BREVE HISTORIA DE LOS CONTROLES FANUC Y SUS DRIVES

In my years with General Numeric, I serviced these controls with the GN or Fanuc nameplates:

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.