with someone else's SRAM you could see how the ladder was set up with something like that and hand code it into the controller. Lots of ways to go bang though with ladder errors, and you still need to sort out the parameters.

If there is any chance to go back to the vendor I'd pursue it - the rigging costs may pale compared to the grief of getting this machine working.

Hardplates · Feb 24, 2021

xyzzy said:
You need 2 files for an iB: SRAM1_0A.FDB and SRAM1_0B.FDB, each is 512Kb. Hardplates nailed it - Fanuc will not have those files, they come from the MTB. If you can't get those files from someone you are in for a long road, and about to discover the joys of Fanuc ladder logic and PLCs.

Here is another idea - even if you cannot get those files for your machine, see if someone on the board or elsewhere has the same model and approximate year and get a copy of their files. You'll be far ahead with their SRAM files rather than nothing. A machine with similar hardware (Servos, encoders, options, etc.) might be pretty close. Proceed with caution though.

Good luck!

I've yet to mess with an iB but on an iA the SRAM file name as well as how many there are, is determined by what memory board is installed. I believe the first file is the only one that contains anything and the others are program storage. I think this because when you install a larger memory board you need to create the additional SRAM file names but there is nothing in the files. With a 512K memory board there is only one SRAM file named SRAM0_5A.FDB

I think the 2 files you listed are for a control with a 1Mb board, a 2Mb board will have more files and a 3Mb board even more. A 3Mb board is required for 2Mb of program storage.

I could be wrong about some of this as I'm going off memory cause it's too late for me to dig out my notes :codger:

christie628 · Feb 25, 2021

Thanks for the responses !

So main board was replaced / fanuc was somehow able to transfer Sram over . Controller powers up and works as it should but i have one alarm i can't clear . After homing the axis i have a EX2165 alarm . ( Part Catcher sensor signal lost) . The kicker is this machine doesnt have a parts catcher , No wiring i can see or actuators . Ive looked through the PMC Keep relay bits and they show ( according to my manual) that its disabled. Ive also switched the bits counting from left to right and right to left without any change. Is my best bet in the electric cabinet trying to jumper a signal or am i missing something on the controller side?

ifixcnc · Feb 25, 2021

Look at PMC DIAG, search A0, and page down.
That will show all of the A Alarms, hopefully the EX numbers are shown above the A bits.
Find the A number for EX2165
Go to the ladder and W search that A bit
Look at the rung that makes the A bit, and see if you have an K number (keep relay) or an X bit that will stop the A from becoming true (on).
If you have an X bit, look at the electrical print and find out what you can Jump or pull off, to stop the rung from turning on.
If you have an K bit turn off that Keep Relay.

Hardplates · Feb 25, 2021

christie628 said:
Thanks for the responses !

So main board was replaced / fanuc was somehow able to transfer Sram over . Controller powers up and works as it should but i have one alarm i can't clear . After homing the axis i have a EX2165 alarm . ( Part Catcher sensor signal lost) . The kicker is this machine doesnt have a parts catcher , No wiring i can see or actuators . Ive looked through the PMC Keep relay bits and they show ( according to my manual) that its disabled. Ive also switched the bits counting from left to right and right to left without any change. Is my best bet in the electric cabinet trying to jumper a signal or am i missing something on the controller side?

Do you have a copy of the ladder? Should be able to trace it back from the alarm to figure out what the deal is.

Also have you done a SRAM backup? If not I highly recommend doing one before anything else. You can do another once you get the parts catcher issue squared away

christie628 · Feb 27, 2021

Alright Update:

I messed with the keep relays for a day according to the machine builders manual with no luck . I ended up looking through the electrical schematics for the cabinet and found the parts catcher signal closed sensor . I jumped it with 24V and alarm is gone. Now i have all the axis and spindles true homed and machine operates as it should finally except one thing. The tool changer is not working .

I went through the manual and did the following for this machine:
PCM / Keep Relay / row 8 bit 7 to a 1 to allow me to unlock and relock the tool changer / Moved it by hand to tool 1 position and locked the turret ( Little increments at a time until the turret lock light enabled ) Shut off Keep relay 8.7 . / Then went to pmm / systems / Data #11 and changed bit to 0. Restarted controller and changed #11 bit back to 1. Restarted machine again and still turret wont actuate . No alarms or anything . Did i do something wrong homing the turret? According to my manual all of the required conditions are met for the index (front door closed / X0/Y0/Z0 /tool setter up/ mill spindle oriented)

Also yes i backed up the controller twice so i never have this issue again.

christie628 · Mar 2, 2021

HEY GUYS!!!! Thank you all for the comments and advice on this from the get go. Your advise help diagnose better than fanuc support 10 fold. I have the machine operating and fully functional now . Everything works as it should and we are gong to start making chips today. Im super busty right now so no i cant tell you everything on how i fixed it today but i plan on composing a report with how i fixed it / what was wrong/ and all the supporting manual's and paperwork that helped in the process. I will get it posted by the end of the week . This is my first fanuc CNC controller and its so differnt from our haas machines it was a struggle but they are crazy cool once you figure out how they work. Again thank you for the help !

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