DNC TO MULTIPLE MACHINES

[FTI2007]

I hope this OK to post here if not please move it to the correct forum. What are you guys using to DNC to multiple machines from 1 computer? We currently have 2 computers each feeding a couple machines but can only do one machine at a time. We want to get down to 1 computer and update the software to be able to do it. 5 machines connected using RS-232 cables and that is not gonna change. What are the options for a bus/switch? What software are you guys using. I got a quote from predator and I am waiting to hear back from cimco. Im not sure if there is other options out there or not.

 

Thanks

[rickcact1]

We use Predator here. We don't do too much DNC but we have done 3 at a time from 1 computer before.

[Jim at Gentex]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can do multiple machines from one terminal with Cimco too.

 

Ask your sales rep for specifics.

I'm sure if you buy either Predator or Cimco they will help you configure it for what you need.

[guitar]

My preference is Cimco. They are top notch. Awesome support and products. Plus, their editor is great, too. I have used many softwares including Predator, spectrum, pc-dnc. I would rate Cimco and Predator at the top and PC-DNC at bottom. As for Spectrum, they are using it at my shop and have nothing but problems that the Tech support can't seem to iron out. And, their tech guys can be a bit abrasive to work with. But, where I work, everything is done the cheap way. If the could force their employees to drive Yugos to work everyday, they would.

[Mick]

Cimco DNC Max. Works great. Remote send/receive. Barcode scanning. Automatic reports emailed for errors/events.

 

Best option for a bus/switch we found was a Moxxa NPort server. Works flawlessly, and connects RS232 machines onto Ethernet and back to the PC. Makes the PC think it has as many RS232 ports as the Moxxa has (in our case eight)

 

Message me if you have any questions.

[Rocketmachinist]

Cimco here and it works great. It even fulfilled the requirement at our facility that machines are not allowed to be hooked up to the main server system. We were able to add a 2nd Ethernet port to the computers and create a small local network that doesn't tie up IP addresses on the main. The other nice part is when you do the Moxxa Nport style server you can keep the length of the rs232 cords to a minimum because you mount the system to the machine instead of having a centralized rs232 hub leading to a little faster data transfer rates. If you don't understand what I mean I could try to draw up a diagram to show how our system works.

[FTI2007]

Thanks guys. Rocketmachinist can you explain how your system works. I get the general idea of how these hubs work but I like the idea creating a local network because our main network/server isn't the most reliable sometimes. How hard is it to set up? Is this something that should be pretty easy for our IT guy? Predator seems to push to have them come out and set it up but want to charge a lot and said it would take all day. Where is a good place to but the Moxa server at?

[FTI2007]

Also any recommendations on which model? looking for with 8 serial ports.

 

 

http://www.moxa.com/.../NPort_6650.htm

 

or

 

http://www.moxa.com/product/CN2610.htm

 

Is this an older model? I don't see it on there website. any reason why it would not work?

 

http://www.neutronusa.com/prod.cfm/1258107

[Justin Beebe at Folsom Tool]

We use DNC Professional and currently have fifteen mills. Ten of them are RS232 and we can DNC to all of them at the same time from one computer.

[FTI2007]

This may be all we need for a hub.. Am I missing something? I read the manual and it seems pretty thorough with the install.

 

http://store.moxa.com/a/product/nport-5600-8-dt-desktop-series?id=M20090312405

[John@WMM]

We use Cimco DNC-Max with wireless Moxa NPort W2150 and a few wired Moxa NPort 5110. This combo works very well for us with our 28 machines. Sometimes over 100 programs sent per 24 hours on this system, also dnc works great! As Mick said Remote send/receive, Barcode scanning, Automatic reports emailed for errors/events. You can do a lot with Cimco DNC-Max

[Rocketmachinist]

This is the best way I have to explain

[TK-32™]

We use predator here.

[Rocketmachinist]

This may be all we need for a hub.. Am I missing something? I read the manual and it seems pretty thorough with the install.

 

http://store.moxa.co...id=M20090312405

 

There are many ways to do these DNC networks. I like the system that I show because I can expand the system as needed in the future. It is also nice to just run an ethernet cord to your machine and have the RS232 as short at possible. RS232 is susceptible to data loss over long distances and can slow down your available transfer speeds.

 

I rather like our setup and know people that have the Predator 8 port DNC network and they are trying to look into getting Cimco because they are having problems that Predator cannot seem to fix. Either way I believe that if you go with Predator or Cimco they both use Moxa devices. So it just comes down to what they try to sell you and what software you will use. On my Cimco I can send my file from any machine inside my editor, on Predator it was a different program you had to open to do this.

[FTI2007]

Rocket machinist what kind of Ethernet switch do you have? So I have to decide if I want one hub and longer RS-232 cables or hubs on each machine with shorter cables. Our cables are all under 100ft. would it benefit us to go with hubs at each machine? Im guessing the cost will be higher that route.

[Rocketmachinist]

Nothing special. Just what you pick up at any local computer supply store.

 

The MOXA NPORT 5110 devices can be bought for $115 each but then you have to have a license with each port you activate. Yea its probably more expensive in the long run but it does give you some room for expansion. What I have works well and I think you can still get away with buying whatever MOXA device you would like and then you just buy the license and software from places like Cimco.

 

Cabling considerations - you should use cabling made for RS-232 data but I have seen low speed data go over 250' on 2 pair phone cable. Level 5 cable can also be used but for best distance use a low capacitance data grade cable.

The standard maxim length is 50' but if data is async you can increase that distance to as much as 500' with a good grade of cable.

The RS-232 signal on a single cable is impossible to screen effectively for noise. By screening the entire cable we can reduce the influence of outside noise, but internally generated noise remains a problem. As the baud rate and line length increase, the effect of capacitance between the different lines introduces serious crosstalk (this especially true on synchronous data - because of the clock lines) until a point is reached where the data itself is unreadable. Signal Crosstalk can be reduced by using low capacitance cable and shielding each pair

Using a high grade cable (individually shield low capacitance pairs) the distance can be extended to 4000'

At higher frequencies a new problem comes to light. The high frequency component of the data signal is lost as the cable gets longer resulting in a rounded, rather than square wave signal.

The maxim distance will depend on the speed and noise level around the cable run.

On longer runs a line driver is needed. This is a simple modem used to increase the maxim distance you can run RS-232 data.

 

http://www.arcelect.com/rs232.htm