HC Series – Disabling Torque Sensors

Introduction

It is possible to completely disable the Torque Sensors of an HC series robot, effectively turning it into an Industrial Robot that is incapable of performing a Human Collaborative task.  This allows the robot to operate when items such as torque sensors, their power board, or the torque sensor cable are damaged or missing, as long as Human Collaborative safety or other Torque Sensor functions are not required.

Procedure

Boot the controller into Maintenance Mode.  And then go to SYSTEM -> SECURITY and set to SAFETY MODE.

Go to SYSTEM -> SETUP -> OPTION FUNCTION.  Scroll down to find POWER FORCE LIMITING.  Select on DETAIL.

Change PFL BOARD #1 to NOT USED and press ENTER.

Select YES to Modify.

Once the Controller has been Modified to not use the PFL board, a message to Select ‘Safety Board FLASH Reset’ will be displayed on the bottom of the Pendant Screen.

To perform a Safety Board FLASH Reset go to FILE -> INITIALIZE.

Select on “Safety Board FLASH Reset.”  Be careful not to select on “Safety Board FLASH Erase.” 

When the Safety Board FLASH Reset has completed the message on the bottom of the Pendant Screen will disappear.  The cursor buttons will also become responsive again.

Cycle Power to the controller.  

When it reboots with the PFL board and Torque Sensors disabled, the HC robot will operate like an Industrial Robot and can be programmed for any task where Human Collaborative safety or other Torque Sensor functions are not required.