Once you have setup all your CNC
parameters (see below) it is so easy to send DNC files to
your CNC machine. If you have a file already open in the editor
window, all you have to do is press the big Window icon -
or press F2. Too many dnc software packages have, in our opinion,
become too cluttered and difficult to use by non-computer
literate personnel - we have tried to make our dnc software
program as easy as possible to use with the minimum number
of mouse clicks and non-essential icons.
There is no limit to the size of files you can send to your
CNC, so you can drip-feed incredibly large files with no loss
in speed.
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
Many free file transfer programs,
such as Windows Terminal and DNC software packages just don't
have enough "tweaks" to enable you to send successfully
to your CNC. This is because many CNC machines are very temperamental
about the way that data is transferred to it - it has to be
just right or it won't work...
Our dnc4U software has many such tweaks for successful file
transfer; we have included many essential parameters to help
you get it right...
Com Ports
dnc4U lets you set up as many as 64 CNC machines, with serial
ports com1 to com128; more than adequate for the small to
medium machine shop. This is a standard configuration, no
messing about with upgrades like other DNC software packages
that require more cash if you want to add more CNCs !
Because you can use a dedicated com port for each of your
CNC machines you can easily use multi-port serial cards inside
your computer thus eliminating those messy switch boxes !
dnc4U fully supports these type of cards, as well as "normal"
serial ports and USB devices.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Baudrates from 150 to 460800
are supported
You can force the state of the CTS and/or DTR pins to go high
as you open the com port - essential for many CNC that require
a remote device to be online before it will open it own comms.
dnc4U uses the standard ISO/ASCII character set of nearly
all modern CNC machines or EIA for some older controllers.
dnc4U supports XON/XOFF and RTS/CTS handshaking protocols
with two different methodologies. You can use the CPU interrupt
for the fastest response with a 16550 UART, or a polling method
that looks for the state of the buffer or pins prior to sending,
this has application if your computer cannot respond fast
enough to XOFF characters, and so handshaking is ineffective.
|
| |
|
Send Parameters
These are the tweaks that allow you to send your files to
your CNC. What seems like an essentially simple matter of
just sending a file to your CNC can in many cases turn you
into a gibbering wreck and can be very frustrating, thats
why we include these to make your life easier...
You can use the binary mode to store CNC executable tapes
to your computer and send them back.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
You can send a series of characters
to your CNC both before and after file transmission. This
is because many CNC need specific characters to "tell"
it that comms is about to start or finish. dnc4U lets you
setup these characters as a series of ASCII values (since
many of these characters cannot be types at the keyboard)
dnc4U allows you to select different End-of-Block characters
as different CNC can require different sequences.
You can setup data packet delays of up to 500ms between each
block and 25ms between each character that you send to the
CNC. In many cases a block delay of just a few ms will cure
many obsure communication problems.
You can choose to send your NC files block by block or as
fixed-sized packets of data. Normally you would just send
block by block, but for example if you were drip-feeding to
a Fanuc and were getting the dreaded buffer overflow, you
could send in byte chunks that will cure the problem.
However, sending in data packets at higher baudrates can send
the data incredibly fast. You can send data packets of up
to 16K and buffer the data for faster DNC transfer.
Many CNC require that a remote device is present before it
will open its own comms, you can either wait for an XON before
sending, in which case this process is automatic, or you can
make a window pop-up that opens the com port and waits for
you to setup the CNC and then press the button to start transfer.
|
| |
|
Sending Files
We have tried to make dnc4U really easy to use. We have tried
to keep the number of click to a minumum. The easiest way
to send a file is to just open up the file into the editor
and press "Send Window" icon. Just one mouse click!
Or you can select files from a normal file dialog box. You
can select multiple files from the dialog box and send sequentially.
You can repeat count how many times you want to send any file.
If you need to send and store executive tapes, you can send
binary, if your tool breaks some way into a file, you can
start the DNC from exactly the point you specify in the file
and restart from there.
|
| |
|
Example Setting
To get you started we have included a list of popular CNC
machines and their settings. These are starting points, since
many of the simple parameters such as baudrate may have been
altered, but will nontheless get you going. You should note
that if your CNC is not in the list, its not that we can't
communicate with it, its just that we may not have included
it - it will almost certainly work, but it may need a bit
more trial and error on your part
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Folders
Each CNC can, if you want to, have its own different send
and receive folders so that you can keep files that are proven
separate from files that have been received back from your
CNC.
In addition you can set up to eight different file extensions
for each folder. This is extremely useful if you want to differentiate
between customers without having to setup different folders
for each one.
|
| |
|
|
| |
