I am not a DNC guru, I usually leave the DNC stuff to our DNC techs, and they leave Mastercam and post processor issues to those of us who specialize in that part. However, I do hear something about such matters on occasion. There are two options you did not list, which we are implenting pretty often now, so here are options 3 and 4: 3. Multiple port hub with optical fiber connections to each machine. 4. Wireless network with a wireless port server device at each machine (or multiple port wireless port servers serving multiple machines). Option 3 is very similar to your option 1, the difference here is that optical fiber connections are not affected by electromagnetic noise generated by power cables, electrical motors and EDM machines (EDM machines generate a lot of electromagnetic noise), and they can carry the signal a good deal farther even in a "noiseless" environment. Option 4 requires a wireless hub (which might be there already if your computer network is wireless) and a wireless port server at each machine (or a wireless port server with several ports might be serving several machines). The wireless port server receives the signal, and has a RS232 port to send the signal to the machine, but the signal is only going through a RS232 cable for a couple of meters (probably from the top of the control support boom or from the alarm light post). Wireless network connections operate on a frequence that is not unduly influenced by electromagnetic noise from electric motors and EDM machines, so the only concern is to avoid "signal shielding" by large pieces of metal - That is why the wireless port server is usually placed as high as feasible.

Some files might be too large to e-mail, but anything that is so large that it has to be "sent" via FTP should of course be deleted from the FTP site by the intended recipent after download, if it is in any way sensitive. If the intended recipient cannot delete the file after download, perhaps you could set up a folder on the FTP where files are automatically deleted when they have been there for 24 hours (or some shorter interval) ? Just a suggestion, and I quite agree that anything that is sensitive enough to password protect should not be on the FTP for any length of time.

I do not have any experience with that material, but I have worked with similar materials. I guess you mean polyetheramide. If it behaves similar to PMMA, then you will want very high rpm and feed per cutting edge around 0.02 mm or less (0.02 mm is 0.0008 inches). 30% glass filling sounds like it is probably brittle, so the "less" part above is probably a good idea. If your machine can deliver high pressure air instead of coolant, then you should use that, and there are also alternative coolants that do work with varous plastics and composites, though that might be too much effort (you would have to empty and thoroughly clean the coolant tank before and after the job).

We have also made post processors for 5 axis lasers, so it can certainly be done. You would probably be best off paying someone to make the post processor for you, as there are probably some important details that have to be considered. Which control is there on that 5 axis laser ?

I agree with the others, you should get your post processors dialed in so they produce correct code without any need for editing. You will save money that way, even if it is only the time saved for not having to cut and paste. There is also one more thing to consider. You will not be around forever, and with your skill at manual programming, you are the best person to determine whether the post processor produces optimal code. Even if you expect to stay with your company for years to come, can you say for certain that you won't have a truck driving through your living room tomorrow ? Actually I can personally say for certain that I won't have a truck driving through my living room, as my apartment is on the 5th floor, but I hope you understand what I mean.

As Kannon mentions, it has to be a TrueType font (or an Open Type font, both have the .ttf extension), and it has to be in the Windows Fonts folder. When you wrote that you "have it on your computer" I assumed it was correctly installed in the fonts folder. If the "gillsans" font you have has a different extension, then you will have to find a copy of the "gillsans" font that is a TrueType or Open Type font. There are a number of sites on the internet where you can download fonts for free, though I do not remember any right now.

Main Menu -> Create -> Next Menu -> Letters, then click the TrueType button and select the font and size. You can the write the desired text and insert it in your drawing.

A quick little test shows me, that Event Viewer - System logs it when an USB flash RAM device is inserted or unplugged, but there is no logging of a Mastercam HASP being inserted or unplugged, so not all USB devices are logged there. Further testing should show you whether the devices you need to know when are inserted or removed are logged there.

Your post processor was probably updated from an earlier version of Mastercam, which did not have the "Create as code" checkbox. To have a manual entry with the "Create as code" checkbox checked come out as code instead of as a comment, you will need to have your post processor edited to support that. That is a quite simple change, though.

Your local dealer is the first place to look, as gcode also said. If they cannot deliver for your machine, then they should know who can.

The three axis rapid move with the G54 is probably in the ptlchg0$ (null toolchange) postblock, and has all three axes forced out, as it is a change to a new WCS, where it is impossible for the post processor to "know" whether the "new" Z value is above or below the "prior" Z value. In addition, the $ signs tells me it is a version X post you are working with. In a version X post, the question of whether rapid moves are to be broken up is set in the control definition, not in the post processor.

Yes, there is a way around that. You need to check the value if mi1 in the preparatory postblock pwrtt. You do that like this: Set the variable tooltable to 1 or 3 (don't change it if it is already 1 or 3) to enable the preparatory postblocks. Declare and initialize a flag to hold whether mi1 was set in an operation: code: mi1_used : 1 Then you check the value of mi1 in pwrtt: code: pwrtt if mi1 >= 0, mi1_used = 1 Last, you check the value of mi1_used in lsof: code: losf if mi1_used, "(MI1 = 1)", e I hope that helps.

