Hi! I'm going to replace a failed CPU on a KRC2 Controller. The MainBoard is socket PGA370 and the CPU is a Celeron SL52Y. Has anyone tried to replace a CPU with a non KUKA one?
KRC2 CPU SUBSTITUTION
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IlFincoITA -
December 16, 2013 at 12:44 PM -
Thread is marked as Resolved.
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I've never tried replacing the CPU with a non-KUKA CPU. Technically, it should be possible, as long as the CPUs are compatible, but it's not a sure thing. I have, for example, seen people attempt to add non-KUKA RAM to KUKA motherboards: sometimes it works, sometimes it fails badly, and sometimes it creates random issues that are very hard to track down.
Basically, while the motherboard and components of the KRC2 controller are technically the same as an average PC, in fact they have been heavily tested and certified, and are made to tighter tolerances. Average PCs, for example, are much more tolerant of minor memory timing faults, b/c a consumer-grade OS like Windows can tolerate such things. But with a hard-realtime system like VxWorks, which is what actually runs the robot (the Windows on the KRC2 only runs the user interface), minor timing faults in a RAM chip result in fatal errors that stop the robot immediately for safety.
Bottom line: replacing a KUKA part with a non-KUKA off-the-shelf equivalent shouldn't actually damage anything. But it might work, or it might result in a robot that runs poorly, if at all. BSODs, freezes, random spontaneous reboots, etc.
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OK I'm going to do this test. Besides I can accept that the mainboard has been specially done for KUKA but the CPU seems to be just a commercial one. I seriously doubt that KUKA has it's own manufactoring Company named Intel... he he he.
I'll report my results... thanks a lot...
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You can do it ok on a KRC1 so I can't see any reason on a 2
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OK I'm going to do this test. Besides I can accept that the mainboard has been specially done for KUKA but the CPU seems to be just a commercial one. I seriously doubt that KUKA has it's own manufactoring Company named Intel... he he he.I'll report my results... thanks a lot...
You'd be surprised. For example, in the days of the 486 processor, Intel sold the 486DX (with an internal math co-processor) and the 486SX (no co-processor). Thing was, the SXs were mostly DXs which had failed the quality-control checks for the co-processor but passed the other quality checks, and so got re-marked and sold as a lower-end market item.
So it's possible that Consumer-grade and Industrial-Grade processors come off the same assembly line, but the units earmarked for the Industrial market have passed a higher level of quality-control testing. -
BTW, could it be FASTER CPU?
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Hm. VxWorks is a hard realtime OS, but I'm not sure how changing the clock speed of the processor would affect it. Overall, though, I suspect using a processor that is not an exact match for the original is an increasingly dicey proposition.
Either way, even if a faster processor worked, it would not speed up the robot's system. This is hard-coded to a fixed 12ms cycle
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Yup. I'd love to have FASTER interface....
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Hm. If a faster processor worked, the spare machine cycles might go into making Windows faster. Maybe. It'll really depend on how the preemptive multitasking between Windows and VxWorks functions.
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Since the CPUs from deep hell are very cheap now, after making disk image the test should be safe, yes?
Cez -
I would say yes, modulo the basic risks of tampering with any motherboard: Standard precautions against static discharge, dust, etc, all need to be observed. However, since I've never done it, I'm speaking purely theoretically.
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I made this change some years ago...
I don't remeber every detail but one thing that I remember is:KRC1 has a power Source from CPU on standard AT, and KRC2 has powerSource standard ATX, so when you turn on the painel the motherboard don't work, until the signal start from the motherboard, like a computer. Using motherboard from KUKA, there is this function on BIOS. For example, sometimes when the BIOS battery is low, is necessary to change the battery and use a screwdrive to simulate the button start to enter in the BIOS and restore factory default.
I need try test again, but end of year is very hard to find time...I will follow this topic to looking for news.
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Motherboard with similar specifications running on KRC2 controller.