Fanuc Control affected by Dust?

[cordillera1]

Fanuc Control affected by Dust? We have a serious dusty problem at work, will that affect the control of the machine. We have cases of malfunction and we only can blame the dust. Not logic reason given, but we have been told that can be a problem.

[GPena]

IF the dust contains counductive elements, it is fo sure that it will affect your equipment, I've seen this before. Also the dust can make the temperature to raise, closing the filters, damaging the fans, etc. So the best is to keep your machine clean...


GP.

[Dan Fritz]

The Fanuc control itself shouldn't be bothered much by dust, because it will have an air-to-air heat exchanger. Just be sure to check the heat exchanger fans and filter occasionally to be sure that the filter isn't clogged and the fans are running. With the doors kept closed, the inside of the cabinet should stay clean for a long time. There should be an external fan circulating air through the heat exchanger, and an internal fan moving inside cabinet air through the exchanger. They should both be checked periodically. A bad fan will usually let the control overheat on hot days.

One thing that may happen is that dust could get into the operator's panel switches. There are many types of switches used by various machine tool manufacturers, so you may or may not have a problem with these. The Fanuc membrane keypads are pretty impervious to dust an oil.

[Bluesman]

Fanuc Control affected by Dust? We have a serious dusty problem at work, will that affect the control of the machine. We have cases of malfunction and we only can blame the dust. Not logic reason given, but we have been told that can be a problem.

Well while visiting FANUC USA last year (Near Chicago) we were givin a tour of there facility. The first thing they showed us was this big conveyor that was run through a washer and then a heated dry cycle. This is the first thing that FANUC does when we send them stuff for repair. They dissasemble it and run it through the washer. They told us that this acually takes care of about 75% of the parts they get. Afer wash they test them and then send them back (Clean and working). Then he said that another 10% is fans (Replace them and send them back) and then the rest are either junk or they have boards in need of replacement

Bluesman
So I guess it would be safe to say that dirt, (unlike size) Matters