Another Firmware Question

[Greg Fisher]

I upgraded the Firmware on my 1/9 Autoloader the other day and everything still works, however, every 30 mins or so the autoloaded goes into an Inventory Check for no reason. It doesnt actually say its performing an Inventory, but its going through all the motions of one. The transport does a full cycle. This did not happen before the firmware upgrade.

Any thoughts as to why this is happening now?

Old FW Ver. 2400
New FW Ver. 2530

Any replies are appreciated!

Greg

[Vincent Farrugia]

Hello,

I suppose that is a feature of the new firmware. I only know about the 1.51 in Galactica libraries, which does the same thing. I guess 2.53 is the same as 1.51 for you 1/9.

There were problems in the field that some dust particles could settle on the slider connectors, losing communication to the picker as a result. The "scheduled" motions you are seeing are designed to remove the dust and dirt which can accumulate over time.

I am not sure on this one cuz actually I was searching for this firmware number for a client, to upgrade it to that. But it seems that it's the same as the 1.51 for Galactica libraries (which I am sure about).

HTH,
Vince

[Greg Fisher]

I thought of that too, but dang the motion of the picker is so violent that i cant see them initiating it regularly. I feel that this COULD lead to pre-mature failure of the components... Im thinking of going back a version or two and see if it quits..

Thanks for the reply..

Greg

[Curtis Ballard]

The suggestions that the motion is a "maintenance cycle" are correct. Long term testing showed that frequent use of the translate mechanism actually increased the life of the product significantly. Although it may sound rough, that mechanism has been tested to many times the advertised life. There is no wear-out problem.

That mechansim is much more likely to fail from lack of use, that it is from over-use. Frequent use keeps the electrical contacts polished and all of the gears clean. The maintenace sweep every hour moves the transport assembly through the full range of motion to ensure that all of the mechanism is kept in good working order. In normal operation the transport assembly only moves over a small portion of its travel even in heavy use.

Firmware revisions 1.52.X for the C7200 product family, and 2.53.X for the 1/9 product family both have this maintenace cycle that will run 1 sweep of the translate assembly every hour. The library isn't doing a full inventory check, just a quick run through the full range of motion.