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The control has found an address letter it does not accept in that context, or a combination of addresses that makes no sense for the active function. Unlike a digit error, the problem here is not what the number is worth: it is that the letter has no business being there.
For reference only: alarms change with the manufacturer, the control and the machine PLC. Check the full code in the official manual before doing anything. Legal notice.
If it appeared after parameter/option changes or the control rejects installed standard commands.
Reset after fixing the syntax and checking the toolpath.
Choose the manual matching your control series, software version and machine builder. A support portal is a starting point; it does not establish applicability to every model.
Every control function defines which addresses it accepts and which are mandatory. A drilling canned cycle expects specific letters for depth, retract plane, feed and repeats; a circular move expects a radius or the offsets to the centre; a macro call expects the arguments that macro uses. When the interpreter prepares the block, it checks that every address present belongs to the set the active function allows and that none of the essential ones are missing. If a letter turns up that does not belong, or if two addresses are incompatible with each other in the same block, it aborts with an illegal address alarm. Three origins cover nearly every shop-floor case. One, dialect: the program was written for another control and carries letters that control used and this one does not, or uses the same letter with a different meaning. Two, an option that is not installed: the address exists in the series but belongs to a function this machine has not paid for, so the interpreter treats it as unknown. And three, context: the letter would be perfectly valid in another mode, but not in the mode the machine is in, typically because a canned cycle was left open or a compensation is active and restricts what can be programmed.
In order, from the fastest and cheapest check to the most expensive.
01Identify exactly which letter is spare or missing
Read the complete block and break it mentally into words. Check each letter against what your series' programming manual allows for the function that is active at that moment. If the manual does not list that letter for that cycle, you have found it.
02Look at what modal state is live just before
A canned cycle not cancelled with G80, cutter compensation without G40 or a special mode left open all change what is valid. Check the modal display. If it does not fail when running the program from the top but does fail when starting mid-program, it is definitely modal context.
03Find out whether the program came from another control
Compare it against a program that runs correctly on this machine. Different header styles, letters that are not used here, or cycles written another way all give away a foreign origin. A program made for another builder is not adapted by patching blocks: it is re-posted.
04Check whether the function is an installed option
Custom macros, special cycles, additional axes or measuring functions are options. Check the list of enabled options on the control's system screen; the name varies by series. If the option is not there, the address will never be accepted no matter how you rewrite it.
05Rewrite the block from the manual, not from memory
Copy the cycle syntax exactly as the manual for your series documents it, with the addresses in the order and with the meaning given there. It is faster than trying variants, and it avoids leaving the program working by accident with a value that means something else.
06Dry run before cutting
With the block corrected, step the program through in single block above the part and check that the path is what you expected. A cycle with a misread address may give no alarm at all and still drill to the wrong depth.
An incompatible dialect. Confirm it by comparing against one of your own programs that works. The correct answer is to re-post from CAM with this machine's post, not to keep correcting blocks until it stops complaining.
That cycle uses an address this series does not accept, or the previous cycle was left open without G80. Confirm it by checking the cycle syntax in the manual and the preceding modals. Correct the block and cancel the previous cycle where it belongs.
The macro uses arguments the machine does not accept, or the custom macro option is not installed. Confirm it by looking at the option list. If the option is not there, that operation has to be solved another way.
One validated post per machine, and no running programs posted for another machine. The series' programming manual available in the shop, on paper or on the office PC, so syntax is looked up instead of recalled. A full cancellation header in every program so nothing modal is dragged in. Each machine's option list documented and to hand, which saves hours of trying functions that do not exist. And a dry run of every new program before its first part.
Fanuc detects an address, word or NC format that is not allowed for the active mode. It is an alarm from the Program area, and in the catalog it is listed as “Illegal NC address or format not allowed”. On the machine you notice it like this: Alarm in a specific block, May appear with cycles, macros or a post for another control.
On the shop floor it almost always comes from one of these causes: Address not supported, Wrong cycle parameter, Code from another dialect, Option not installed. Rule out the most likely one on your machine first, before touching parameters or swapping anything.
Reset after fixing the syntax and checking the toolpath. Resetting without fixing the cause first only hides the problem: PS011/PS014 trips again and, in the meantime, you keep working with the machine in bad shape.
With the machine stopped and in a safe state, start with these checks: Compare the block against the Fanuc manual, Check the active G mode, Confirm if the option exists on that machine. That alone will tell you whether it is the program or whether you need to raise a maintenance job.
With PS011/PS014 active, avoid this: Do not bypass safety devices, Do not manipulate energized electrical cabinet, Do not continue producing if the alarm reappears. Skipping any of these points is what turns a minor stop into an expensive breakdown.
If it appeared after parameter/option changes or the control rejects installed standard commands. If you are not sure how far it goes, stop the machine and report it: a repeat alarm always works out cheaper than a crash.
It is a stop alarm: the cycle will not continue until you fix the cause. It does not always mean serious damage, but it leaves the machine where it is and you have to check it before running again. Guidance reference. Always confirm the full text in the exact machine/control manual.
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