HMI & peripherals
Ground Fault Interrupter
Monitors for current leakage to ground and interrupts power to prevent shock hazards and equipment damage.
The ground fault interrupter continuously compares current flowing out on the supply conductors against current returning, and interrupts power when it detects an imbalance indicating current is leaking to ground rather than returning through the normal path.
In a robot cabinet, this device protects both personnel and equipment, since a ground fault inside a servo amplifier or motor winding can otherwise go undetected until it causes more extensive damage.
Nuisance tripping on cabinets with long motor cable runs or certain drive designs is a known tradeoff with this protection, and installers size and select the device carefully to balance sensitivity against false trips.
Related components
Common questions
- What does the Ground Fault Interrupter do?
- Monitors for current leakage to ground and interrupts power to prevent shock hazards and equipment damage.
- How does the Ground Fault Interrupter fail?
- Common failure modes: Nuisance tripping from cable capacitance on long motor runs, Failure to trip due to internal component degradation, Sensitivity drift with age affecting trip threshold accuracy, Mechanical wear in the trip mechanism.
- What fault codes relate to the Ground Fault Interrupter?
- Related codes include SRVO-023.