I have worked several years with Motoman robots. I now work with both Motoman and Fanuc. I have noticed a few big issues regarding the two:
Today, I tested the following between two new 12kg robots (Yaskawa YRC1000 and Fanuc M-10iD).
Motoman seems to be able to jog through a singularity (like flipping the hand) in the tool coordinate system. It simply rotates the forth axis slightly and then rotates it back to avoid the singularity on it's own. Fanuc simply stops when it approaches the position.
Also, I have never had to change the configuration string on a Motoman for hand orientation yet it seems to be necessary on the Fanuc. With the Motoman, it seems to calculate the best joint positions based on your last and next move. Sometimes you have to make changes to avoid an extreme condition but it is usually obvious when you seen it. It may be that Motoman allows you to make a move even though you may reach a limit while Fanuc looks ahead and prevents the move if it sees an issue.
With the Fanuc, I cannot switch between configurations (F/U) using linear moves. This has never been a problem with Motoman.
This, to me seems to be an obvious short-coming with Fanuc. Does anyone know a way around these issues?
Thanks,
Steve