Controls
Teach Pendant
A teach pendant is the handheld terminal, cabled to the robot controller, that an operator uses at the cell to jog the robot, teach and edit programs, and read alarms.
What it is
Most hands-on robot work happens on the teach pendant. You jog axes with it, record points into a program, step through lines in test mode, and read the alarm history when the cell stops. On FANUC R-30iA and R-30iB controllers it's the iPendant: a color screen over a physical keypad, connected by a dedicated cable that carries power, communication, and safety circuits together.
It also carries the safety devices manual motion depends on: an emergency stop button, an ON/OFF enable switch, and three-position deadman switches on the back. Those wire into the controller's safety chain, so an enabled pendant holds motion authority over the robot.
How it actually works
Motion from the pendant takes two conditions at once: the enable switch on, and a deadman held at its middle position. Let go of the deadman, or squeeze it past the middle, and the robot stops with SRVO-003. In T1 the controller caps the tool center point and flange at 250 mm/sec for jogging and playback alike, whatever speed the program line says. Changing the jog coordinate system with COORD drops the override automatically to the safety value, 10% by default.
Pressing F1 POINT records the current position together with the active tool frame (UT) and user frame (UF) numbers, the motion type, the speed, and the termination. Pendants are matched to their controller. The R-30iB iPendant uses a 640 x 480 display and the R-30iB Plus uses 1024 x 768, and a replacement whose TP firmware is older than the controller software needs a firmware update through a controlled start.
How it differs
- Deadman switch · The deadman switch is one safety device on the back of the pendant. The pendant is the whole terminal: screen, keys, enable switch, e-stop, and cable. SRVO-003 points at the deadman or the way it's being held; a blank screen or keys that stop registering point at the rest of the pendant.
- Operator panel · The operator panel is fixed to the controller cabinet and carries its own e-stop, and on many cabinets the mode switch that selects AUTO, T1, or T2. The pendant travels with you into the cell. Either e-stop drops servo power, and they post different alarms: SRVO-001 for the operator panel, SRVO-002 for the pendant.
Where you meet it in the field
- SRVO-003 Deadman switch released · The alarm you get when the pendant is enabled and the deadman isn't held at its middle position.
- SRVO-211 TP OFF in T1,T2 · Posted when the pendant is switched off while the mode switch sits in T1 or T2, a state the safety logic won't accept.
- Replacing a FANUC iPendant Teach Pendant (R-30iB) · The powered-down swap, the firmware check against the controller, and the e-stop and deadman tests before the robot moves.
- Teach Pendant (iPendant) · How the pendant itself fails: cracked screens, ghost touches, and cables that fray at the strain relief.
Common questions
- Why won't the robot jog even though I'm holding the deadman?
- Jogging also needs the pendant enable switch on, and in T1 or T2 the mode switch has to agree with it. Make sure the deadman sits at its middle detent (squeezing past it stops motion the same as letting go), press RESET to clear any SRVO-003 left from the last release, then hold SHIFT and press a jog key.
- Why does my program run slower when I step it from the pendant?
- In T1 the controller holds the tool center point and flange to 250 mm/sec no matter what the motion line says, so a move taught at 300 mm/sec plays back at 250. Real cycle speed only shows up in AUTO with the cell secured.
- Can I move a pendant from one robot to another?
- Only between matching controllers. R-30iB and R-30iB Plus pendants differ in display and firmware, and an R-30iB Plus pendant won't run on an R-30iA cabinet. Power the controller off before detaching the cable, and test the e-stop and deadman on the replacement before the robot moves.