Components

Every part, and how it fails

68 published control-hardware references: 6-Axis Servo Amplifier, Absolute Encoder, Air Line Swivel, Arm Casting, Backplane, Ball Screw, Base Casting, Battery Backup Unit, Bearing, Brake Release Unit, Breaker, Cable Dress Pack, Communication Board, Contactor, Controller Battery, Controller Door, Controller Power Supply Unit, Counterbalance Spring, Emergency Stop Board, Encoder Battery, Encoder Cable, End-of-Arm Cabling, EtherNet Board, External I/O Terminal Block, Forearm Casting, FROM/SRAM Memory Module, Grease Fitting, Ground Fault Interrupter, Harmonic Drive Reducer, Holding Brake, I/O Board, IGBT Module, J1 Axis Reducer, J1 Base Bearing, J2 Axis Reducer, J3 Axis Reducer, J4 Axis Reducer, J5 Axis Reducer, J6 Axis Reducer, Line Filter, Main CPU Board, Memory Card (CompactFlash), Motor Power Cable, Oil Seal, Operator Panel, Process I/O Board, Pulsecoder, Regen Resistor, Robot Flange, RV Reducer (Cycloidal), Safety Board, Shoulder Housing, Solenoid Valve Manifold, Surge Suppressor, Swivel Base Casting, Teach Pendant (iPendant), Teach Pendant Cable, Teach Pendant Display Unit, Teach Pendant Emergency Stop Button, Teach Pendant Enable Switch, Timing Belt, Tool Changer Master Unit, Tool Changer Plate, Tool Changer Tool-Side Unit, USB Memory Module, Wrist Bearing, Wrist Reducer, Wrist Unit. Servo, encoder, reducer, and dress-pack pages are queued.

Drive 6-Axis Servo Amplifier A single drive unit that houses the power stages for all six robot axes, converting DC bus power into the switched current each servo motor needs.

Feedback Absolute Encoder A generic term for a position sensor that reports a unique, absolute shaft angle rather than counting pulses from an arbitrary reference point.

Wrist & tooling Air Line Swivel A rotary union fitted where an air line crosses a continuously rotating wrist axis, letting the hose transmit pressure without twisting.

Mechanical Arm Casting A general term for the rigid structural sections that make up the robot's lower arm and upper arm between the major joints.

Controls Backplane The passive circuit board inside the controller chassis that all the other control cards plug into and communicate across.

Mechanical Ball Screw A precision linear actuator using recirculating ball bearings between a screw shaft and nut, used on linear robot axes and some peripheral slides.

Mechanical Base Casting The fixed foundation structure that mounts the robot to the floor, cell base, or pedestal and carries the swivel base and J1 reducer.

Feedback Battery Backup Unit A housing that combines the batteries for multiple axes into a single serviceable case, common on robots that group encoder batteries away from the motors.

Mechanical Bearing A general term for the rolling element bearings supporting rotating shafts throughout the arm, from reducer output shafts to idler pulleys.

Drive Brake Release Unit A manual override device that lets a technician release an axis holding brake by hand to move the arm without motor power.

HMI & peripherals Breaker The main circuit breaker that protects the controller cabinet wiring from overcurrent and provides a lockable disconnect point for service.

Mechanical Cable Dress Pack The pre-routed bundle of power, feedback, and air or utility lines that runs along or through the arm, managing bend radius through every joint.

Controls Communication Board A plug-in card that adds fieldbus or serial communication protocols so the controller can exchange data with PLCs and plant networks.

HMI & peripherals Contactor An electrically controlled switch, often called the motor contactor, that connects and disconnects main power to the servo drive system under control of the safety circuit.

Controls Controller Battery The lithium battery pack inside the controller that keeps SRAM memory alive and preserves mastering data when main power is off.

HMI & peripherals Controller Door The hinged, gasketed panel that seals the controller cabinet and carries the door interlock switch that protects technicians from live power inside.

Controls Controller Power Supply Unit Converts incoming AC power to the regulated low-voltage DC rails that run the controller's logic boards.

Mechanical Counterbalance Spring A large mechanical spring assembly that offsets the weight of the upper arm at the J2 axis, reducing the torque the motor and brake must supply.

Controls Emergency Stop Board A dedicated safety-rated board that monitors the emergency stop buttons and cuts drive power when any of them are pressed.

Feedback Encoder Battery The small lithium battery mounted at or near the motor that keeps a pulsecoder's absolute position count alive when main power is removed.

Drive Encoder Cable The shielded signal cable that carries position feedback from a motor's pulsecoder back to the axis control board.

Wrist & tooling End-of-Arm Cabling The dedicated cable and hose bundle routed out to the tool mounting flange, supplying power, signal, and air to the end effector.

Controls EtherNet Board The network interface card that gives the controller a TCP/IP connection for file transfer, remote monitoring, and EtherNet/IP communication.

HMI & peripherals External I/O Terminal Block The screw or spring-clamp terminal strip where field wiring from sensors, actuators, and other cell equipment lands before connecting to the I/O board.

Mechanical Forearm Casting The rigid structural section between the elbow and wrist that houses the J4 reducer and cable routing to the wrist unit.

Controls FROM/SRAM Memory Module The non-volatile flash and battery-backed RAM that stores the robot's system software, programs, and calibration data.

Mechanical Grease Fitting The small port fitted to a reducer or bearing housing where a grease gun is connected to replenish lubrication during scheduled maintenance.

HMI & peripherals Ground Fault Interrupter A protective device that monitors for current leaking to ground and interrupts power before it can create a shock hazard or damage equipment.

