FANUC machine monitoring, native over FOCAS
FANUC is the control on most Indian CNC floors — and it already knows everything a monitoring system needs. ThingConnect reads FANUC controls directly through FOCAS, FANUC's own data interface: no sensors, no wiring into cabinets, no per-machine PC.
What FOCAS is
FOCAS is FANUC's own interface for reading data out of its CNC controls — a library the control ships with that lets software query its internal state over Ethernet (or the older HSSB fiber link). It is not an add-on box or a translation layer: an application speaking FOCAS is reading the same registers the control itself runs on.
That makes it the highest-fidelity connection a FANUC machine can offer. Where a retrofit sensor infers "probably running" from power draw, FOCAS reports feed hold, program O1234, block N220, alarm SV0401 — the machine's own account of itself.
What ThingConnect reads over FOCAS
| Signal | What it powers |
|---|---|
| Machine state (run / idle / alarm / feed hold) | The live floor view, utilization, and every downtime event — detected automatically, to the second. |
| Part count | Production vs plan and the performance component of OEE, with no operator tally sheets. |
| Cycle time | Actual vs ideal cycle per part — where slow-running hides. |
| Alarm code and text | Downtime that names itself: the control reports the fault, nobody types it. |
| Active program number / name | Automatic attribution of every stop and every part to the job that was running. |
| Feed / spindle override positions | The quiet performance killer — overrides turned down and forgotten — made visible. |
| Spindle load | Early warning for tool wear and abnormal cutting. |
Exactly which signals are available depends on the control generation — older 16i/18i-era controls expose less than a current 30i — which is why we survey the fleet control-by-control before quoting a rollout.
How a FANUC machine gets connected
- Confirm the control. Model, FOCAS/Ethernet option status, and network access — checked per machine in the fleet survey, usually from the control's own system screens.
- Network the machine. An Ethernet cable from the control's port to the plant network. Most 0i and 30i-series machines already have the port; many are already cabled.
- The gateway does the rest. Our compact gateway on the plant network polls each control over FOCAS and streams events to the cloud through a single outbound connection — buffering locally through internet outages. Machines never touch the internet.
No FOCAS option? Some machines — typically older ones, or controls bought without the option — can't speak FOCAS. Those join the same dashboard through a digital I/O connection, so a mixed fleet still ends up in one place, with honest labels on what each connection type can and cannot see.
Why FOCAS depth separates vendors
Almost every monitoring vendor lists FANUC as "supported." The useful question is how much of the control they read. A shallow integration polls run/idle state and stops there — which a current clamp could have told you. A deep one reads counts, cycles, alarms, programs, overrides, and load, and that difference decides whether your OEE is computed from machine truth or estimated from inference.
Ask any vendor — including us — to show live data from a control of your generation, on a screen, in the demo. It is the single fastest way to tell integration depth from a logo on a supported-brands page.
Frequently asked questions
Does my FANUC control support FOCAS?
Most network-capable FANUC controls do — the 0i series onward, and the 16i/18i/21i and 30i/31i/32i families, commonly with an Ethernet port already fitted. Whether the FOCAS option is enabled varies machine to machine, so we confirm it per control during the fleet survey rather than assuming. Machines without it can still be connected through digital I/O.
What data can FOCAS read from a FANUC control?
Machine state (running, idle, alarm), part counts, cycle times, the active program number and name, alarm codes and text, feed and spindle override positions, spindle load, and tool offsets — depending on the control generation. All of it comes from the control itself, with nothing inferred from sensors.
Is FOCAS data collection safe for production?
Yes. FOCAS access as used for monitoring is read-only polling over the plant network — it cannot modify programs, parameters, or machine state. The load on the control is negligible, and machines never connect to the internet; they talk only to a gateway inside your firewall.
Do I need MT-LINKi or FANUC's own software to collect FOCAS data?
No. FOCAS is the data interface itself; any application built against it can read the control directly. ThingConnect connects natively over FOCAS without a per-machine PC, an MT-LINKi server, or additional FANUC software licences.