Skip to content

ISSUE — Track Axis Position Resets to 2147.484 cm After Hotboot Network

LIKELY OPEN BOTH BOLT X

Summary

After a Hotboot Network on Bolt X, the track axis current value resets to 2147.484 cm — a sentinel value representing an uninitialised register — instead of the robot's actual position. Attempting a GoTo from this value is extremely dangerous as the robot believes it is over 21 metres from its real location. The fix is to run Zero Direct followed by Re-Zero Home before any movement.

Symptoms

  • After "Hotboot Network", the Track axis current value displays as 2147.484 cm instead of the robot's actual position
  • The value 2147.484 is 2^31 / 1,000,000 — an uninitialised register sentinel value
  • Robot believes it is 21+ metres from its actual location — can cause dangerous unexpected GoTo behaviour
  • Issue appears specifically after Hotboot Network, not full power cycle

Do not GoTo from 2147.484

Treat 2147.484 cm as an invalid/uninitialised track value. Do not run, GoTo, or browse from that displayed position until the track has been re-zeroed or the pendant/encoder state has been checked.

Systems Affected

  • Bolt X on Track (confirmed)
  • Likely applicable to other track-mounted systems

Software Environment

BOTH

Possible Causes

  • Track position register not re-initialised from encoder on Hotboot Network
  • Flair reads an uninitialised register rather than the actual absolute encoder position
  • May be related to absolute encoder read timing on startup

Solutions

Solution A — Zero Direct, then re-Zero Home

LIKELY BOTH

Contributor(s): Timothy Heys Cerchio — 2024-11-07

Steps

  1. After hotboot, do not attempt a GoTo from the 2147.484 position.
  2. In Flair: run Zero Direct (sets current position as software zero without moving).
  3. Then run Re-Zero Home (physical homing procedure — robot moves to datum switch).
  4. Confirm the track value now matches the physical position before any run or GoTo.

Run Control → Zero Direct, then Zero Home.

Equivalent zeroing controls in Flair 7 main interface.

Notes

"If I do the mistake then I just Zero Direct first and then re Zero Home." — Timothy Heys Cerchio

Solution B — Check pendant / encoder and do a comparison hotboot

LIKELY BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Julian Hermannsen — 2024-11-07

Steps

  1. After hotboot, check the track position on the robot pendant (physical controller on the robot).
  2. If the pendant also shows ~2147, the absolute encoder needs re-homing.
  3. If the pendant shows the correct position, it is a Flair software state issue only.
  4. Alternative diagnosis: run the track back 1 m then hotboot again — compare the displayed value to see if it changes correspondingly.
  5. If the value remains fixed at 2147.484, capture screenshots and report the hotboot sequence, controller type, and Flair version to MRMC.

Notes

"Maybe check if that's the robot axis value on the pendant. If that's the case also run it 21m backwards. I had this recently where I ran into a limit on the track on bolt X." — Julian Hermannsen

Timeline

Event Date Contributor
First reported 2024-11-07 Timothy Heys Cerchio
Workaround shared 2024-11-07 ~ Julian Hermannsen

Official Documentation

Document Section Notes
Flair v7.4 Operator Manual Chapter — Zeroing Zeroing procedures

See also: Zeroing chapter

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.2 Installation: Hot Booting — p.18

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.5 Setups: Axis Setup — p.33

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.2 Installation: Hot Booting — p.4

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.5 Setups: Axis Setup — p.19

WhatsApp Excerpts

[7/11/2024, 7:16:53 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: Now another one... Has any Bolt X on Track user found out that when you Hotboot Network the Track Axis current value defaults to 2147.484 cm? Instead of where it actually was?

[7/11/2024, 9:29:46 am] ~ Julian Hermannsen: Maybe check if that's the robot axis value on the pendent. If that's the case also run it 21m backwards. I had this recently where I ran into a limit on the track on bolt X.

[7/11/2024, 9:30:38 am] ~ Julian Hermannsen: If you don't want to touch the pendent run it 1m back and hotboot again and compare

[7/11/2024, 11:18:26 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: Well, if I do the mistake then I just Zero Direct first and then re Zero Home.

Revision History

Date Change Editor
2026-05-24 Initial extraction Tom D / Claude Code
2026-05-24 Reformatted to CSS-tag template Tom D / Claude Code