RS232 to Fanuc OT

[bj_jcollins]

I seem to be having trouble sending, and receving. Using W98 MasterCamV9. Everything worked good till we upgraded from MasterCam8 to 9. I belive we have something set wrong in the computers, but maybe something wrong in the control. I have checked the cable, even used another one. We sometimes get an PS86 alarm, I am sure we are just overlooking some simple thing. Anyone else with any ideals? Both ends are set 7Data,2stop,evenP,software HS,4800baud. I am afraid a parameter is set wrong in the OT control

 

Thanks

[chris m]

If the transfer was working before and you just changed some things in the computer I would stick to that end of the operation and leave the CNC alone. I don't use Mastercam to transfer programs (didn't even know it could, actually) but if the baud and parity are set the same in the CNC and the computer it may be a tape code issue (% O etc).

 

There have been some threads about this on this forum; did you try the "search" feature?

 

C

[heeler]

If this is a Fanuc Control the alarm is that the DR (ready signal) of the reader/puncher was turned off. The Power supply of the I/O unit is off or the cable is not connected or a P.C.B is defective. This is out of the funuc operaters manual.

 

HTH

Glenn

[Toolfab]

Try decreasing or increasing the baud rates. When we upgraded O.S.'s that was one of the problems we had. I do believe though that we had to increase our baud rates. HTH

[Nominal]

Here's my two cents for what they're worth.

When setting up dnc its always best to debug by punching back to the dnc computer rather than trying to read in at the control. The pc will accept just about any garbage you toss at it but cnc controls won't. Anything outside the range of characters the control will accept can cause some alarm or just sit there and flash lsk or something equally annoying. If you send back to the dnc computer and get a file that has a bunch of seemingly random characters, it would usually be an indication of baud. I think MC actually runs mcomm.exe and there is a corresponding mcomm.cfg file that holds the parameters. If you can't find a copy of your MC8 mcomm.cfg then go out to a machine and see what its set to for baud.

Good luck!

[Anthony CIMCO]

The suggestions above are correct - stick with the PC first. The control parameters should not have changed and the problem is most likely on the PC side.

 

Note: If you didn't switch to a new/different PC then the PC hardware shouldn't be a problem either. (Unless by some strange coincidence your serial card went out at the exact same time you upgraded your software - not likely.) Your cable should be Ok as well. So, you want to focus on the software side.

 

Receiving data - As mentioned above, you should start by punching data out of the control and see what you get. You can do this with the MCAM communications or with CIMCO Edit (and OEM version included with your license of Mastercam). You should use the cable you used before your update. Again, the cable used to work before the upgrade so you have a good idea that is not the problem. If you can receive data and the file contents look good move to sending data. If you do not receive data try another program (if using Mastercam's communications utility launch CIMCO Edit and use the transmission functions from the pull-down menu) and see if you are getting anything. If you still don't receive anything call us. If you do receive data and it looks "bad" (strange characters) you need to look at the settings in the software again, just to make sure they are correct. You may have to try different settings - see below.

 

Sending data - you should be able to use your previous settings when you upgrade. However, one quick test is to launch CIMCO Edit and try sending from there, using the port/communications settings you were using in the MCAM communications software.

 

To adjust CIMCO Edit transmission settings:

 

[*]Go to the Transmission pull-down menu item

[*]Select Machine 1 from the list (you should see two machines, Machine 1 and Machine 2 by default)

[*]Click on the Setup button

[*]In the Port tab modify your port settings to match those that previously worked. You can also try different combinations of baud/stop bit/data bit/parity settings in the Port tab too. However, stick with the baud that previously worked and start by adjusting stop and data bits.

These are the basics and the 0 Series controls should be very easy to establish communications with. If you are still running into problems give our office a call and we can assist you further. (see link below)