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About GE Fanuc

To better support the Far East and European markets, GE joint ventured with Fanuc Asia to form 3 separate corporations. GE Fanuc North America, GE Fanuc Europe and GE Fanuc Asia which are a mixture of 51% or 49% ownership based on continent of operation. Fanuc offered a superior line of CNC controls while GE PLCs were growing quickly in market share. The joint venture offered a global approach while providing a full product offering to all markets. This joint venture has been a very successful venture for over 20 years.

GE Fanuc is a joint venture between 'General Electric Company' and FANUC Ltd of Japan. In 1986 GE Fanuc Automation Corporation was jointly established in the U.S.A. by General Electric and FANUC. Under the new JV company, three operating companies, i.e., GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc. in the U.S.A., GE Fanuc Automation Europe S.A. in Luxembourg and Fanuc GE Automation Asia Ltd. in Japan were established. The Asian company was established in 1987.

The reputation of GE rests on their unparalleled experience in automation control, practice of first-class research and development, expertise in engineering and systems integration, and award-winning manufacturing facilities.

GE Fanuc Automation is the leading supplier of computer numerical controls and related products to the machine tool industry with a well-known reputation for reliability and high-performance products. More machine tool builders and end users trust their products to GE Fanuc/FANUC controls because of our long history of performance and outstanding reliability. From multi-axis, high-precision machines to a transfer line - GE Fanuc CNCs solution systems combines exceptionally reliable hardware, software and services that will ensure your productivity is continuously improving.

GE Fanuc CNC Controls enhance the machine's productivity with a new level of easy-to-access information and programming tools. Our CNC Systems are available for a wide-range of applications such as; grinding, drilling, cutting, milling, punching, turning, woodworking and many more.

gefanuc.com Product History

The GE Series One 1 PLC was introduced in the mid 1980’s and was the first small modular PLC. It is estimated that over 1 million of these units have been installed worldwide. It comes in five and ten slot rack configuration. Three CPU versions are still available with over 29 I/O module types. The GE Fanuc Series One Junior ( JR) is fixed I/O unit of the GE Fanuc Series One, utilizing the same instruction set. A DCU is ised to interface a computer to the GE Series One PLC.

The GE Series Three 3 PLC was introduced in the mid 1980’s and was a midsize modular PLC. It comes in five and eight slot rack configuration. One CPU version is still available, which includes a programming terminal built in.

The GE Series Five 5 PLC was introduced in the late 1980’s and was mid to large modular PLC.. The CPU included a powerful instruction set and at the time was the smallest GE Fanuc PLC to use GE Fanuc GENIUS I/O blocks.

The GE Series Six 6 PLC was introduced in the early 1980’s and was the first modular PLC. It is estimated that over 500,000 of these units have been installed worldwide. It came in a Model 60, Model 600 and Model 6000 configuration. Three CPU versions allowed for more memory and larger I/O capacity. The instruction set was identical as well as the I/O type. The GE Fanuc DPU - Data Processing Unit and the GE Fanuc RPU -Redundant Processing Unit were used to off load additional functions. A PDT programming terminal was used as the programming device and included many of the same boards as the DPU.

The GE Fanuc Series 90-30 90/30 PLC was introduced for the 1990’s and has the largest installed base for GE Fanuc. It is still the number one selling GE Fanuc PLC in 2005 with over 15 CPU versions available including several with built in Ethernet or Profibus. Racks come in both 5 slot and 10 slot and still communicates with all GE Fanuc remote I/O modules including GENIUS, Versamax, Versapoint and Field Control.

The GE Fanuc Series 90-70 90/70 PLC was introduced for the 1990’s and was the most powerful GE Fanuc PLC until the recent introduction of the RX7i PAC System. It is still the number two selling GE Fanuc PLC in 2005 with over 9 CPU versions available including all with built in serial communication. Racks come in both 5 slot and 9 slot and still communicates with all GE Fanuc remote I/O modules including GENIUS, Versamax, Versapoint and Field Control.

The GE Fanuc Series RX3i PLC PAC System was introduced in 2003 and is the newest PLC for GE Fanuc. The GE Fanuc RX3i can utilize most of the existing GE Fanuc 90-30 PLC system, including rack, power supplies and I/O, while implementing an extremely powerful new family of CPUs. The Rx3i still communicates with all GE Fanuc remote I/O modules including GENIUS, Versamax, Versapoint and Field Control.

The GE Fanuc Series RX7i PLC PAC System was introduced in 2002 and is the most powerful PLC for GE Fanuc. The GE Fanuc RX7i can utilize most of the existing GE Fanuc 90-70 PLC system, including rack, power supplies and I/O, while implementing an extremely powerful new family of CPUs. The GE Fanuc RX7i still communicates with all GE Fanuc remote I/O modules including GENIUS, Versamax, Versapoint and Field Control while offering an extremely broad base of VME type I/O for specialty applications.

gefanuc.com Product Timeline

1981 - GE Fanuc entered the PLC market with the GE Series Six PLC system in 3 models; Model 60, Model 600 and Model 6000.

Mid 1980's - The GE Series One PLC was introduced with the GE Series Three PLC and GE Series Five PLC soon to follow.

Late 1980's - The GE Fanuc Series 90-30 PLC and GE Fanuc Series 90-70 PLC were introduced in late 1980's for the 1990 decade and are still the most popular of all GE Fanuc PLC products.

2002 & 2003 - The most current GE Fanuc product offering revolves around the RX3i PAC system and RX7i PAC system. PAC stands for Programmable Automation Controller.

The GE Fanuc Versamax, VersaPoint, OCS products are also offered for specialty applications. The GE Fanuc GENIUS I/O and Field Control I/O are distributed I/O which can be used with most GE Fanuc PLC systems or PAC systems.

gefanuc.com Software has been offered under various names such as Logicmaster 1, Logicmaster 3, Logicmaster 5, Logicmaster 6, Logicmaster 9030, Logicmaster 9070, Cimplicity Control, Versapro, Machine Edition, Proficy and Intellution. GE Fanuc purchased Intellution several years ago and is integrating it into the full software offering.