B383 - Gripper could not get cartridge out of slot

Edit online

The gripper on the robotic accessor failed to grab a cartridge from a storage slot. This could be caused by the robotic accessor mispositioned when trying grab from a storage slot, a faulty gripper or a faulty slot. This fix procedure describes how to diagnose and correct the issue.

Fix procedure

The cartridge is in a library slot
  1. Open the library front door.
  2. If you can manually remove and reinsert the affected cartridge back into the slot, go to Gripper Verification.
  3. If the cartridge is damaged, contact your media supplier.
  4. If the cartridge is not damaged, and there are problems inserting or removing cartridges manually in the slot, close the front door and go to Contact IBM support to request slot service.
The cartridge is in a drive
  1. If the cartridge is unloaded, go to Gripper Verification. Otherwise, go to the next step.
    Tip: Callout  1  in Figure 1 shows an unloaded cartridge in the drive.
  2. Open the rear door and connect a laptop to the Service port.
  3. Log into the Management GUI and try the following:
    • Run the "Eject cartridge" option from the Drives menu.
    • Execute the "Reset" option from the Drives menu.
    • Remove the drive and reinsert it. Wait for the drive to initialize.
  4. Log out of the Management GUI, disconnect the laptop, and close the rear door.
  5. If the cartridge unloads go to Gripper Verification. Otherwise continue with the next section, Manually removing the cartridge.

Manually removing the cartridge

  1. Referring to Figure 1, press and release the unload button  2 .
    Figure 1. Drive unload button
  2. Wait for the cartridge to rewind and unload. Callout  1  in Figure 1 shows an unloaded cartridge in the drive.
    Attention: A Typical cartridge rewind and eject time can take up to 5 minutes. Some conditions can extend this time to as long as 1 hour.
  3. Remove the cartridge from the drive.
  4. If this problem reoccurs on the same drive, go to Contact IBM support to request drive replacement.
  5. Go to Gripper Verification.
The cartridge is in the gripper
  1. If the front LED lighting is not solid yellow, put the robotic accessor in service using the management GUI.
  2. Open the front door.
  3. Lift and pin the robotic accessor to a convenient position above the cartridge slots.
  4. Move the gripper belt (See  3  in Figure 2) towards the open end of the gripper while manually guiding the cartridge out.
  5. Remove the cartridge from the gripper.
  6. Go to Gripper Verification.
Figure 2. Robotic Accessor gripper belts & cartridge present sensor (Temp Image)
Gripper verification
  1. If the front LED lighting is not solid yellow, out the library in service mode:
    1. From the management GUI., go to Actions > Change Library State.
    2. Choose In Service Mode (Offline) option and then click the Set button.
  2. Open the front door.
  3. Manually move the grippers pickers and confirm no part is damaged and it moves freely. This can be done by moving the motor pulley (See  3  in Figure 2) with your fingers. Pay attention to the gripper fingers to ensure they are not damaged.
  4. Ensure that the gripper motor cable connector and cartridge present sensor cable connectors are firmly seated at the GCC card and no damage to cables is visible. Referring to Figure 2,  1  is the connection for the top gripper and  2  is the connection for the bottom gripper.
  5. Close door.
  6. Set the library online:
    1. From the management GUI., go to Actions > Change Library State.
    2. Choose Online option and then click the Set button.
Attention: If the problem has occurred multiple times and still not resolved, go to Contact IBM support to discuss the robotic accessor replacement.

Damaged Components
During the procedure, if any part is found physically damaged, replace the applicable Customer Replacement Unit (CRU). See Customer service procedures.