Why FANUC CF Cards Are Recommended for CNC Systems

CompactFlash (CF) cards are widely used in CNC systems for program storage, data transfer, and DNC machining. However, after long periods of use, many commercial CF cards may experience data writing degradation, which can occasionally lead to data errors.

Most CF cards available on the market are not specifically designed for industrial CNC applications and may not adequately address these reliability issues.

Another potential problem occurs during DNC machining. If the CF card has data reading delays, it may negatively affect the surface machining quality of the workpiece.

FANUC CF cards are specifically engineered to address these problems.

They include automatic error correction functions, ensuring that even if data errors occur, incorrect data will not be read by the CNC system.

Additionally, when using a FANUC CF card during DNC machining, the data reading delay will not affect the machining surface quality.

For these reasons, FANUC strongly recommends using genuine FANUC CF cards in CNC systems.

1. How to Use a FANUC CF Card

When using a CF card in a FANUC CNC system:

1. Insert the CF card into the CF card adapter.

2. Insert the adapter into the PCMCIA slot of the CNC control.

3. Push the locking lever (A) downward to secure the adapter in place.

FANUC provides two types of CF card adapters.

For the following systems:

• 30i Series

• 0i-D / 0i-F / 0i-F Plus Series

• Power Motion i Series

It is recommended to use the short CF card adapter, which allows the dust cover to be closed after installation.

Related FANUC Parts

• FANUC CF Card A87L-0001-0215
• FANUC CF Card Long Adapter A02B-0236-K150
• FANUC CF Card Short Adapter A02B-0303-K150
• FANUC CF Card + Short Adapter
• FANUC CF Card + Long Adapter
• FANUC CF Card + Short Adapter +SSK
• FANUC CF Card + Long Adapter +SSK

CF Card Adapter (Long) – A02B-0236-K150

CF Card Adapter (Short) – A02B-0303-K150

2. How to Select the Correct CF Card Capacity

The required CF card capacity can be calculated using the following formula:

C > 4.4 × N × S

Where:

• C = Required CF card capacity (KB)

• N = Number of data writes per day

• S = Average file size (KB)
  (If file size is less than 256 KB, it should be considered as 256 KB)

Example 1

Daily files written: 5 files

File size: 100 MB

S = 100 × 1024 KB
N = 5

Calculation:

C > 100 × 1024 × 5 × 4.4
C > 2,252,800 KB ≈ 2.1 GB

Recommended CF card capacity:

4 GB

Example 2

Daily files written: 500 files

File size: 40 KB

Since the file size is less than 256 KB, we use:

S = 256 KB

Calculation:

C > 256 × 500 × 4.4
C > 563,200 KB ≈ 550 MB

Recommended CF card capacity:

1 GB

3. FANUC CF Card Models

Note:

The numbers after the model indicate the CF card capacity.

Different generations of FANUC CF cards include:

• A87L-0001-0200 – Older generation models produced more than 10 years ago

• A87L-0001-0215 – Models produced approximately 3–4 years ago

• A87L-0001-0221 – Latest generation currently in production

Conclusion

Using a reliable CF card is essential for maintaining stable CNC data transfer and DNC machining performance.

Compared with general commercial CF cards, FANUC CF cards are specifically designed for CNC systems, offering:

• Data error protection

• Automatic error correction

• Stable DNC data transfer

• Reliable long-term operation

For industrial CNC environments, using genuine FANUC CF cards is strongly recommended to ensure data safety and machining quality.

Reference Source: Beijing FANUC. This article is based on technical documentation provided by Beijing FANUC.

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