Com problem with XP and MasterCam Communicator

[upsidedown]

My laptop has XP Pro and I cannot get it to upload to the Fanuc 6TB control. I can download from the control but nothing happens when I try to upload a prog. The flashing "edit" light goes out but that's it. I've tried on 2 different machines and they both work with my old laptop running Win98se but not with XP and MasterCam Communicator, all communicator settings are the same in both comps.

 

Ideas???

JohnF

 

[ 11-06-2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: upsidedown ]

[Jimmy Wakeford from Barefoot CNC]

Right click on my cmputer. proerties-hardware-config-comports-right click comport ur using-port settings tab-advanced button-turn fifo off

 

Also is dos mode checked?

 

Jimmy

[upsidedown]

I turned off FIFO but where do I check for DOS mode? FIFO made no difference I can still download from machine but not upload.

 

JohnF

[upsidedown]

The only place I find anything about different "compatabilities" is in the PIF file and it doesn't list DOS. The oldest OS it offers is Win95.

 

JohnF

[Greg McKay]

upside,

 

The dos mode that he is refering to is in Mastercam communications parameters.

 

Greg

[upsidedown]

There is no option for that in the MasterCam Communicator applet that I can see.

 

JohnF

[Allan Brown]

The 'Communicator' uses DOS mode by default. MCOMM.EXE. Try CIMCO Edit for mo' betta' options.

[upsidedown]

I didn't realize that the Cimco edit/com was a stand-alone prog. I'm new to the recent versions of MasterCam all my experience is with V3.1 in a DOS environment although I did find that my old lathe version, 3.0, will run in a DOS window under Win98.

 

New horizons a-plenty here as I'm dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

 

JohnF

[upsidedown]

Cimco is gonna be too complicated for these guys. I can't have them able to accidently change any data in the program and they aren't computer literate so won't be able to change directories or anything. With MCOMM I set up an icon for each machine and it opens into the right directory and displays the dozen or so programs they use. There is no one there that has any machining background, these guys have trouble figuring out calipers right now. Until they get a single person to handle loading programs and verifying them I really need something like MCOMM. All the programs use identical tool setups so all they have to do is switch programs and jaws, if there was more menory in the control I wouldn't have to worry about having one of them load different progs they could just switch between them. I'll just have to switch back to my old laptop for now. I'll be setting them up with an old 486 to load progs in the next couple weeks or so and MCOMM will work fine.

 

Teaching these guys is a 12 step program and I'm only to step .001

 

JohnF

[crazy^millman]

Well John sorry to hear you feel that way. I am also sorry you dont have people that are willing to learn soemthing if you teach them.

 

I just think if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day teach a man to fish feed him for a life time. I understand your frustration but maybe if you meet them half wya they might meet you half way.

 

I use Cimco for our DNC and I also use a copy of the first page of the program and give it to my operators and they can pull the files off of our network and set up tools and everything right from that but hey that is just me. Nice to be able ot hand someone soem paper for the job and let them run from that.

 

Here is a sample header from a posted program:

 

code:

---

%

O9500 (CC-PWR_B_2PCS)

(MC9 FILE - C:MCAM91MILLMC9CC-PWR B 2 PCS.MC9)

(PROGRAM LOCATION - DELTANC_PROGRAMS3501_NCCC-PWR_B_2PCS.NC)

(DATE - NOV-06-03)

(TIME - 21:47)

(T14 | 1" DIA VAL INSERTED | H14 | D14 | D1.0000" | R0.0312 | FACING.....)

(T1 | (1/2" DIA FLAT ENDMILL) | H1 | D1 | D0.5000" | | CONTOUR....)

(T10 | 1/4 FLAT ENDMILL | H10 | D10 | D0.2500" | | CONTOUR....)

(T8 | 1/8 FLAT ENDMILL | H8 | D8 | D0.1250" | | CONTOUR....)

(T3 | 1/16 FLAT ENDMILL | H3 | D3 | D0.0620" | | CONTOUR....)

(T7 | 1/8 BALL ENDMILL | H7 | D7 | D0.1250" | R0.0625 | M.FINISH...)

(T18 | 1/4" THREAD MILL MICRO 100 | H18 | D18 | D0.2500" | | CONTOUR....)

(OVERALL MAX | Z.25)

(OVERALL MIN | Z-1.1)

G0G17G40G80G90

(HERE)

T14M6(1" DIA VAL INSERTED)

(MAX | Z.25)

(MIN | Z-1.1)

G0G90E1X-3.2Y-.499S10000M3

---

[upsidedown]

I'm being a little over critical. The one guy over there is young but pretty smart they just have him doing way too many things to remember all the minute details necessary when changing programs and offsets. I've had to repair too many minor mistakes that caused major crashes. He's never run machines before and they have him in charge of 3 CNC's (2 of them horizontal pallet change mills) and a handful of people that don't know anything AND he has to assemble and rebuild the custom shocks. I'm trying to keep everything as simple and uncomplicated as I possibly can. Even now, since some major repair on the lathe, I'm re-adjusting all the programs so he can just switch the jaws call up the stored prog and run with maybe 1 or 2 calls to me for minor adjustments. They've just collected up too many different progs now to store them all in the control. Of the 1/2 dozen progs I've looked at so far the MCOMM is the best overall prog to work with in this situation.

 

 

JohnF

El Cajon by the way