Mechanical Harmonic Drive Reducer A strain-wave gear reducer used on wrist and smaller robot axes to provide high reduction ratios with zero backlash in a compact package.

Drive Holding Brake A spring-applied electromagnetic brake fitted to gravity-loaded axes that holds the arm in place whenever motor power is removed.

Controls I/O Board The digital input and output card that lets the controller talk to end-of-arm tooling, sensors, and other cell equipment.

Drive IGBT Module The power semiconductor stage inside the servo amplifier that switches DC bus power into the current waveform each motor requires.

Mechanical J1 Axis Reducer The gear reduction unit between the J1 servo motor and the swivel base, carrying the full torque needed to rotate the robot's upper structure.

Mechanical J1 Base Bearing The large-diameter bearing that supports the swivel base as it rotates on the fixed base casting, carrying the full weight of the robot above it.

Mechanical J2 Axis Reducer The gear reduction unit between the J2 servo motor and the lower arm, working continuously against gravity at the shoulder joint.

Mechanical J3 Axis Reducer The gear reduction unit between the J3 servo motor and the upper arm, positioning the forearm relative to the lower arm at the elbow.

Mechanical J4 Axis Reducer The gear reduction unit that transmits J4 servo motor output into rotation of the forearm about its own axis.

Mechanical J5 Axis Reducer The compact gear reduction stage inside the wrist unit that drives the wrist pitch axis.

Mechanical J6 Axis Reducer The final gear reduction stage that drives rotation of the tool mounting flange, directly affecting tool center point accuracy.

HMI & peripherals Line Filter An electrical filter installed on the incoming power line to suppress noise the servo drive system generates from feeding back into the plant supply.

Controls Main CPU Board The central processing board that runs the robot's system software, executes motion programs, and coordinates every other card in the controller.

HMI & peripherals Memory Card (CompactFlash) A removable flash memory card used on many controller generations to store system software and can be swapped for backup or software recovery.

Drive Motor Power Cable The heavy-gauge cable that carries switched current from the servo amplifier to each motor's power windings.

Mechanical Oil Seal A rotary shaft seal that keeps grease inside a reducer or bearing housing and contaminants out, fitted at every rotating shaft penetration.

Controls Operator Panel The front panel mounted on the controller cabinet with the power switch, mode select key, and status indicators used to run the cell without the teach pendant.

Controls Process I/O Board A dedicated I/O card wired for a specific process, such as arc welding or dispensing, that carries the signals unique to that peripheral.

Feedback Pulsecoder FANUC's term for the absolute position feedback device mounted on the rear of each servo motor, used to report exact axis position to the controller.

Drive Regen Resistor A resistor bank that dissipates excess energy generated when a servo motor decelerates faster than the DC bus can absorb.

Wrist & tooling Robot Flange The standardized mounting face at the end of the wrist where end-of-arm tooling attaches, defining the robot's tool center point reference.

Mechanical RV Reducer (Cycloidal) A two-stage cycloidal reducer used on the higher-torque base and arm axes for its rigidity and shock load tolerance.

Controls Safety Board A safety-rated logic board that monitors fence interlocks, light curtains, and speed and position limits, separate from general purpose I/O.

Mechanical Shoulder Housing The structural section at the top of the swivel base that carries the J2 axis reducer and pivot point for the lower arm.

Wrist & tooling Solenoid Valve Manifold A bank of pneumatic control valves, often mounted on the arm or at the tool, that switches compressed air to grippers and other tool actuators.

HMI & peripherals Surge Suppressor A protective device installed on incoming power or signal lines that clamps voltage spikes before they can damage controller electronics.

Mechanical Swivel Base Casting The rotating structure mounted on the J1 reducer output that carries the lower arm and rotates the entire upper structure of the robot.

Controls Teach Pendant (iPendant) The handheld programming and jog terminal an operator uses to move the robot, edit programs, and clear alarms.

HMI & peripherals Teach Pendant Cable The coiled cable connecting the teach pendant to the controller, carrying jog commands, display data, and the safety-critical deadman and e-stop signals.

Controls Teach Pendant Display Unit The screen and touch overlay assembly inside the teach pendant housing that shows program status, jog position, and alarm messages.

HMI & peripherals Teach Pendant Emergency Stop Button The mushroom-head e-stop button built into the teach pendant, wired into the safety circuit alongside every other e-stop in the cell.

HMI & peripherals Teach Pendant Enable Switch The three-position hold-to-run switch on the back of the teach pendant that must be held in its center position to allow manual robot motion.

Mechanical Timing Belt A toothed belt used on some robot axes and on peripheral positioners to transmit motor rotation over a distance without slipping.

Wrist & tooling Tool Changer Master Unit The robot-side locking mechanism of an automatic tool changer that engages the tool-side unit to secure and release end effectors.

Wrist & tooling Tool Changer Plate The robot-side half of an automatic tool changer, bolted to the flange to let the robot pick up and drop off different end effectors.

Wrist & tooling Tool Changer Tool-Side Unit The passive coupling half mounted to each end effector that engages the robot's tool changer master unit for docking.

HMI & peripherals USB Memory Module A removable USB storage device used to back up programs, load software updates, and transfer files to and from the controller.

Mechanical Wrist Bearing A compact bearing supporting one of the wrist axis shafts, carrying tool reaction loads at the point closest to the end effector.

Wrist & tooling Wrist Reducer A general term for the compact gear reduction stages inside the wrist unit that drive the final one or two axes of motion.

Mechanical Wrist Unit The compact housing at the end of the forearm that packages the final two or three axis motors, reducers, and the tool mounting flange.