18i PCMCIA card question

[TDavid]

Our Fadal 3016D with Fanuc 18i is arriving soon to replace our troublesome 104/D machine.

We have been using USB to upload files to the 104/D, but the Fanuc does not have a USB interface.

Fanuc is telling me that they have had a lot of trouble with off the shelf PCMCIA cards and CompactFlash memory cards. They say that there is only one combo that works and they alone sell it.

However, a 256MB card is $147 alone, which is 10x the street price for one of them!!

Does anyone know the brand and part number of the flash card that they use?

Thanks, TDavid

[cncdiag]

I use a Sandisk 512MB Compact Flash with a Compact Flash PC Card Adapter.
I have had no trouble with this card.

[CBNDude]

I use sandisk 256 compact flash..Be sure to format with the fanuc control. And any time you put it into a laptop be sure to use the windows eject and not just unplug it from the laptop.

[Ozemale6t9]

I haven't found too many cards that don't work yet, but I do know that Fanuc recommend no larger than 256Mb. Where people have trouble with them is they buy a card to use with their machine, then go and use them in their digital camera. Once they have been used in a camera, they will no longer read in the machine, even if they reformat the card.

regards, Oz

[Heavy D]

TDavid, Could you PM me some contact info on the 256MB card for $150?

We are currently using 8MB SRAM cards which cost about $300 each.

Here's the thing, the older Fanuc controls use 3.3V system and most compact flash /PCMCIA cards use 5.0V which can fry the boards on the controller. We bought Kingston adapters/ 32MB CF cards to use on our OKK's. Some of the controls were a bit newer (but same control) and they worked fine. while the other controls came up with serial link and other alarms when we put the cards in them. I then tried the kingston adapter with an older sandisk 32MB CF and it works fine. so we ordered a bunch of new 32MB sandisk CF cards and had alarms with all of them in the machines. Fanuc told us it has to do with the voltage of the card and that we could fry a board. I have not tried the adapter/CF combo on our new Toyoda's as we decided it's safer to buy a 3.3V SRAM card then risk frying a board on the Fanuc control.

We use the adapters/CF cards that we had problems with on the machines on our new fanuc Robots for backups and haven't had a problem.

From what I understand, The new controls that are coming out now use a 5V system and don't have any problems.

dan

[M-man]

Do you machine directly from the card? RMT ?

[cncdiag]

The SRAM memory card for the B/C control can be purchased from Digikey.
www.digikey.com
2Meg part number BN-02MHSRC-ND $186.00
4Meg part number BN-04MHSRC-ND $306.00

[Alan B]

I use a 64MB card from the local camera shop with a card adaptor no problems at all. You must format the card on the Fanuc not on the PC. If you are using Windows 98 do not delete programs from the card on the PC, this creates a recycle bin on the card then the Fanuc will not read it use, cut and paste. XP doesn't give this problem. Some older versions of Fanuc won't reconise a card above 4MB
Alan B

[Bullfrog]

I have a Fanuc oi-mb control and I use a simpletech PCMCIA and a 256mb kodak flash card I have had no problems.

[Mr_Carpyman]

We have recently introduced an OKK machine with Fanuc 18i and are using a Kingston CF/ADP Type II PC card adaptor with a 1Gb Fujifilm Compact Flash with no problems.

[sdigeso]

I use a San Disk 128 mb compact flash card with a San Disk adapter card for pmcia. I upload all my jobs with a embedded ethernet. You may want to talk to Fanuc or Fadal and ask them what it will cost to turn this on. You cann't run a program with drip feed from the ethernet. You have to down load it from an FTP site that you can create on any computer and let the machine connect to it. I found this to be a great option for me.

[udrııl79]

fat or fat 32 formated card...