KUKA 00-119-966 RDC 2 Resolver Digital Converter 120MHz RDW2

KUKA 00-119-966 RDC 2 Resolver Digital Converter 120MHz (RDW2)

The KUKA 00-119-966 is the resolver digital converter of the earlier RDW controller generation, listed in the KUKA catalogue as RDC 2 Resolver Digital Converter 120MHz and also traded as the RDW2 board. KUKA describes it as a converter with a digital signal processor that converts analog signals to digital signals and that is mounted in an RDC box on the base frame of the robot. That is the position feedback link of the machine: the resolvers on the axis motors deliver analog sine and cosine signals, this board turns them into digital position data, and the controller uses that data for every axis. The unit weighs 0.176 kg and carries customs HS code 85389091. Because a fault here does not stop the drive and does not stop the motor, it shows up as a position problem, a mastering problem or a communication message between the controller and the robot base. Send us the article number on the board or the robot serial number, and we confirm the match before you order.

Specifications

Send the article number printed on the board, the robot serial number or a photo of the label, and we confirm the match before you order.

Industrial Applications

• Replacement of a failed RDC 2 in the RDC box on the robot base frame, where the controller reports an RDC fault, a transmission error between the controller and the robot base, or a position error that mastering does not clear.
• Renewal of the position feedback path on KR 2000 series machines and other robots of the earlier RDW based controller generation, where the controller and the manipulator stay in service and only the position acquisition module is renewed.
• Refurbishment of second hand robots where the cabinet, the drives and the manipulator are kept and the resolver digital converter is replaced as part of the recommissioning.
• Spare holding for service teams that keep one resolver digital converter per controller generation on the shelf, because this part decides whether a robot can be moved at all after a power related fault.
• Diagnostic work on an intermittent position fault, where a known good module used as a swap test separates a failed board from a wiring or controller side fault.

Design Purpose

The drive side of a robot axis is driven, but the position of the axis is measured, and on this generation the measuring element is a resolver in the motor. A resolver outputs two analog signals whose amplitude and phase carry the angle of the shaft, and the controller cannot work with an analog signal, so something has to sit between the motor and the controller and convert. That is the job of the resolver digital converter, and the 00-119-966 is the KUKA unit that does it on the RDW generation. The catalogue name says what it is: RDC 2, the second generation of the resolver digital converter, with a digital signal processor running at 120 MHz. KUKA states that the unit is mounted in an RDC box on the base frame of the robot, which is the point of the design: the board sits in the machine, close to the resolvers, and the position data travels to the cabinet over the data cable rather than the drive cables carrying power. The RDC box is the housing that takes the board and gives it its connection to the robot, and the board inside it is the replaceable element. The controller side of this link is the DSE, the drive computer in the cabinet, and the KUKA operating instructions for the KR C2 ed05 treat the pair as one diagnostic unit: the DSE-RDW diagnostic tool is opened under Setup, Service, DSE-RDW, and inside it the module is addressed as 1.RDC2, with a Table, an Offset and symmetry function and a Check communication function. The Check communication function states that the RDC sends data words to the DSE in a 125 microsecond cycle, which is the heartbeat of the whole position chain and the reason a single failed transmission is visible to the controller. One further property of the design matters for a replacement: the contents of the EEPROM in the RDC unit can be overwritten and cannot be restored simply by booting the system, so the module carries data of its own that has to be written again after the exchange. That is why a converter is identified by its article number and by the robot it came from, and that is what we confirm before a replacement is shipped.

Common Failure Modes

• The controller reports a transmission error between the drive computer and the RDW. The KUKA fault list gives the causes as a break in the wiring between the two and a transmission fault, and the prescribed actions are to check the shielding of the detection signal line and to check the DSE-RDW serial connection, which is why the cable and its screen are checked before the board is judged.
• The controller reports a failure of the detection signal line. The KUKA fault list lists a wiring fault such as a loose plug, a fault in the RDW itself and a damaged encoder as the causes, and the prescribed actions are to check the encoder signal line, to check the motor and the resolver and, if needed, to replace the RDW.
• The controller does not start up the RDW program. The KUKA fault list for this message gives the action as replacing the RDW, the DSE or the wiring between them, which places the converter at the start of the chain rather than at the end.
• The controller asks for a mastering operation after a restart, because the actual position differs too much from the stored value and the sensor could not be corrected. In the DSE-RDW diagnostic tool this is visible in the Check communication function, where a resolver position of 0 for an axis means an encoder error, and where the communication error state shows 0001 once more than three transmissions have failed.
• Position accuracy drifts or the axes lose their zero position, which on this generation is checked with the Offset and symmetry function of the RDC, where the sine and cosine offsets and calibrations of the axes are read and adjusted.
• Intermittent behaviour that only appears while the robot moves, which points at the wiring between the robot base and the cabinet rather than at the board, because a connection that drops out only under movement passes a static check.

The KUKA KR C2 ed05 operating instructions define what has to be done after the exchange, and this is the part that a buyer should plan for. The Offset and symmetry function carries a Set default values softkey, and the manual states that the default values should be set after exchanging motors, after exchanging the RDC module and after sporadic encoder errors. The RDC table also shows the measurement and configuration data of the module, with an Export softkey, so the state of the old module can be read before it is removed. The manual further states that the contents of the EEPROM in the RDC unit can be overwritten and cannot be restored simply by booting the system, so the robot number has to be set on the new module again, and the axes have to be mastered afterwards. Please contact us with the fault code shown on your controller for an accurate diagnosis of your cabinet. The practical point for a buyer is that the board is the cheap part of this repair and the procedure is the expensive part of it, and a service team that plans the three steps of setting the default values, writing the robot number and mastering the axes in advance will get the machine back into production in one visit.

Why Choose Us

• Specialized in industrial robot spare parts for ABB, FANUC, KUKA and YASKAWA.
• Each part is tested and verified by experienced technicians before packing.
• Technical support available to help with fitment and troubleshooting.
• Worldwide shipping with careful industrial packaging, from our Shanghai office.
• Repair service offered on defective units.

Related Products

• KUKA 00-106-496: RDW data encoder cable, 7 m, the cable that carries the position data between the controller and the robot base of this generation.
• KUKA 00-170-961: Interface RDC X21, the interface the RDC is connected through on the controller side.
• KUKA 00-246-872: the resolver digital converter board of the KR C4 generation. It is a different part from this one and it is not interchangeable, so the controller generation is confirmed before you order.
• KUKA cables and connectors: the data and encoder cables of the robot base link and the connector parts of the RDC box.
• KUKA controller boards and power supplies: the boards in the cabinet that this module talks to.
• Contact us for the full range of resolver digital converters, RDC boxes, data cables and interface parts of the older controller generations, and for the parts that match your installation.

Request a quote: send your part number (00-119-966) or the robot serial number, and we confirm the module version, the fit and the lead time before you order.