UP loading parameters to the 5T

[Paul Pippenger]

I may buy another A board for my 5T and I understand the parameters 00,01,02 must be loaded from tape.I have a BTR ,which works great ,,can someone explain the selector positions and keystrokes to allow this..
Also what should the program look like that I would send.I dont have a maintainence Manual for this control that explains this process.
thanks for your help.
Paul

[Dan Fritz]

If you have a very early model 5T you'll need to load a special "bootstrap loader tape", then a tape with the first 3 parameters punched in EIA code with a special format. If it's a later model 5T, you can just key them in.

Try keying them in first. If the higher numbered parameters go in OK, but the first three don't, then you need to use the tape method.

[Paul Pippenger]

Man you really command the respect of the guys you have helped on here.
I feel honored to trade a mail or two.
So if I determine that i must load them by tape can it be done thru the Btr or must I aquire the tapes from you or someone else? The machine is an Ikegai FX25N --main board is A20B-0003-0744/13 F does this help to know for sure .
Peace

[Paul Pippenger]

Well I went down to the machines and both of them allow the parameters to be changed from the MdI without any problem .May i assume that If I aquire a main board with the same part number ,i will be able to do the same with it???
Thanks
Paul

[Dan Fritz]

Paul,

Yes, the board is (I think) a later model Fanuc 5T board. The EPROM chips on the board contain the software (firmware, actually) of the control, so be sure to not loose those. Pry them out very carefully and save them in conductive foam or (in a pinch) a sheet of styrofoam. Be very careful to document which sockets they came out of because every EPROM is numbered and unique. If the EPROMs on the A board ever get updated or replaced with others, remember that there are three more EPROMs on the smaller "memory & edit" board that have to be the same series and revision level in order to work.

Before you power up the new A board, plug all your old EPROMs in the correct sockets, and be very careful to not bend a pin. They like to "bend under" the EPROM so you can't see that they're bent. A bent pin will cause a "Christmas tree" where all the LED lights on the MDI panel are on. This just means that the processor is locked up.

The parameters and tool offsets are saved on a single static RAM chip (6508) in the top center area of the A-board. This one chip has the small battery backup for the parameters. A new board may come in with no battery, so you'll have to supply one or use the old one. You can substitute 3 alkaline AA cells, or you can make a jumper cable from the larger 3 D-cell battery on the memory board so they both share a larger battery. The memory in the parameter RAM chip goes to "All ones" when it looses power, so you may have to power up and erase the parameters in the new RAM chip before loading in the new ones. I've forgotten what the procedure is for erasing the parameters on power-up, but it's something like "hold RESET while turning on the power", or something like that. The Mantenence manual should tell you the correct procedure. Powering up with all "1s" in the parameters can make the control's servos behave badly. I always recommend pulling out the servo fuses before powering up the control with no parameters. If it's a slant bed machine, block the X axis from drifting down and just pull out the 3 indicator fuses and the 3 cartridge fuses on the back of each servo drive. The control can then come up "ready" but nothing runs away on you.
The smaller motors (0 and 5) have only 3 15A indicator fuses. The larger 10, 20, and 30 motors have 3 larger cartridge fuses and 3 1.3A indicator fuses in parallel. You'll have to pull them all to prevent the servo from moving. Remember that if the control comes up "ready" and any axis drifts out of position more than a small amount, you'll get a servo error that shuts down the servos. Once all the parameters are loaded, you should be able to put the fuses back in the servos and power it up.

[Paul Pippenger]

Man I am really getting to understand this control ,what happened is while trying to fix my first problem ,I created a new one.
Please everyone strive to follow good Trouble shooting practices ,I did not and it cost me several weeks of downtime and unneeded stress.
Make notes of each tweek and test results right then ,so you can sit down later and go back thru what you did and the results that happened .
After sitting and staring at the control (sittin on a milkcrate lookin like THE THINKER LOL) I remember that I had tweeked the RV1L and RV1M pots on the "A" board ,but I had not reset them.Got out the book and tried but they wont adjust with the motors connected so as per Dans comment i pulled the fuses and restarted ,,made the VCMDL,VCMDM 0V aND TSAL,M 0V and the machine runs perfect.
Keep in mind this adjustment was stopping all memory related commands including any mdi ,M03 M08 All of them ,so we must be open to the fact that some minor adjustment forgotten will affect things that seem unrelated.

I would like to get this forums help ,in compliling a list of priority adjustments for the 5 series ,like do this first,I think we could formulate a better more concise one than Fanuc.
thanks