[blakemachine]

I have been gaining more and more knowledge about fanuc control. When I go look at to buy different machines, I have always wondered how the order works.

I have a 6t, but then I also have a 3t that is later.

Then I see the 0t and 21t and 18t.

I am mainly curios about the lathe order when looking at fanuc controls.

Is there any sort of logical science to the numbering?

[FuddMcDee]

Doesn't look like there's much logic behind it, at least from our perspective. An interesting read though: FANUC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Al_The_Man]

They occured in logical numerical sequence, except the 0, which coincided with systems after 10.
Dan Fritz here on the zone, ex-Fanuc engineer, listed their order and date.
The only time the sequence was broken was when the number co-coincided with bad luck number in the Japanese tradition. For e.g. 4 and 9 and these also do not occur in Japanese air line seat numbering either.
Al.

[blakemachine]

So a 3t Was before a 6t? I always thought the other way around.

The ones I am familier with:

3t
6t
10t
Then it was 0?
11t
12t
18t
21t

[alexfanuc]

You are right . Control 2 and 3 come before control 6. T= turning M= machining center.
The 6 control has three types= 6A 6B and 6BII.
After the 6 control we have the 10, 11, 12 and 15.
Then we have the zero control (0). 0A, 0B , 0C and 0D. The most popular was the 0C.
Then we have the 16, 18 and 21 A, B, C.
Regards
Alex

[memoryman]

you are missing the 7M, 9M and the 20M/T.

[Harmeet]

Hi Memoryman
Never seen FANUC 9 and 20 controls..........
Have u seen....??

[Al_The_Man]

Here is the list that Dan Fritz posted a while ago

Fanuc 20 (on a few imported Mazak lathes). They had tape readers and open-loop pulse motors.

Fanuc 200A, B and C. They had magnetic core memory, big exec tapes, and were used on some Amada punch presses and Elox EDM machines. Some used pulse motors directly, and some Amadas used a pulse motor to drive a hydraulic servo.

Fanuc 2000C A lathe control with closed loop analog DC servos and resolver feedback. This control did not have a microprocessor. Instead, it had a descrete CPU board and used ROM chips on a "memory board" for all it's executive memory. Some had static RAM memory for part program storage, and a few had CMOS memory with battery backup.


Fanuc 3000C The mill version of the 2000C. It could be fitted with a 4th axis, and it also used resolver feedback or Inductosyn scales

Fanuc 5T and 5M The first 8-bit microprocessor control Fanuc sold here. It used DC servos with pulse coder feedback, had EPROMs for the executive and had optional CMOS memory with battery backup. There were many 1000s of these sold. Some imported machines had 5 controls even had a PLC for all interface connections.

Fanuc 6T and 6M The original 6 had no CRT. It used an LED display similar to the system 5, but internally was the same 6 that we came to know and love. It used an 8086 16-bit microprocessor, had bubble memory and used DC servos with pulse coder or resolver feedback. The 6M-B was the first control I know of that had FAPT as an option with a large CRT. Two types of built-in PLCs made retrofitting relatively easy.

Fanuc 7M A very limited number of these were sold on EDM machines and punch presses. Some 7Ms came from Europe after they were sold to European machine builders. Personally, I think this control was the Fanuc "spin-off" of the Seimens 7M control.

Fanuc 3T and 3M. Similar to the system 6 in design (with an 8086 processor) but somewhat limited in capability. It had CMOS memory instead of bubble (to keep cost down), DC servos and pulse coder feedback. A few had FAPT with a large CRT.

Fanuc 9M. A rare bird. This control was very similar to the 6M, but it could handle more axes. It had bubble memory like the 6M. Only a few were imported on large machining centers.

Fanuc 0T and 0M. This was, I believe the most popular Fanuc model. It was relatively low-cost, and was used on zillions of machine types. It has CMOS memory with battery backup, and the A, B, C, and D models went through a long evolutionary history.

Fanuc 10T and 10M. The start of a new family of controls consisting of the 10, 11, and 12 series. These were "higher end" controls from the 0T and 0M because of a faster processor, larger memory, and more options. The 10 still had CMOS memory with battery backup, and it had a PLC interface that would let it replace a 3 or 6 series control with very few changes.

Fanuc 11T and 11M Similiar in design to the 10, but it had bubble memory like the system 6. Lots of options were available on this model, but I believe that it was limited to 5 axes total.

Fanuc 12M A step up from the 11M in capability, because it could manage up to 15 axes (parallel axes, synchronous axes, etc.). This control replaced the 9M, and you might find just a few of these on really big machining centers.

Fanuc 15T and 15M. The "big kahuna" control. It had all the options and "bells & whistles" of the 10/11/12 series, and it could handle a lot of axes like the older 12M.

Fanuc 16, 18, 21, and the i-series of controllers came out after I was long gone from GN. These (and the new i-series) of controls are what you mostly see nowadays.

What's even more fascinating is the evolution of Fanuc servo and spindle drives. But that's another story ...

Notice that no Fanuc models include the number "4". That's an unlucky number in Japan.

Al.

[memoryman]

Yes, we have supplied memory for these controls (have all manuals)

Hi Memoryman
Never seen FANUC 9 and 20 controls..........
Have u seen....??

[drdos]

The way Fanuc structures the series number is by the release date. The series is then number of years after Fanuc began making controllers. So the series 11 is 11 years after they started making controllers,

[memoryman]

series 9,11,12,15 were released at about the same time. Series 16,18,20 and 21
~1991. How does that work?

The way Fanuc structures the series number is by the release date. The series is then number of years after Fanuc began making controllers. So the series 11 is 11 years after they started making controllers,

[Al_The_Man]

series 9,11,12,15 were released at about the same time. Series 16,18,20 and 21
~1991. How does that work?

I seem to remeber it as 10,11,12, at least they all shared the same manual, the 15 came a bit later with an updated BMI and was an enhanced version of these three?
Al.

[memoryman]

correct, Al.I left the 10 out; the controls use different processors: Intel 8086 and Motorola 68000 series. The 9M is fairly rare, although I've worked on > 10.
The 10 and 15 used sram for part program memory; 9,11,12 use bubble memory.
The 9 can use up to 4 BMUs each up to 512kbyte; the 11,12 use a single BMU up to 2 Mbyte. The 15A was the flagship control, followed by the 15B.

[gbowne1]

I think I have posted this list before, but here it is I have the following:

16M Model B
15M Model A
6MB Level II
18iM Model A
0M Model C
0T Model C (two different versions of this one)
10TF/TEF
11M not sure which version
10M (only have a few parts from this one yet..)

I'm sure having fun with my 15M and the 10T and the 16M and the 18i and the 6MBII.

Greg

[Al_The_Man]

Your just a glutton for punishment......
Al.