Mark, I'm checking on this for you... Anthony

Start with the driver. If that fails, get a diagnostics tool from the device mfg. It is possible that something happened to the physical device when it was disconnected. (Shouldn't be the case, but we're talking about hardware so Murphy's Law applies.) Poor cable placement/routing may cause errors / data loss on transfers but should seldom cause an OS or program crash. However, if the device sees something strange (noise?) and the device driver or firmware can't handle it, it could cause a device driver related crash. So, you're back to the device driver or damaged hardware either way. Let us know what you find.

We have been recommending the USB Gear USB RS232 Adapters for the past five years (or more) and have never had anyone call back with a problem. The units are $19.99 each and we have never had a problem with them being out of stock. In fact, we used to stock them ourselves but we couldn't keep enough around between people calling and our own service guys selling them to customers out of their toolkits... Here's more info: USBG-232 - I personally use this unit for my HP 9440 (with no serial ports) and it works great. This is the same unit our service guys have been recommending after wading through all the "less than functional units" (names omitted to protect the guilty). Here is an entire page about drivers and lists many different units - USB Gear 232 Adapter Info Page. MOXA and Quatech also have great units, but for single port adapters the USB Gear units can not be beat. HTH,

If you are looking for verification software you need to check out CGTech's Vericut and Predator's Virtual CNC. Both do 5x. We ( CIMCO ) do support 4x/5x with our wireframe backplotter in Edit 5. However, you would need to d/l and try it out for your machine/control type to see if it is supported. Not a substitution for true 5x verification, but worth checking out. Good luck.

FYI - HP offers the nw9440 with XP Pro. You can read more about it here. I know a few people using this laptop and love it. Here is another link with some featured models. Hope this helps...

If you haven't resolved your problem I would recommend contacting the folks at In-House. They have three DNC experts on staff that should be able to get you going quickly. In-House tel: 519-658-1471

Side note... in case you haven't solved the problem please search back through this forum for posts on USB to Serial Converters that have been proven to work well for DNC transfers.

As part of your search you should give the guys at Services Four Automation a call. They are experts in CNC communications / DNC networks - both wired and wireless. Services Four Automation (798) 728-0009 - ask for Frank, Steve, or Doug PS - In a previous post the major DNC players were listed... Past Post on DNC Vendors

David, you have mail.

Looking at the possible error in the link you posted in the message above. Thanks!

Ah, thanks. RE: Mail... I had to go out of town last week and thought I would be clever and purchase the new Cingular Mobile PC card for my laptop. After following instructions and rebooting my PC was pretty much toast. Anyhow, I'm going back to look through my messages (all 300+ non-junk messages, 1100 junk message deleted) and see if I can find your email. If you could resend it real quick that would help too. I'll get back to you asap. Btw, thanks for the link. Dev is looking at it now.

Opps... we'll fix this over the weekend. Look for 5.10.92 on Monday - cimco-software.com > Downloads.

quote: quote: Besides communications, what does Cimco have that you can't live without? Here are a few. File save as shows a blank, not the previous file name. Does not show the total number of lines in the file. Undo does not work after you save the file. Does not retain previous files list. Does not retain previous searches. File compare from the editor does not work and does not compare files currently loaded in the editor, you have to go hunt them down. File compare does not show line numbers, does not allow editting. Interesting. Glenn, are you saying these are things do "not" work in CIMCO Edit?

Very cool Serge. I am glad to see you guys are offering this service!

Quick note... Earlier versions of CIMCO Edit distributed with pre-V9 MC versions authorized users to copy a license to another PC. With V9 users were required to have a valid MC HASP on their PC to run CIMCO Edit. Copying CIMCO Edit OEM to another PC was no longer possible. However, we did run a promo so users could purchase an upgrade to the full license of Edit 4 at a discounted price. When X was released it no longer included an OEM version of CIMCO Edit. We offered another upgrade promo on (this time on Edit 5) that ran for about six months - we even advertised it on eMastercam for at least three months. We are currently running a another promo on Edit 5 in North America that ends March 1 (2007). Please contact Lisa at In-House and she can get you a quote on a full license. In anticipation of more questions, if you are interested in finding out about the promo in North America please contact your MC Reseller. If they don't know about it, have them contact us.

Call the two companies listed above and ask. I am not personally aware of anyone offering this service.

