Addressing Common Fanuc Robot Motor Failures: Causes and Solutions

No man­u­fac­tur­er wants to expe­ri­ence down­time in oper­a­tions due to robot motor fail­ures. The result­ing issues from any work stop­page can mount sig­nif­i­cant­ly if not addressed urgent­ly. Numer­ous prob­lems can occur on the fac­to­ry floor, but robot motor fail­ures can cause every­thing to grind to a halt, as fail­ures can affect any point in pro­duc­tion processes.

This arti­cle will address com­mon issues that lead to robot motor fail­ures and, more impor­tant­ly, pro­vide prac­ti­cal solu­tions to keep your oper­a­tions run­ning smooth­ly. Let’s look at some com­mon fail­ures that can occur with the robots on your fac­to­ry floor and how you and your team can find the nec­es­sary answers to Fanuc robot motor problems. 

Under­stand­ing Com­mon Fanuc Robot Motor Failures

1. Over­heat­ing. Over­heat­ing is preva­lent in indus­tri­al envi­ron­ments and is often caused by pro­longed oper­a­tion, inad­e­quate cool­ing sys­tems, and exces­sive ambi­ent temperature. 

• Solu­tion. Ensure prop­er ven­ti­la­tion and cool­ing for the motor. Mon­i­tor the motor’s read­ings and the tem­per­a­ture in the motor’s envi­ron­ment. Reg­u­lar main­te­nance, includ­ing clean­ing air vents, cool­ing fans, and lubri­ca­tion, can pre­vent over­heat­ing issues. Con­sid­er upgrad­ing to more advanced mod­els that have enhanced heat dissipation.

2. Wear and Tear. Wear and tear are inevitable in any machine’s life­cy­cle, espe­cial­ly those in con­tin­u­al oper­a­tion on a fac­to­ry floor. This con­stant use in demand­ing appli­ca­tions can lead to the dete­ri­o­ra­tion of motor com­po­nents over time.

• Solu­tion. Imple­ment a reg­u­lar main­te­nance sched­ule, includ­ing lubri­ca­tion of mov­ing parts and inspec­tion of motor com­po­nents. Con­sid­er replac­ing worn-out robot parts with high-qual­i­ty refur­bished Fanuc com­po­nents to extend the motor’s lifespan.

3. Elec­tri­cal Fail­ures. Elec­tri­cal fail­ures, such as short cir­cuits or pow­er surges, can result in motor mal­func­tions. While Fanuc motors are known for their reli­a­bil­i­ty, they may still be sus­cep­ti­ble to elec­tri­cal issues in cer­tain con­di­tions. A motor fail­ure result­ing from an elec­tric­i­ty issue is a neg­a­tive sit­u­a­tion because of down­time but can also esca­late to a haz­ardous fire situation. 

• Solu­tion. Note the rat­ed cur­rent, pow­er sup­ply issues, and elec­tri­cal faults by installing surge pro­tec­tors and imple­ment­ing prop­er elec­tri­cal safe­ty mea­sures, Use volt­age reg­u­la­tors or sta­bi­liz­ers to main­tain a sta­ble and con­sis­tent pow­er sup­ply, pro­tect­ing the motor from both high and low volt­age con­di­tions. Ensure prop­er ground­ing of the motor and asso­ci­at­ed elec­tri­cal sys­tems to dis­si­pate excess elec­tri­cal charge. Reg­u­lar­ly inspect cables and con­nec­tions for signs of dam­age or wear. 

4. Mechan­i­cal Over­load. This can occur from exces­sive loads or mechan­i­cal jams dur­ing oper­a­tions that obstruct the sys­tem and pre­vent smooth move­ment and cause sud­den spikes in the torque. 

• Solu­tion. Ensure prop­er siz­ing of the motor for the intend­ed appli­ca­tion, imple­ment safe­ty mech­a­nisms, such as over­load pro­tec­tion devices, and reg­u­lar­ly inspect and main­tain mechan­i­cal com­po­nents to pre­vent jams, mis­align­ments, and imbal­ances. It is vital to mon­i­tor and con­trol the load on the motor to pre­vent sud­den or exces­sive changes.

5. Imbal­ance and Mis­align­ment. Poor­ly bal­anced or mis­aligned mechan­i­cal com­po­nents can result in uneven loads on the motor that can increase wear on spe­cif­ic motor parts, caus­ing pre­ma­ture fail­ure. Mis­align­ment can also cause vibra­tion and noise issues.

• Solu­tion. Ensure that rotat­ing com­po­nents are bal­anced ade­quate­ly dur­ing instal­la­tion. Use dynam­ic bal­anc­ing tech­niques to reduce vibra­tions caused by imbal­ance and fol­low man­u­fac­tur­er guide­lines for align­ment tol­er­ances. Con­duct reg­u­lar visu­al inspec­tions to iden­ti­fy any signs of mis­align­ment, such as uneven wear on cou­pling ele­ments or vis­i­ble off­sets between shafts.

6. Con­t­a­m­i­na­tion. Con­t­a­m­i­na­tion issues in robot motors refer to the pres­ence of for­eign par­ti­cles or sub­stances, water, and humid­i­ty that can lead to increased fric­tion, wear, and over­heat­ing, adverse­ly affect­ing the motor’s per­for­mance and reli­a­bil­i­ty. Con­t­a­m­i­nants can come in var­i­ous forms, includ­ing dust, dirt, mois­ture, chem­i­cals, and oth­er debris. 

• Solu­tion. Use pro­tec­tive cov­ers, seals, and enclo­sures to shield the motor from par­ti­cles or oth­er air­borne con­t­a­m­i­nants. Con­trol the envi­ron­ment using dehu­mid­i­fiers or air con­di­tion­ing sys­tems to man­age any mois­ture entry. 

T.I.E. Indus­tri­al: Your Solu­tion to Fanuc Robot Motor Failures

At T.I.E. Indus­tri­al, we under­stand the chal­lenges of address­ing motor fail­ures in man­u­fac­tur­ing. We pro­vide expert guid­ance to help iden­ti­fy the root cause of fail­ures and rec­om­mend suit­able Fanuc replace­ment parts or solu­tions. All our refur­bished Fanuc motors and parts under­go rig­or­ous qual­i­ty checks to meet the high­est indus­try standards. 

We also under­stand the finan­cial con­sid­er­a­tions in man­u­fac­tur­ing. Our com­pet­i­tive pric­ing ensures you get the best val­ue for your invest­ment in replace­ment parts. Keep your oper­a­tions run­ning smooth­ly with­out break­ing the bank. Address­ing com­mon Fanuc robot motor fail­ures requires a com­bi­na­tion of proac­tive main­te­nance, prop­er trou­bleshoot­ing, and access to high-qual­i­ty replace­ment parts. Trust in the reli­a­bil­i­ty and per­for­mance of our parts to keep your Fanuc robots run­ning effi­cient­ly, min­i­miz­ing down­time and max­i­miz­ing pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. Explore our exten­sive Fanuc motor inven­to­ry and let us be your part­ner in over­com­ing motor chal­lenges in the world of indus­tri­al Fanuc robot automa­tion.