rolling the dice(motoman k30)

hello to all!!!

I don't know if this will be of any interest but i will give it a try.
from the beginning, i was attending a show given by NASA where they had some small humanoid robots, they were soo cute that they spurred my interest in robots.the guys at NASA said i might start with a lego set i said ok and went to ebay. after a week of bidding i pulled the trigger on an old 1989 motoman k30 that i was told came out of a closed down honda goldwing plant. santa claus is coming tomorrow with his bag of stuff(good or bad). i have been reading the threads on robots and am getting the feeling this experience, without a lot of luck and money is going to be bad for lay person like myself. i just want to know if there anybody has had a good experience getting involved with these things to get my hopes up so that i can move on?
as the saga goes i have gone to the motoman site found out that this generation of robot is controlled an erc controller and teach pendant which is 3 to 4 generations behind what is out there today. still i am thinking if it works it has got to be able to do something!
my second question is when should i cut my loses after i open up the boxes tomorrow? i do have some experience 3 axis cam software and am willing to see where this takes me. this is just let you know the skids are coming. lets try to make this work. when it come i will post some pics truly flux

hello again
santa claus came to town.

the 1989 motoman k30s robot arm was delivered without a hitch, it looks to me like they used it as a welding robot. and the sellers packed it well. here is what i think i got:
1.the robot pics
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd266/alstonvanputten/1220.jpg?t=1261099569
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd266/alstonvanputten/1222.jpg?t=1261100076
2. an ERC controller with six cables coming out three big black ones for the robot, two grays for sensors and one for operator post. pics
3. an operators post. pics
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd266/alstonvanputten/th_1226.jpg
4. a ERC teach pendent with cable pics
5. 5 Motoman manuals tittled:
Motoman series operator's manual
ERC programming manual (for software version 4.0 revised 9/7/93)
ERC OP2 FUNCTION MANUAL ( "")PART#479950-4 TIMES TWO
AND ROBOTIC ARC WELDING PART#479950-6 PIC
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd266/alstonvanputten/th_1229.jpg
6. TWO COMPUTOR BOARDS IN BOXES PICS.
After an visual inspection the robot seems to be complete. no end of arm. the ERC controller after opening the two panels seams to have all the boards and relays in place. their is a very thin film of dust inside, but nothing ripped out.
this project still has some legs.
if i get it to run i am going to call it lego.
i hope these pics go thru. i am going to look thru the manuals for the best way wire it up.
if there is anything i should be careful about please let me know.

thank you truly flux

Can it be used to smash beer cans?
Someone once told me that an (ex)welding robot might be a better deal. It was not used to sling around heavy parts onto palets for years on end, and might not have as much wear as a machine used to palletize, for example.
Unless it was slinging a heavy spot welder all of it's life..

Look like fun. Think of it as "Tuition"

When you get to playing with it, keep in mind that what it does at 50% speed and what it might do at 100% speed can be 2 totally different things, path-wise. Just be aware of this.

What Tony said... plus make sure you're out of its reach before you push the green button. Them things are lots faster and stronger than a girlfriend's mad husband

I used to use some positively "ancient" 1980's GE robots, for pick and place and training (it still worked so why ditch it? they figured)

good for learning, but those older systems tend to be a lot less user friendly and intuitive. Which can actually be a gift, because it forces you to learn all the tricks instead of a modern controller doing it for you.

Probably the first thing you'll have to learn is the error codes and how to recover from bad code and tool crashes. Also get prepared to troubleshoot the controllers and electricals, I know enough about troubleshooting PLC's and relays to know that I'm no good at it.

My advice is to print out and tape a list of all the G code and error codes in an easy to read area, as you'll be seeing them a lot. Also don't skimp on safety, install the touch plate or light curtain or gate or what ever it has and stay away from those things. Nothing like being pimp slapped by a robot who thinks your Sarah Connor

I admire your gumption not many people would actually strike out and buy a robot.