Fadal MP88 Control

[Lee.]

Hello All.

 

Anyone using this control to drip feed large files?

 

Is it doable?

 

What are the pros and cons of this control?

 

Thanks in Advance for your input.

[Allan]

I'm not familiar with that model the Fadals usually have a CNC88 control. Drip feeding is no trouble, Just type DNC at the manual promt and away you go. The machine is always listening to the serial port so you can even have DNC as your first line of code and the machine will go into DNC mode automatically.

 

The machines are somewhat strange in that home "HO" is in the middle of travel X and Y and all the way up in Z.

 

I've only run one sporadically so I cant comment on how good the machine is or not.

 

Allan

[shazam/TPP]

you can also purchase this neat little gadget.

 

linky

[Thad]

Lee,

 

The newest Fadals that I've run were from the early 90s. They had a 32MP control, which had a built in PC and included the number one CAM software in the world....GibbsCam. There was a little door on the bottom of the pendant that would drop down to open a compartment for the mouse. The other control was a 88HS.

 

We would run smaller programs from the memory and drip feed the bigger ones with no problem. We used a program called CNC Main. It came with the machine. It was an old DOS program. On another machine, we used DNC Server.

 

I have always like the Fadal controls. They are very easy to learn and have some cool features if you do any programming at the machine. They're slow as far as handling a lot of data. If the programs have a bunch of very tiny line segments, that'll eat up the buffer pretty quick and you'll get choppy movement because of data starvation.

 

Most Fanuc guys think they're weird, but I haven't worked with anyone yet who didn't like them after using them for a few weeks.

 

Thad

[billystein]

you can also type DNC as the first line in the program. then just make sure the machine is at enter next cammand prompt and send.

then press start

[Storkman]

Thad, do they still make Fadal Assist? It was a dnc software you could purchase from them?

[Lee.]

So, it sounds like it is doable.

 

Thad, I know you have used Fadals and was hoping to hear from you.

 

I might go and look at the machine today.

 

Is there anything in particular that I should look for?

[Hardmill]

We have an "88" here that wont drip feed,

I was told it was an option back in the day.

 

 

PEACE

[Thad]

quote:

---

Thad, do they still make Fadal Assist? It was a dnc software you could purchase from them?

---

I doubt they still make it, Terry. NC Fadal is the Windows based software they were pushing last I heard. I'm not sure what's current.

 

I used Fadal Assist when I first started running Fadals about 12 years ago. CNC Main and Fadal Assist are part of the same suite, or something like that.

 

Thad

[Thad]

quote:

---

I might go and look at the machine today.

 

Is there anything in particular that I should look for?

---

Sorry, I can't give you any advice on that. That's not my area of expertise.

 

Thad

[gavetta]

NC Fadal is the latest I know of, we had to get it when IT went to XP across the board. Works good.