Why does the Fanuc report 101?
The Fanuc's program memory, when written to, is a continuous process. Whether you change the program in EDIT, or use RS232, network port, USB flash drive to transfer the program, as long as the "write half interrupted”, the system may leave incomplete data blocks.
In order to avoid you continue to run a "half-cruelty” program, Fanuc is very simple, directly display 101 PLEASE CLEAR MEMORY, meaning in fact: "I suspect that this section of the program is unreliable, you first clear a clear.”
So, 101 is not a random alarm, but a very protective system prompt.
The most common scenarios on our site
First, power failure or shutdown when changing the program, the program is just saved halfway, the person has already left, and the next day when the computer is turned on, it is 101.
Second, power failure or communication interruption when transferring the program, the RS232 line is loose, the USB flash drive has just been inserted and pulled out, and the system will be interrupted before the transfer is completed.
Third, the power supply itself is not very stable, old machine tools, old plants, voltage fluctuations, memory writing is "interrupted”.
These alarms all point to the same thing: a problem with program memory consistency.
What do we do in practice?
In most cases, 101 does not require any complexity. On many machines, the alarm can be cleared by following the standard Fanuc clearing procedure. That is: power on → press and hold RESET → press PROG again, let the system abandon the current "suspicious program”.
If it is just edited, just passed the program, then it should not continue to use, clear instead of safer.
Of course, there are a few cases that are more stubborn. For example, the alarm does not go away, or it comes back once it is cleared. In this case, we usually recommend checking and deleting those few obviously incomplete programs, rather than blindly rebooting.
More extreme cases, there are really cases of "the whole program memory is messed up. Then you can only clear the program area and retransmit. But this is always a last resort, and only if you have a backup.
Some 101s are actually reminding you of a deeper problem
If you find that clearing memory doesn't work, rebooting doesn't work, and 101s keep appearing over and over again, then you can't just focus on the program.
We have actually encountered the following situations: old system memory aging; motherboard storage area is unstable; backup battery voltage is too low, resulting in abnormal data retention. In this case, 101 is not a "program problem”, but the system is telling you: I have this piece of storage, is not very reliable. If you continue to use it, it will only cause more and more problems.
How do I try to avoid getting 101 again?
Honestly, this is the easiest alarm to prevent. You should not turn off the machine when you are editing or transferring a program; after transferring a program, make sure it is finished before you turn off the power; it is better to equip an old machine with a UPS; and you should back up the program, parameters, and PMC when it is time to do so.
These are all small things, but they can really save a lot of trouble.
Finally, a word of experience
Fanuc Alarm 101, in itself, is not scary. It's just a reminder that that memory write you just did was incomplete. What's really troublesome is repeatedly ignoring it, forcing it to run, or messing around with clearing data without a backup. If you've tried clearing it normally and the alarm still doesn't fix it, then you need more specialized testing.
Songwei in the daily work, often help customers deal with Fanuc 101, system memory abnormalities, motherboard detection of such problems, the purpose is only one: so that the machine stops less, do not repeatedly tossed. This kind of alarm, the sooner the correct treatment, the less likely to evolve into a major problem.
