Tips for buying used robots

    Thanks for all tips, I add:
    29) Buying a robot system without warranty: Make sure there is a warranty offered with the used system. A used robot supplier should offer a warranty with certified parts and labor. Technical support should be offered with the warranty.
    30)Buying a used robot from an online venue: You will find many great bargains online, but beware of the lack of warranty, service, and support you are getting with the robot. Plus, there is no guarantee that the robot will work when you get it.

    Edited once, last by Nation ().

    First of all make sure there is a warranty offered by the used system. Always buying robot from an experienced dealer. Try to buying robot from an auction because this may become visible to be a great bargain, but be alert of the lack of warranty, no guarantee that it will even power up and the lack of past history in my terms these are the valuable tips you cease use while purchasing used robots.

    Here is our experience with older robots.


    Bought 2 Fanuc S430iW with RJ controllers for $ 3500 each plus $ 900 shipping. Boths in good working order. Approx. 13k verified hours.
    Received and installed them. Couldn't find any integrators available unless we wait 3 months.
    We decided to relicense those with Fanuc and get 24/7 Fanuc support access. Best $ 1,800 we ever spent.
    Took us 1 months to figure out a lot of little things because we had no clue whatsoever. Never looked at a robot before.
    Lots of long nights researching online and reading manuals.
    Lots of trouble shooting little things to find out, NO a full size DeviceNet card cannot work together with a fullsize IO analog or digital IO in the controller slots. Fanuc needed 2 days to figure that out. No big deal. So we are using RO (arm end IO). Those things took easily 2-3 days to figure out.
    Spent a lot of research to find out what we need to make a mig welding robot out of this. Got Lincoln 455r power unit, cables (expensive), torch, and many small bits and pieces and got them all hooked up AND talking. that took a months or so.
    Sure, there are a few things they would be much easier with newer systems. I.e. we are using DeviceNet I/O. What a pain to set that dated technology up. Also the memory card thing. But having started on computers during the pre-windows DOS times helps to comprehend the basics. No plug and pray here.
    Make a long story short. Was it easy? NO. Is it for everyone? NO. Does it take determination and a good technical background and understanding and a will to never give up? ABSOUTELY. But...does it work? Well, see for yourself as our robot puts 852 welding spots to make a louver panel here:


    The programming was a challenge. But mostly because of a lack of experience and knowledge. We improved the program a lot for example by splitting a 2200 line program in 38 separate ones for each row and then call the next program. That adds adjustability and stability on the software side. In other words. Be creative. Never give up.
    So what you are seeing working here cost us less then $ 20k. Will it be forever? Heck no. But we have no a low cost way to find out if we can do robotic manufacturing. Find out if it is the right thing for us to get deeper into. And YES we are always planning to upgrade to a much newer system soon. Vision guided. Probably sticking with Fanuc/ Lincoln.
    Considering that Mig welding is one of the harder things to teach a robot, especially with so many spots and motion movements, I believe not too bad.
    I found several small to midsize companies in our area and industry who bought new robots some years ago. Theses ended up sitting in a corner because nobody really worked through the challenges. So they spent $100k or more and abondened the robots.


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    Here is the video of our OLD robot in action. Some will appreciate the programming which went into it. This first program and we improved since for eefficiency and stability.


    Feedback very much appreciated. We will definately make robotics a big part of our fabrication process and we want to learn as much as we can. I am sure there is a lot more we can improve. Thanks to this board btw which helped A LOT.

    Quote from metalco

    We improved the program a lot for example by splitting a 2200 line program in 38 separate ones for each row and then call the next program

    Quote from metalco

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    I'd write all that stuff into a loop, use a counter and shift each loop accordingly. In fact if I'd write all my positions out like that I'd have hundreds of thousands of lines and I'd still be programming. Ofcourse I use searches and comarc (I'm a Yaskawa guy) for accuracy.

    Quote from Reintz

    I'd write all that stuff into a loop, use a counter and shift each loop accordingly. In fact if I'd write all my positions out like that I'd have hundreds of thousands of lines and I'd still be programming. Ofcourse I use searches and comarc (I'm a Yaskawa guy) for accuracy.

    A question from the future:


    Why do you have so much pre-flow and no post-flow of gas?

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