Robotics in Manufacturing

Controls

Process I/O Board

Handles the dedicated input and output signals required by a specific robot process package such as welding or dispensing.

Process I/O boards are configured for a specific application package rather than general purpose signals. A welding cell, for example, uses a process I/O board to handle wire feed speed commands, arc-on feedback, and gas solenoid control between the robot and the welding power source.

These boards often use a defined pinout matched to the process package software running in the controller, so replacing one with a generic I/O board does not work without reconfiguring both hardware and software.

Because process signals are timing-sensitive, a failing process I/O board tends to show up as inconsistent process quality before it shows up as an outright fault.

Related components

Common questions

What does the Process I/O Board do?
Handles the dedicated input and output signals required by a specific robot process package such as welding or dispensing.
How does the Process I/O Board fail?
Common failure modes: Loss of communication with the process peripheral, Intermittent signal dropout causing inconsistent process results, Damaged connector from process equipment vibration, Firmware mismatch after a process package software update.

Attribution

Component notes on this page are checked against the site's published fault-code and maintenance references where those apply.

Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.Editorial process