Robot newbie on a used robot with no support trying to get past frequent SRVO-004 Fence Open, SRVO-199 Control Stop, etc

    What I've got:

    r-301A

    r-3000iB-210F

    teach pendant A05B-2518-C202#EMH

    software version v7.70p/53

    Pro-face HMI

    Omron light curtain

    a headache

    What I don't have:

    PLC

    DCS safe i/o connect

    support (my company bought this robot used from someone who bought it refurbished from the now defunct Robotworx. It is our first robot. We have not relicensed it with Fanuc yet though I would like to)

    manuals (I found a few online)

    Roboguide or any other programming software other than the teach pendant

    any experience with robots

    Our set up has the robot in the middle of two tables (A side and B side) with light curtains on each side and a HMI front and center mounted on a collison barrier. When the controller is in auto mode, an operator can pull up a program and run it, hold/pause and start/restart the robot, and reset alarms via buttons on the HMI. This is all how the previous owner had it set up.

    Since day 1 a trigger to A side's light curtain will stop the robot working on B side and vice versa. Also since day 1 the tp has displayed PRIO-230 Ethernet/IP adapter error (1) and PRIO-231 Ethernet/IP adapter idle alarms. While running programs in auto there are frequent yet erratic SRVO-004 Fence Open and SRVO-199 Control Stop alarms that are not related to either the actual fence or the light curtains being open. The sensors are clean as well. The alarms occur about 8 out of 10 times running in auto. The robot stops but can be restarted by shift reset on the tp, and hitting the reset alarm and restart buttons on the HMI. The wires seem firmly installed in EAS1-EAS11 and EAS2-EAS21.

    A week or so ago I had read in a thread somewhere in this forum about changing connections on the ethernetIP page from true to false to keep it from broadcasting on the network to attempt to connect. Only the first connection in the ethernetIP page was set to true ONLINE and all others were false OFFLINE. That same thread said that ONLINE meant it wasn't communicating properly so I figured I was safe to change it to false. It didn't seem to affect anything so I left it off.

    In an attempt to address the SRVO-004 alarm I read in a different thread that in UOP the first three ins should be ON. My first and third were on but the 2nd *HOLD was off. I discovered that setting that ethernet connection back to true turned *HOLD back on. I am not sure if setting the ethernet back to true helped the fence error as it didn't occur after I changed it but it also didn't occur when I put it back to false. It's difficult to nail down cause/effect when this alarm is seemingly intermittent.

    Not sure where to go from here. I haven't been able to turn the robot over to production yet as the faults are occuring way too often.

    Any guidance is much appreciated! thanks!

  • 95devils December 6, 2023 at 11:48 PM

    Approved the thread.

    I've had erroneous fence open alarms happen when the electricians ran the light curtain cables next to the robot's servo amp cables. I put a scope on the cables, and there was all sorts of noise inducted into the light screen cables.

    Make sure your light screen cables are far away from anything high current, voltage, or both.

    Also, it sounds like your light screens are backwards, or both of them are wired up to the fence circuit. Given that you don't have DCS safe IO, I'm assuming they are wired up to the fence circuit. Does the light curtain on the A side stop the robot when it is on the A side? If so, then the fence circuit is correct. If not, you have a major safety issue.

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    Check out my example Fanuc Ethernet/IP Explicit Messaging program here!

    I should have clarified that the curtains do stop the robot on the correct sides in addition to the opposite sides. So yes the A curtain stops the robot on the A side, etc

    How can I prevent the robot from stopping if it is working on the A side and the curtain is broken on the B side? The way it's set up now defeats the purpose of having two workstations. I have the DCS pos/speed package; can I set up two zones wherein if the robot is in 1 it turns off the light curtain in the other? Or do I need DCS safe IO connect for that?

    You will likely need the safe/IO and DCS position check options to do what you want. Take a picture of your DCS screen and post it so I can confirm. Or even better, DM me a backup.

    Once you have have those options, you can wire up a couple of safety inputs on that era of controller. Literally just two, but that should be enough for your application. You would then wire these as a pair into each of your light screen safety relay dry contacts.

    Once wired, you can use those to mute "Stay out" zones in front of each light screen. If the light screen is violated, and the robot is in the "stay out" zone, it will e-stop. If it is servicing the other side of the cell, it will continue on.

    I would highly recommend additional internal cell safety features though, as nothing is preventing someone from just walking or climbing through the light screen and entering the cell while the robot is operating. Something like a safety mat, or a light scanner at floor level.

    Check out the Fanuc position converter I wrote here! Now open source!

    Check out my example Fanuc Ethernet/IP Explicit Messaging program here!

    As you can see in the photo that hopefully posted we do have light scanners at the floor (what I call the light curtains)

    I currently have DCS disabled as how the previous owners had it set up was making it near impossible to trim the parts. They have a no-go zone set up in the corner of the tables that's against the far barrier shields. To trim the parts I have to have the robot move into those zones--it's cutting slowly and I'm careful to program in such a way that it doesn't hit the barriers.

    In continuing to troubleshoot the srvo-004 fence open and srvo-007 external emergency stops alarms I think I discovered that they are occurring when I am actually cutting a part. It appears that I can air cut the program without issue.

    Hmm. Maybe chips from the cutting process are causing interment trips. You may be able to download the scanner software and modify the false detect rate. Some model can be setup to trip after a certain amount of time.

    Of course this will increase the response time of the system safety wise, so you may have to expand your zones.

    Would you be able to take a picture of the board with the orange connectors on the door? That will confirm is you have a CRM8A harness wired in.

    Check out the Fanuc position converter I wrote here! Now open source!

    Check out my example Fanuc Ethernet/IP Explicit Messaging program here!

    Quote from pdl

    Spindle motor noise?

    How's your grounding and shielding setup?

    I still have the spindle running when I air cut--just no part in the fixture--so I assume I would still get the alarms then if it was from noise.

    I honestly have no idea how the grounding and shielding is. Obviously someone must have installed this machine and I've asked for contact info and a wiring schematic.

    Quote from eklug

    I still have the spindle running when I air cut--just no part in the fixture--so I assume I would still get the alarms then if it was from noise.

    I honestly have no idea how the grounding and shielding is. Obviously someone must have installed this machine and I've asked for contact info and a wiring schematic.

    No wiring schematic available. Apparently it came with the cables rolled up and still connected to the controller and once the riggers placed the robot the electrician just connected the cables to it. He didn't touch anything inside the cabinet. The guy we got it from never used it in production. Who's to say it was wired and grounded/shielded correctly when he had it??

    Classic case of my company trying to save a few bucks...lol

    Quote from AJ.

    Do you run the air cut program ran in T1 or Auto? Did you happen to set the area scanner zones after you installed it?

    I air cut in Auto and it doesn't fault. What are area scanner zones? Unfortunately I didn't install anything. It was already installed--apparently all the cables were left as is as well as all of the programs and set ups from the previous owner. I was just handed the robot and told to make it work.

    So those area scanners on the floor have zones that should be mapped out. You have to download the software and plug into them, but then your able to set sensitivity (which might be the problem if only happens when it is cutting), range, where it should mute, etc...

    Quote from AJ.

    So those area scanners on the floor have zones that should be mapped out. You have to download the software and plug into them, but then your able to set sensitivity (which might be the problem if only happens when it is cutting), range, where it should mute, etc...

    OK! I think the chips are indeed setting off the area scanners. I am surprised something that small sets it off but I guess when there are a lot of them the scanner reads it as a larger object. I will download the software this morning and try out some different settings. If the chips continue to pose a problem we will have to look at different safety measures than these scanners.

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