Opps. quote: If it dog legs and you are unable to check that your plot could look perfect, but in reality your part is going to go slicing through islands, stock, or fixturing - not good and the potential to be a heck of at lot more expensive than the cost of Vericut or Virtual CNC. Meant to say the TOOL is going to go slicing through the islands...

Dragracer If all you want to do is quickly catch any obvious errors in your CNC code then most of today's popular CNC Editor applications will do the trick for you. What you get when you go to Vericut or Virtual CNC is a "virtual" machine, where you are able to cut a "virtual part" on a "virtual machine." Here are some examples of what I mean: 1. Stock - you can create basic and advanced stock shapes to more accurately represent the stock you are using. You may also import STL models to exactly represent your stock - such as importing a stock model from a previous operation. This is a huge feature. This is also true for including your fixture(s) in your verification process. (Very cool, and important in many cases.) With CIMCO Edit 5 (I can't speak for other editors, because I honestly don't know) does allow you to create solids for 3D milling parts, but using standard stock. Nice, if that is good enough for what you need. 2. Tooling - you are able to verify your part using exact representations of your tools, including the cutting tool, the tool holder, extensions, etc. - even the spindle/head can be "checked". This gives you the most accurate representation of what your "as-machined" part is going to look like, all from your CNC code. This is also very valuable for checking for collisions with your part. After all, you can't gouge check something that isn't there to be checked. 3. Accuracy and Cycle Times - this ties in a little with the stock/fixture and tooling notes above, but that is only part of the verification process. To get the most accurate "virtual part" you need a very accurate modeling of your CNC control and machine. For example, when your machine rapids does it do a 90 degree rapid or does it dog leg. If it dog legs and you are unable to check that your plot could look perfect, but in reality your part is going to go slicing through islands, stock, or fixturing - not good and the potential to be a heck of at lot more expensive than the cost of Vericut or Virtual CNC. With both products you are able to truly define how your machine operates. As a bi-product, you also get very accurate cycle times for your parts. Not guestimates but real times. How much is that worth? For the most accurate verification you can get Machine Simulation - but that is another post for another time! Bottom line - Edit 5 and a few other editors are great for rapidly checking your CNC programs. You get a plot that shows you where a tool is going to move. Many people use backplotting as a quick intermediate step as they are working on or programming their part(s). Of course, Edit 5 and other editors are much more than just back plotters and that is where the value is found. For the price, you should own a great editor and a great verification tool. Regardless, the best final step before you hit cycle start on your CNC is to run your CNC program through a tool like Vericut or Virtual CNC. And, as a smart programmer you always have CIMCO Edit 5 on your desktop for quick edits, math ops, file compare, communications, and speedy backplotting. - Sorry, couldn't help it. LOL Good luck. Side note - we are often asked why CIMCO doesn't have a "Verification Tool". The answer is simple. It takes a lot of time and effort to create a great verification product - a LOT of time and effort. Both Vericut and Virtual CNC are great products, but even they struggle daily with getting people to invest in their products. Like I said before, why isn't everyone using this stuff? If the time comes when everyone is willing to spend the $5k to $10k on a verification app we will have to take a serious look at offering a "full blown" verification tool. Of course, we would need to convince ourselves that we could do something so much better than the other guys that it makes sense to go down that road.

Dragracer... For Verification you really need to limit your evaluation to Vericut and Virtual CNC (Predator). Our CIMCO Edit app has a great backplotter - that even supports solids for 3D milling, but... that isn't what you are looking for. If you are looking for "full blown" CNC program verification those are your choices. Nothing else is even worth looking at. gcode really said it all above. Bottom line, if VCNC has the reverse posts you need you really can't beat it. If you want the top-of-the-line and are willing to pay for it then Vericut is your choice. I don't think you would be disappointed with either product. Side note - I have always found it interesting that companies with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars worth of CNC equipment on their shop floor find it hard to come up with a fraction of that to purchase verification software. Vericut and Virtual CNC are like insurance policies - that actually pay off before you crash a machine. Speed isn't an issue and both products are very, very accurate. Why isn't everyone using this stuff?

Chuck... Industrial or Commercial versions include all features as opposed to the OEM Version that came with earlier versions of Mastercam.

