Thanks. The next program I'm going to drip feed is contouring combustion chambers for the owner's race car engines... I'll probably do a test run before I actually start making chips...

I don't think the cable is what caused the problem as it was the same cable that worked fine before, but I've set the delay to 5ms for now. I'll check it the next time I have a program to run. Is there a "max" this should ever be set to? Attached is a picture of one of our cables that shows the wiring. I believe this is called a non-parity cable, which doesn't allow for handshaking, right? Should I set handshaking to <none>, or leave it as software?

So, I've decided to purchase a serial I/O card. http://www.sybausa.com/productInfo.php?iid=707 is what i went with because of great reviews and an afordable price. Does anyone know what settings I need to use in Cimco? I'm currently set as: Stop Bits: 2 Parity: Even Baud: 4800 Data Bits: 7 Flow Control: Software Enable DTR Enable RTS XOn: \17 XOff: \19 CR/LF: \13 \10 Remove ASCII O's

that's what i used. hated it.

Never with mastercam, but I have used a voice recognition program in the past with architectural design packages. it sucks. seriously. Calling out "end p" repeatedly to snap to endpoints got annoying quickly... and may god have mercy on your soul if you take a phone call and forget to mute your mic :/ i did this once and somehow uttered a phrase that the program understood as "select all > delete > save" autosave backups ftw

i've been using a 3D Space Navigator for a couple months now. I chose to go with the base model because I didn't need all those fancy buttons. Instead, I went with a 15 button 5700dpi gaming mouse, which I macro in all the functions I need. I would never want to work without either one.

Yes Yeap. Drip feed worked flawlessly with the old computer. I have the exact same setup as before, with the exception of a new computer. All my settings match that of the old computer. Baud rate is set to 4800. (wouldn't transfer at all at 9600) It is prolific, but it worked fine before. Not sure what's happening here. I've been swamped, so I haven't had a chance to mess with it. This issue has still not been resolved.

those settings match what was on the last computer, which includes a checked FIFO buffer. i'll have to play around with it when i'm not on a deadline i guess... (whenever that will be... probably the next time I MUST drip feed something... :/ )

thanks guys

I am working on a 72" x 68" x 6" steel plate. I need to drill and tap around 250 holes in it. My machine won't reach all the holes, so I have to rotate and set the plate a total of 6 times. So, I made 3 machine groups. 1 for my short side right corner, 1 for my short side left corner, and 1 for my long side middle. I created a new view, which was a copy of the top view, and set the origin to the appropriate corner of my plate. My issue is all three machine groups are using the origin of the same view, and I don't know how to change it. Even when I go into the view manage, select the view I want, set all my planes to it,and set the origin for that view, the operations still use the same origin as before. It's kind of a pain. Hoping i'm overlooking something simple.

I run a 3 axis SNK-FSP50v. It was built around the time I was born, and has about 32kb of on-board memory. I've been doing some amazing 3D toolpath work with it mainly because I've been drip feeding my programs. However, since the time I built a new computer I cannot get the drip feed to work properly. I've tried drip feeding 3 times, and have had 3 crashes. For some reason random lines of code are not being sent to the machine. Usually the G0 command to retract out of a hole before moving the next hole is being left out. My code is fine, and when I send smaller programs to the machine's memory, they run perfectly. I'm having some sort of issue with communications between my computer and the machine. I've checked all my port settings (USB to serial), and all my settings in CIMCO match what i was using on the previous computer. Any ideas?

nvm. downloading now. this IT guy is on his game! remoted in and gave me .ftp permissions... while driving. wait... now that i think about it... that sounds dangerous. lol

trying to get .ftp access from the IT guy. could someone email this file to me?

thanks mr. paris. if abs(sweep$)<=180 | arcoutput$=two, result ? should have been if abs(sweep$)<=180 | arcoutput$=two, result = nwadrs(srad, arcrad$) not sure where the "?" came from, but it's fixed now. No more errors. Gcode matches previously acceptable gcode. Thank you everyone for your help!

Looks like I only have one error left to run down. Gcode being produced matches previous version, so it must not be that critical. 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - PST LINE (915) - The formula/boolean failed (general message) 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(134) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(6090) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(6274) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(7602) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(7948) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(9062) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(9598) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(10366) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(11260) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(12784) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(13066) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(14350) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(16704) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(18592) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(21342) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(22368) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(25048) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(31004) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(31188) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(32516) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(32862) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(33976) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(34512) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(35280) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(36174) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(37698) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(37980) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(39264) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(41618) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(43506) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(46256) - The math calculation/formula has an error 01 Oct 2012 03:47:48 PM - <2> - RUN TIME - PST(915), NCI(47282) - The math calculation/formula has an error **************************Post File********************************** # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Motion output components # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- pbld #Canned text - block delete if bld, '/' pfbld #Force - block delete "/" pccdia #Cutter Compensation #Force Dxx# if prv_cc_pos$ <> cc_pos$ & cc_pos$, prv_tloffno$ = c9k sccomp if cc_pos$, tloffno$ pfxout #Force X axis output if absinc$ = zero, *xabs, !xinc else, *xinc, !xabs pxout #X output if absinc$ = zero, xabs, !xinc else, xinc, !xabs pfyout #Force Y axis output if absinc$ = zero, *yabs, !yinc else, *yinc, !yabs pyout #Y output if absinc$ = zero, yabs, !yinc else, yinc, !yabs pfzout #Force Z axis output if absinc$ = zero, *zabs, !zinc else, *zinc, !zabs pzout #Z output if absinc$ = zero, zabs, !zinc else, zinc, !zabs pfcout #Force C axis output #if index = zero & rot_on_x, #[ #if absinc = zero, *cabs, !cinc #else, *cinc, !cabs #] pcout #C axis output #if index = zero & rot_on_x, #[ #if absinc = zero, cabs, !cinc #else, cinc, !cabs #] pindex #Index output if index & rot_on_x, [ pbld, n$, `sindx_mc, indx_out, e$ !cabs, !cinc ] parc #Select the arc output if arcoutput$ = zero, [ #Arc output for IJK i$, j$, k$ ] else, [ #Arc output for R if abs(sweep$)<=180 | arcoutput$=two, result ? (<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINE 915) #CNC<<ORIGINAL>> if abs(sweep$)<=180 | arcoutput$=two, result = nwadrs(srrad, arcrad$) #CNC<<MSG-ERROR(919)>> The formula/boolean does not terminate properly, The formula/boolean failed (general message), , Label has not been defined[*80] else, result = nwadrs(srminus, arcrad$) *arcrad$ ] ppos_cax_lin #Position the rotary axis before move - rapid if index, pindex else, [ if fmtrnd(prv_cabs) <> fmtrnd(cabs) & rot_on_x, [ sav_gcode = gcode$ gcode$ = zero pbld, n$, sgcode, pcout, e$ !cia ps_cinc_calc gcode$ = sav_gcode ] ]

