Preserve the fault context
Record the exact message, code, drive and motor model, firmware and the moment in the cycle when the fault appears. Identify whether the machine is starting, accelerating, processing, holding or stopping. Preserve relevant logs and parameters through the person responsible for the machine.
Follow the machine’s safe access and the manufacturer’s diagnostic instructions. Do not defeat protection, raise limits or retune an unknown axis to suppress a warning. Unexpected movement, electrical energy and hot surfaces require the appropriate competent-person procedures.
Overheating questions
Compare the actual cycle with the original selection assumptions. Has load, cycle rate, ambient temperature, cooling or mounting changed? Is the motor holding a process or gravity load through a long dwell? Include mechanical binding and lubrication condition in the maintenance review.
A thermal message can involve a sensor or connection as well as real temperature. Use the exact device documentation to distinguish these possibilities. A larger motor is not automatically the right remedy and may change inertia, mounting and drive requirements.
Following-error questions
Following error concerns the relationship between commanded and measured movement in the defined control arrangement. Possible contributors depend on the system and can include excessive demanded motion, mechanical restriction, feedback problems or configuration. The manufacturer’s fault documentation should guide the investigation.
Record command, actual position and current traces if the responsible engineer can obtain them using the normal tools. Explain whether the problem follows a new load, parameter change, cable replacement or mechanical intervention. Do not treat correlation as proof of cause.
A useful evidence table
| Evidence | Why it helps the enquiry |
|---|---|
| Full codes and firmware | Identifies the applicable manuals and configuration |
| Fault timing and logs | Separates different operating conditions |
| Motion and load cycle | Supports a duty and sizing review |
| Recent changes | Identifies assumptions that may no longer hold |
| Cooling and mounting | Describes the installed thermal conditions |
Kollmorgen publishes product-specific troubleshooting and fault tables. Their detail illustrates why a generic fault label should not be used as a replacement recommendation for every drive family.
If selection or replacement is required
Send the collected information, quantity and required date. The sizing service can discuss changed duty; the replacement service can discuss component sourcing or a new package. We do not claim to diagnose the machine or provide repair services from a web form.
Sources
Figures are summarised from the sources above and from manufacturers' published data on the date shown. Always confirm against the current datasheet for your exact part.