KRC2 pendant extremely dim

    Hi !


    I find my KRC2 pendant extremely dim, even at max brightness setting.
    Is this normal given the limitations of early 2000's technology, or a hardware issue ?


    If it is the backlighting gone weak, can it be replaced ?


    Thanks !

    I agree with previous reply. I met the same by one of the customers, so local Kuka representative suggests to replace entire pendant, but perhaps the background lamp could be replaced separately.
    As the temporary solution the external monitor can be plugged to controller PC.

    Hi folks,
    AT LAST ! I received my pendant screen light.
    I ordered it from Ebay here : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA…e=ADME:X:CPSSPSIB:US:1123
    The seller was flawless, but the French postal services in summer.... meh.


    Anyways, befor I attempt open hearted surgery on my precious, I'd like to gather some advice from those of you who have already done it.
    While I am at it, I will also try to clean up the "Drives ON" key which seems quite capricious...


    Thanks

    Here's the advice I can give from my experience:
    1. When you're opening the pendant, open it from the back, and make sure the 6D mouse stays in the recess of the top portion of the pendant(the one with the display) - if you let it slide up and go with the back, you'll almost certainly rip the very short cable off, I nearly did it myself.
    2. Don't pull on the back half, there's a relatively short cable going to the hand grip buttons. Carefully lift it up, then tilt it and disconnect the cable.
    3. If you're wondering how to remove the rubber boot... well, there's no easy way to do it. Use a really wide flathead screwdriver and start prying the pins out of the screw holes on the back. It'll fight you a lot.
    4. When reassembling, make sure the rubber gasket is back where it was, or you can disable the deadman buttons and pinch a bunch of cables.

    Hi Spirit532,


    I was too impatient and proceeded to operate.
    Now I can see the reason for your advice ! Thanks anyways :smiling_face:


    I attached a little photo-tutorial that will help with replacing the lamp (or the whole screen ) of the KRC2 pendant.
    Having a smartphone repair toolkit can be handy to pry things out without too much damage (there's still the occasionnal little plastic rib that will snap anyways)...


    Some pictures have a warning because sometimes what is depicted is not what you should do, but rather what you should avoid doing !


    I hope it helps...

    that connector has lever (brown bar) that allows unlocking. once connector is unlocked ribbon cable comes in/out effortlessly (and without damaging anything).

    1) read pinned topic: READ FIRST...

    2) if you have an issue with robot, post question in the correct forum section... do NOT contact me directly

    3) read 1 and 2

    Quote from Spirit532


    It's a good idea to upload the images to imgur and link them here using img tags


    I'm done with opening web accounts, so I placed the images in my Google Drive and put the links in "img" tags, but it doesn't seem to work.
    Anyways, I hope it can be of some use as it is.


    Cheers,

    Edited once, last by Wall-E ().

    Quote from Spirit532


    How hard did you pull in step 7 to rip half the connector off the board? :icon_eek:


    I used patience and a plastic spatula from my kit.
    How do you tell a plastic connector that's supposed to stay with the cable from one which is supposed to stay on the socket ?
    If you never experienced it or found clear documentation about it, you can't, thus my photo tutorial.


    By the way, the screen is still dim as hell.
    I guess I'm good for buying a new one, or perhaps they never get brighter than this.
    If that's the case, I'm amazed that everyone finds it normal, because in a well-lit work environment, I really need to squint to read the screen.
    It could also be that I'm 46... :smiling_face:

    Hi all,


    I just tried to move my robot with the pendant, and I get "1376 KCP Active commands inhibited" messages, so I guess I did something wrong to the pendant while re-assembling it.
    My guess is that it has something to do with the 6D mouse, and the funny copper strip that sticks out of it.
    When I popped the case open, the mouse stuck on the wrong half, as I mentionned in my tutorial, and that strip srung out, but I don't know out of what...
    So I stuffed it in the black port which is next to the white port where the 6D mouse's data cable goes.
    Maybe this is beaking the security circuit...


    Before I open up that can of worms again, I'd like to gather some advice...


    Thanks,

    Hi Panic,


    I realized that I had tripped the Emergency stop on the pendant, so I reset it back, shut the KRC down, and the back on again.
    I was able to move the robot in T1 mode, but only on a single stroke.
    Then the error messages came back.
    So I decided to open up the pendant and took out the copper strip from the black terminal, and did the whole Hooba-loo once again : no luck.


    For the sake of my mental sanity, I'd like to know where that copper strip is supposed to go anyway.


    The dead man switch seems to work normally, since it triggers the display of the "move" options (X, Y, Z, A, B, C in "World" mode for instance), but it only allows one stroke to be done ; if ever I let go of it and press it again, it will not activate the motors (I don't hear the sweet "click" sound in the controller) and display the "1376 KCP Active commands inhibited" message.


    ...sob...

    I can still run programs in "Automatic" mode ; the "Motors on" button works just fine.
    In fact, it seems to work better now that I blew compressed air up it's ass.


    But the T1 and T2 modes are still glitchy, so I can't define new bases and tools :frowning_face:

    Edited once, last by Wall-E ().

    Quote from panic mode

    are there any other messages
    do drives get enabled EVERY time you press and hold enabling switch in T1?


    No other message.
    After exiting "hibernate" mode, I get one shot at moving the robot, and then any subsequent attempt does not enable drives and the same message is displayed.
    I know the dead-man button works because it has an effet on the interface as described earlier.

    Here is what happened this morning as I shut the power on :


    -For some reason, the controller did a cold start ; I even had to log into Windows
    I used "User=Administrator" and "Password=kukarobxpe2" (thanks forum !).
    It managed to load everything fine, just saying something about sceduled maintenance :pfeif:


    -I set the operating mode to T1


    -I press the dead man switch on the KCP ; "I" becomes green and I hear the relays trip in the controller.


    -Keeping the dead man switch pressed, I move the robot in Carthesian mode for as long as I want, in whichever direction


    -I release the dead man switch, say, to scratch my butt or dink some Rhum ; "I" becomes red


    -I press the dead man switch again ; "I" stays red, no sound in the controller, but I can see the "X, Y, Z, A, B, C" options on the right side of the screen


    -If I press any key to move the robot, say, the "X+" key, I get the error "1376 KCP Active commands inhibited" (and nothing else)


    I should add that "Automatic" mode works perfectly. I can use the dead man switch as many times as I wish : no error messages.


    :help:

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