Drip feed

[Zoeper]

This is not quite Mastercam stuff but...

would you copy program code from Mastercam (or any other cam for that matter) to the control memory, or do you drip feed to the machine directly?

reason i ask is i think this lathe has very limited memory and if i use the control to do cutter compensation in Mc the backplot does not show exactly what is being cut.

Control is a Fanuc 10t

thanks

p

[randy]

we have a 10t Fanuc controller on our lathe and you are right not a whole lot of memory we only run one program at a time and if it is a big program we remove all block numbers and spaces and if it is still to big we drip feed from dnc system only problem with drip feed you cant jump around program very easy if you have to recut a tool

[Guest]

quote:

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only problem with drip feed you cant jump around program very easy if you have to recut a tool

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I know on our DNC Max if you need to start somewhere type in the block # and sequence search just like if it was loaded in memory, just takes an extra secod or 2 to scroll it up.

[Zoeper]

Enlighten me please...DNC???

[beej]

DNC- direct numeric control (aka drip feed)

[Zoeper]

How do you set up the machine to accept code like that, and do you need special sotware to do it or can MC do that (also)?

[Thad]

quote:

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How do you set up the machine to accept code like that,

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Most Fanucs have a "Tape" mode that is used for DNC.

 

Thad

[within a thou]

I use Cimco edits dnc function only other stuff I know you will need is a rs232 cord and to change the paramter settings in both the control and set up the cimco dnc

[Zoeper]

Thanx guys, I'll see if we have CimcoEdit or similar and give it a shot!

Also chack out the tape function in the chinese- english manual maybe i can pick something up there!

[within a thou]

I don;t know much about the settings but one suggestion I would like to make is be careful how long your rs232 cord is cause you can pick up static which can change your code and there is anti static tubing that you can encase this cord in to help with that

[Zoeper]

Thanx, I'll keep it as short as possible and make sure it's shielded!

[CimtechTrainer]

Hi Zoeper,

 

Typically on an RS-232 connection you would need to use only three of the pins to do the actual communication. Pins 2 and 3 would be crossed (2 goes to 3, 3 goes to 2) and pin 7 would be straight through (pin 7 goes to pin 7). Just solder on some D-sub connectors and go. Cimcoedit comes with Mastercam V9, so if you are running V9, you have the cimco editor. Check here: C:/mcam9/common/editors/Cedit/CIMCOedit.exe

 

In version 9 you could also set up mastercam to do DNC communications directly, but you would only be able to use your computers com port (a 9 pin serial port on the back of your computer). When doing this method you can also use a switch box to communicate to several different machines.

 

-Colin

www.multiaxis.com

[Storkman]

If possible always run from memory. DNC can dwell if speeds and feeds are high. Buffers can't always keep up with high speed machining.

[Zoeper]

Thanx again! every bit of info helps -

p

[Zoeper]

quote:

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Most Fanucs have a "Tape" mode that is used for DNC.

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The machine in question has got he following modes available:

Edit, Auto, MDI, x1, x10, x100, Jog, Rpd and Zero

I went through alll the menu functions on edit, auto and MDI, and i canot find anything that mentions the word tape.

 

any ideas...anyone

[within a thou]

Do you have the manuals could be a paramter setting that isn't set properly that isn;t allowing you to see tape

[within a thou]

you should also check for a rs232 imput on the machine somewhere it will look like the same kind of plug you use for your printer

[Zoeper]

They do have some manuals for the machine, but they do not seem to be for that exact model and relying on them is dangerous, your chances to learn from it - dicey!

the machine does have a serial port and i managed to feed a program to it(load to mem - not drip feed) with a primitive dos type program. 90% of what reaches the machine seems ok, but sometimes the top of the program ( 2-3 lines go missing and sometimes the last bit as well

[within a thou]

If a few lines go missing I would double check the baud rate and if they don;t match I would slow it down a notch.

 

With the program being able to be "punched" sent directly to the conrol thats a good thing you should be able to "drip feed" a program to the machine look for something on the lines of I/O channel and see if that needs to be change then try to send the program while in auto

[within a thou]

But make sure your feed and rapid are on zero I would also suggest starting in single block so the machine doesn;t tak off on you until you figure out what setting you need for handshaking