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Bolt Power — RCD/GFCI Trips, 20A vs 32A Three-Phase, and Generator Sizing

CONFIRMED BOLT / TRACK SAFETY CRITICAL

Summary

Bolt systems can trip domestic-style 30 mA RCD/GFCI/earth-leakage protection even when a three-phase outlet is present. Community practice is to verify site power before quoting, prefer industrial earth-leakage protection around 300 mA where legal and appropriate, keep proper earthing intact, and oversize generators enough that voltage/frequency regulation does not collapse during acceleration.

Electrical work must be handled by qualified crew

The chat contains field practice, not a substitute for local electrical code. Do not disconnect protective earth. Any RCD bypass, earth leakage setting, generator neutral bonding, or distribution change must be handled by qualified electrical crew.

Symptoms

  • Bolt powers up but trips when engaging
  • Breaker trips on shutdown
  • Intermittent robot drops on generator power
  • Ethernet / InTime / sync issues that disappear on a different supply
  • RCD/GFCI trips even though current draw seems below the outlet rating

Stable ID

ISSUE-POWER-001

First Reported

2020-10-10 — Tom D asked about Bolt requiring 300 mA RCD tolerance on Australian three-phase supplies.

Additional Reports

  • 2021-03-21 — Bolt on 20 A three-phase instead of 32 A.
  • 2021-07-14 — Bolt tripping RCD protectors on set.
  • 2025-11-10 — Whether 32 A three-phase draws one phase or all three.
  • 2025-12-08 — Breaker sensitivity / 300 mA vs 30 mA clarification.

Software Environment

N/A — hardware and site power issue.

Installation Context

All installations. Highest risk on unfamiliar studios, location generators, long cable runs, mixed lighting/robot power, wet sets, or untested distribution.

Hardware

  • Bolt / Bolt Jr+ / Bolt X
  • Precision Track
  • CS8 / robot power electronics
  • Generator or site three-phase distro
  • RT14 / Ultibox may show secondary network/sync symptoms if grounding is poor

Possible Causes

  • 30 mA domestic earth-leakage protection too sensitive for robot drives
  • Generator regulation too weak for sudden acceleration demand
  • Long or undersized cables causing voltage drop under load
  • Poor generator earthing / neutral bonding
  • Bad building earth entering through audio, BNC, Ethernet, or power peripherals
  • Shared circuits with lighting, UPS units, monitors, catering, or other noisy loads

Community Solutions

[CONFIRMED] 2020-10-10 — User: Niko

30 mA RCDs can be unpredictable with Bolt. Studios often use a 300 mA main RCD, and operators connect there when possible.

confidence_score: 0.84

[CONFIRMED] 2021-03-21 — Users: Stafford Wheaton, Niko, Peter Constan-Tatos

A 20 A three-phase utility outlet can work for gentle/no-track moves, but check all five conductors: L1, L2, L3, neutral, and ground. Use the robot rating plate to calculate expected current. On generators, add substantial headroom; a 10 kVA robot rating may warrant at least a 20 kVA generator for full-speed work.

confidence_score: 0.82

[CONFIRMED] 2021-07-14 — User: Peter Constan-Tatos

Do not interpret "RCD off" as "earth disconnected." Earthing remains important for safety and robot function. Generator earth spikes must be properly installed; dry ground may require multiple spikes and improved conductivity.

confidence_score: 0.88

[CONFIRMED] 2025-11-10 — Users: Arturo, Peter Constan-Tatos

The 32 A three-phase connection is per phase. Continuous draw may be lower than the socket rating, but generator regulation and surge response are critical.

confidence_score: 0.81

[CONFIRMED] 2025-12-08 — Users: Niko, Peter Constan-Tatos

For RCD/earth-leakage protection, 30 mA is generally home/residential sensitivity and can trip; 300 mA is the commonly referenced industrial value. Over-current breaker sizing is a separate concept from earth-leakage sensitivity.

confidence_score: 0.87

WhatsApp Excerpts

  • 2020-10-10 16:06 - ~ Sebastian Opitz: Here in Dubai we simply park a 100-150kvA generator outside the building and get going. Pretty cheap to rent, too. But I understand that’s not an easy thing to due in other places due to regulations for noise and pollution. Anyway, 3phase house / mains power is a rare thing in studios here as well.
  • 2020-10-10 16:08 - Tom D: Has anyone with their Bolt run up against (or solved) the issue of needing a 300mA tolerance on the RCD breakers on a 3 phase connection? Most three phase connections here in Australia have min 30mA tolerance which the Bolt trips in most cases (this won’t run). Sometimes we have the ability to bypass these, but mostly the solution is an external generator, which is $$$ for the client when a three phase studio connection is present. ...and then in some studios like ours (with 30mA RCD breakers)...
  • 2020-10-10 16:10 - Tom D: It’s just always a pain when quoting because if a client says they have 3 phase at an untested location, still no guarantee that we’ll start up because we might or might not trip their 30mA RCD. So need a generator as backup just in case.
  • 2020-10-10 16:10 - ~ Peter Constan-Tatos: 3 phase supplies are not a problem here in SA, even my home has 3 phase.
  • 2020-10-10 16:13 - ~ Peter Constan-Tatos: Generators are all 3 phase but all lighting is now run on single phase, so we have to speak nicely to the Gaffer to make sure they bring the 3 phase jumpers when we’re on location/generator
  • 2020-10-10 19:17 - ~ Niko: This is s nice problem for us. If decided to write in red the bolt energy details in our quotes. Sometimes the Bolt works without problems connected to a 30mA RCD and sometimes it's a nightmare. Usually studios have a main power RCD of 300 mA and we connect there

No tutorial directly covers RCD/GFCI sizing. Related background:

Official Documentation References

Bolt Quick Start Guide — printed p.14: power and network cabling reference

Bolt X Quick Start Guide — printed p.2: robot setup and safety reference

MRMC Safety Procedures — p.1: industrial robot safety

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.1 Introduction: High Speed Robot Safety — p.16

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.1 Introduction: High Speed Robot Safety — p.2