The top of stock in a drilling cycle is the tosz$ variable. Note, that the tosz$ and depth$ variables only gives you the top of stock and depth in drillig cycles, in milling you would need to use other variables.

There is one lesson I learned soon after Mastercam X was released, which might apply to your problems. When running Updatepost, the earlier post processor should be in a different directory, if you copy the old post to the vX post folder and updtae it there, then random trouble can happen. What I mean by random trouble is simple. Most of the time, the update goes as expected, but sometimes bad things happen. I have seen "disappearing pages" as Tony mentions, as well as $ signs not being appended to all predefined variables and e$ not being appended to postlines where it should have been appended. The error port has in block N430 is a missing e$ somewhere, and pretract is a good guess as to where it could be. The "empty" lines in block N720 and N730 are caused by a difference in the handling of modality for the n$ variable. In vX, the n$ variable must be defined as modal, but in many older post processors, n$ is defined as non-modal. Merry Christmas to everyone.

I have looked at the files. Having neither of those options checked will generate the correct CR/LF sequence when the post processor generates a CR/LF sequence. However, there are no CR or LF characters in the section that shows as a single line. You must be missing some ", e$" bits (withput the quotes) in your post processor. You will need to find the postblocks that output rapid, linear and arc moves, they most likely have names like prapidout, plinout and pcirout. You will have to place a ", e$" (without the quotes) at the end of the output line in each of those postblocks. Please note, that the output may be divided into two lines in the postblock, where the first of the two lines ends in a comma. In that case, you only need to add the ", e$" sequence to the last of those lines. You might also need to append the ", e$" sequence to lines in other postblocks, I can only see from the sample you sent me, that it is necessary in those output postblocks. The reason for this "error" is, that the updatepost utility only appends the e$ to output lines in predefined postblocks, it does not append it to output lines in user defined postblicks as those lines may be intended to be part of a longer line, as the user defined postblock might be called in the middle of an output line in another postblock.

On the NC Output page in the control definition you have both a "Remove CR/LF..." option and an "Alternate EOB..." option. If you have the "Remove CR/LF..." option checked, or have the "Alternate EOB..." option checked and set up for different characters from what your CNC needs, then that would explain your problem. If you e-mail me a sample NC code file, then I can check exactly which EOB characters (if any) are output, using a hex editor. If you also include a sample from v9 that is correct, then I can also tell you what you need to set in the control definiton (please remeber to note which of the two samples is the correct one).

You will also need to have the bug2$ to bug4$ variables set appropriately. I normally use these values: bug2$ : 30 to 50 (depending on block length) bug3$ : 0 bug4$ : 1 While your extra N# might be an extra n$ in the post processor, I think it more likely it is a missing e$. It looks like you have a rapid move in three axes, which is split up by the post processor into a XY move and a Z move.

You need to look at the format declaration (the fmt line) for n$. You will probably find that it is set to a non-modal format statement (fs number), but in Mastercam X n$ has to be set to a modal format to avoid "empty" lines like those.

Have you disabled the FIFO buffer for that COM port ? If you have not, then that might be the cause of your problems. See http://cimco-software.com/support_transmission.php3 for how to disable the FIFO buffer. You might also want to look for "noise" problems. Does the DNC cable pass close to power cables or other machines ? If it does, then running the cable by a different route might be an idea. If you are using metal cable trays and there are power cables in the cable tray, then stripping the DNC cable to the outside of the cable tray might be enough of a change in route. If neither of the above suggestins solve the problem, then I would agree with Keith and Chuck, that lowering the baud rate might solve the problem.

Apparently, that control definition is set to always keep log files. There is nothing in that .err file that suggest any kind of problem with the post or toolpath. If you do not want those log files, then you can change the setting for keeping log files. Select Machine type -> Machine definition manager, OK to edit it, Select the icon for "Edit the control definition" (the sixth icon at the top), then Files. The relevant settings are under "Posting error file", experiment with the settings until you find settings that work for you. Keep in mind, that "All error messages to file" means that you do not get any popup when there is a post processing error. If you use that setting, then you will have to check the .err file (if present) to see whether there were any post processing errors.

Do you have a printer attached behind the HASP ? If so, try removing the printer (after shutting down power to both the printer and the PC). There have been some reports of trouble where there are printers attached behind the HASP. You might also download this program: http://www.mastercam.com/Support/Downloads...s/testhaspX.exe and see what that program reports when you click "Test". The information given by that program will help us determine what the cause of your problem is.

quote: What about NetHasp?? Haspinfo.exe just says: Hasp not found! As far as I remember, all NetHASPs are HASP4 or newer, so they should work with Mastercam X. HASPinfo is intended for giving info about local HASPs, not for giving info about NetHASPs.

The variable you need is smcname. To get the exact output in your example, you need this output line in pheader: n, "(", smcname, ".MC9)", e

If the extension is .psmodel, then this shows what type of file it is: http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail...del&goButton=Go I think you will need to get the file in a different format.

Have you looked at DNC-Max ? With most controls, the operators do not have to go anywhere near the PC to get the programs transferred to the control. You can see DNC-Max on our website here: http://cimco-software.com/product_descript...php3?prod_id=12