Just saw Todd's reply... You can d/l Edit 5 and try it out for 30-days. However, the OEM version of Edit 4 will work. Edit 5 just includes additional features you could probably benefit from relating to CNC program editing. SIDE NOTE: If you are wanting to DNC/Drip-Feed/Spoon-Feed to your Fadal you may also consider actually upgrading to a DNC product like our DNC-Max product or one from the other popular DNC vendors such as Preadtor (Predator DNC) or Spectrum (Multi-DNC). DNC products generally include enhanced communications for most of your common CNC controls including Fadal (X-Modem for example), Okuma, Mazak, etc.

There could be a couple of issues preventing you from using Edit with your Fadal. However, if you are using any standard serial communications app successfully you shouldn't have a problem with CIMCO Edit or the CIMCO DNC app that came with earlier versions of Mastercam. [*]1. From Edit 4 (OEM Version for Mastercam) go to Transmission > DNC Setup [*]2. Select your Machine or appropriate Port from the list [*]3. Click Setup [*]4. Make sure your Port settings match what you are currently using in your other app [*]5. In the Transmit section make sure to verify your Wait for XOn and Wait for 'Start' button options. (Select and option and Hit F1 to get a brief description of the option.) As with all communications programs, check Receive (from CNC to PC) first. If that works and your program is formatted correctly when it "comes in" trying sending it back to the CNC from the PC. If that doesn't work, but you have verified the COM settings are correct, provide a step-by-step description of what you did and what happened. This will help us, and the rest of the members here on eMastercam help you out. Of course, you could always call us.

Sure thing ToolMan. The interesting thing about DNC is how many factors can come into play when considering a complete solution. In fact, the software is probably the easiest part of a solution to evaluate. The other parts; serial hardware, serial cable, network hardware and the performance and management/maintenance issues that go along with the different h/w choices require the most consideration. c-hook's example, for example, illustrates how many options you have to choose from. I remember when someone (name and company omitted to keep from embarassing them...) started telling everyone in the mid 90s that DNC was dead. Their claim was that Ethernet based controls would replace serial interfaces - and thus the demise of DNC was at hand. Even if a company had an Ethernet option on every control there are benefits to a serial interface that, in many cases, outweigh any potential benefits of the Ethernet connection. For example, in most cases 115k baud serial interfaces can easily keep up with all but the most high speed applications. However, by going serial you have more flexibility in "tracking" and controlling CNC program transfer activity. And, if your CNC control supports it, serial interfaces are a very cost effective solution for collecting MDC type date for machine monitoring purposes. The bottom line is there is no silver bullet solution for everyone. Fortunately, most DNC companies, and many members on this forum, have put in the hard work over the years to figure out what works and what works better. Both the software and hardware today are much more reliable and less expensive than the solutions folks had to work with back in the late 80s and early 90s. So in the end, we are all a lot better off. (Anyone remember tape readers/punches and BTR boards? D'oh!) In your case, you have many options. Since your CNCs are "generic" (from a serial interface standpoint) and the physical layout of your facility is within "normal" operating ranges of all the most popular types of serial hardware devices you are going to be able to get a reliable solution that will be easy to manage and maintain - at a very reasonable cost.

Christian - ToolMan and I discussed this and had narrowed down suggestions to the two options he posted above. You are correct about other options for connecting CNCs back to a DNC server. Fiber is more common in Europe and Asia (at least Japan and S. Korea). Wireless is popular almost everywhere, but unless smaller shops are moving CNCs around frequently the multiport device server or PCI based multiport solutions work great, are cost effective, and reliable (with good RS232 cable). ToolMan, give us a call back if you need anything.

John, CIMCO Integration has DNC-Max (communications) and NC-Base (management tool for cnc programs and related production docs such as setup sheets, tool lists, drawings, etc.) You can d/l our demo at the CIMCO Website. Give us a call and we'll help you get setup. I also recommend you check out what these folks have to offer: Predator Software (Predator DNC and Predator Desktop) Predator's Website Spectrum CNC Technologies (Multi-DNC and Job Base) Spectrum CNC/Multi-DNC/Xpert DNC's Website and Ascendant Technologies (ExtremeDNC) Ascendant's Website You may also want to contact John at Refresh Your Memory (located in your area). He is a great DNC guy but I'm not sure he carries a doc management solution. He carries PCDNC from Suburban Machinery Software . Anyhow, the Refresh Your Memory Website Good luck.