What the E0012 alarm means

A servo-path computation failed: the robot cannot physically reach the recorded target point with the current tool and posture. This fault appears in a large share of our Nachi AW / FD series service tickets, and the first round of on-site checks usually finds the source.

Most common causes

  • Taught point outside the reachable envelope
  • Wrong tool/offset making the target unreachable
  • Point recorded in a different base coordinate
  • Axis limits configured too tight
Field note: Most of the time the problem is the first item on the list, so ruling it out saves you half the time.

Step-by-step field fix

  1. Jog near the target and check the remaining reach margin
  2. Verify the tool offset and base frame
  3. Re-teach the point within reach
  4. Check axis soft limits
  5. If the point was reachable before, check calibration
Safety first: For NACHI e0012, this alarm family points at arm motion control: after a reset the arm can move unexpectedly, and anyone inside the working envelope is at strike and pinch risk. What you can check yourself first is Jog near the target and check the remaining reach margin; the arm working envelope handling is not a DIY job.

How we diagnose motion alarms on site

NACHI e0012 belongs to the motion & path family. On NACHI e0012 the failing stage is servo amplifier modules in the cabinet, assigned per axis on the AX-series / FD-series controllers - the gap between command and execution: trajectory planning, joint limits, singularities, following error and mechanical resistance. We start reading NACHI e0012 at the pendant error-code screen (E-series codes) with amplifier panel indicators.

The chain involved in NACHI e0012 runs: program command -> trajectory planner -> joint targets -> servo execution -> actual position feedback -> deviation compare.

First check whether NACHI e0012 only appears at one pose - A six-axis arm near wrist extension or near axis-5 zero has a Jacobian approaching singularity: tiny tool moves demand huge joint rates, and the controller either reports following error or the arm snaps through. When the report is alarms at one position and clean on another path, suspect the singular region first. The fix is not raising speed limits but routing around it: move the part, add an intermediate point, or pass the region in joint interpolation.

Field notes on this page cover NACHI e0012 (Robot Cannot Reach Recorded Point); written by the Henghuan repair team, updated 2026-10-01.

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Related Motion & Path alarms

E0021 — Servo Follow-Up Error (Following Error) E0022 — Deviation Error E0025 — Position Jump (Jump Position)
Same family: this code belongs to the Motion & path alarms family - the page collects all Motion & path-family codes we have handled, with the common inspection order and spares.
Other brands: we also keep field-fix libraries for Omron · ESTUN · INOVANCE and more — see the complete alarm code hub.

Frequently asked questions

QWhat does the NACHI e0012 alarm mean?

A servo-path computation failed: the robot cannot physically reach the recorded target point with the current tool and posture. This fault appears in a large share of our Nachi AW / FD series service tickets, and the first round of on-site checks usually finds the source. NACHI e0012 sits in the motion & path family; on our work orders the highest-frequency trigger for this code is "Taught point outside the reachable envelope".

QCan I clear a NACHI e0012 alarm myself?

Whether NACHI e0012 clears on its own depends on the outcome of "Jog near the target and check the remaining reach margin". Finish the flow with "If the point was reachable before, check calibration" to confirm NACHI e0012 - do not skip it. If that step is clean, the second most frequent cause on NACHI e0012 is "Wrong tool/offset making the target unreachable". After clearing NACHI e0012, watch it for one shift. A second trip means stop and let an engineer arrive with the right test gear for the arm working envelope.

QFor motion alarms like NACHI e0012, can you triage remotely first?

The commonest causes we see on NACHI e0012 are "Taught point outside the reachable envelope, Wrong tool/offset making the target unreachable, Point recorded in a different base coordinate", so we stock the van against those. For NACHI e0012 specifically, we carry mechanical and configuration items: grease, limit switches, drag-chain segments, encoder cables and the parameter sheets for common reducers. For NACHI e0012, motion alarms can often be narrowed remotely first, so an on-site visit is not always immediate. Before we roll, tell us what NACHI e0012 shows on the pendant error-code screen (E-series codes) with amplifier panel indicators and what the machine was doing - phone or video triage is free.

This page on NACHI e0012 was compiled from actual repair records of the Henghuan Robotics repair team. Alarm notes are our own summary for troubleshooting reference only and may vary with controller and software version — please consult Nachi documentation or contact us if in doubt. Henghuan is an independent service provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nachi.