just used MDI to confirm. I do need a G28Y0. call before any tool changes, and at end of program. awesome... now to figure out why this line is being excluded in X6...

comparing some gcode from x6 to x2, i come up with the following differences: X2 Code: G0Z.25 M5 G49Z0. G91G28Z0.M9 G28Y0. M01 X6 code: G0Z.25 M5 G49Z0. G91G28Z0.M9 M01 So, I'm missing a G28Y0., but do I need it? Doesn't G28 return everything to Machine Zero (x, y, and z)? I thought the coordinate supplied after G28 was just a "through point" on it's way back to machine x0, y0, z0.

removed the $ after pcan1 and pcan2 in all other locations. i no longer get errors. so, i'm done, right?

okay, the problem was the $ after pcan1 and pcan2 removing the $ fixed the errors on lines 1210 and 1229. all the other errors still exist.

isn't the # used for comments (i.e. lines that are not read by the program.) if i put # in front of those lines, won't it cancel their call? i'll try it.

and you know, the canned text function has never worked for me, even in x2. maybe this was the problem all along?

i've never worked with post processors before, but it looks like some pretty basic programming/logic. all the errors are related to pcan1$ and pcan2$. i assume the last two items i posted (lines 1210 and 1229) are the root of all the problems. it appears as if pcan1$ and pcan2$ are not defined properly. i'm also assuming that a very minor and simple syntax modification will eliminate the errors, yes? i'm also assuming one of you fine fellows knows exactly what i should do

01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (561) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] if mi1$ > one, absinc$ = zero pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgcode, *sgabsinc, pwcs, pfxout, pfyout, (line 561) pfcout, *speed, *spindle, pgear, strcantext, e$ pbld, n$, "G43", *tlngno$, pfzout, scoolant, e$ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (614) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] if mi1$ > one, absinc$ = zero pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgcode, *sgabsinc, pwcs, pfxout, pfyout, (line 614) pfcout, *speed, *spindle, pgear, strcantext, e$ pbld, n$, "G43", *tlngno$, pfzout, scoolant, e$ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (766) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] prapidout #Output to NC of linear movement - rapid pcan1$, pbld, n$, sgplane, `sgcode, sgabsinc, pccdia, (line 766) pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, strcantext, scoolant, e$ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (770) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[8] plinout #Output to NC of linear movement - feed pcan1$, pbld, n$, sgfeed, sgplane, `sgcode, sgabsinc, pccdia, (line 770) pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, feed, strcantext, scoolant, e$ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (774) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] pcirout #Output to NC of circular interpolation pcan1$, pbld, n$, `sgfeed, sgplane, sgcode, sgabsinc, pccdia, (line 774) pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, parc, feed, strcantext, scoolant, e$ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (797) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] pcom_movea #Common motion preparation routines, after pcan2$ (line 797) pe_inc_calc 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (807) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[26] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (808) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[13] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (809) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] pdwl_spd$ #Call from NCI gcode 4 pspindle comment$ if prv_spdir2 <> spdir2, pbld, n$, *sm05, e$ if prv_speed <> speed | prv_spdir2 <> spdir2, pbld, n$, *speed, *spindle, pgear, e$ pcan if fmtrnd(dwell$), pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgcode, *dwell$, strcantext, e$ else, pcan1$, pbld, n$, strcantext, e$ (line 807) pcan2$ (line 808) (line 809) 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (978) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (984) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (990) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (996) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1002) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1008) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1014) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1023) - The post block output type processing has failed!, , Label has not been defined[7] pdrill$ #Canned Drill Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 978) prdrlout, dwell$, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea ppeck$ #Canned Peck Drill Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 984) prdrlout, *peck1$, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea pchpbrk$ #Canned Chip Break Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 990) prdrlout, *peck1$, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea ptap$ #Canned Tap Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 996) prdrlout, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea pbore1$ #Canned Bore #1 Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 1002) prdrlout, dwell$, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea pbore2$ #Canned Bore #2 Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 1008) prdrlout, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea pmisc1$ #Canned Misc #1 Cycle pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pxout, pyout, pfzout, pcout, (line 1014) prdrlout, shftdrl$, dwell$, *feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea pmisc2$ #Canned Misc #2 Cycle (User Option) pdrill$ pdrill_2$ #Canned Drill Cycle, additional points pdrlcommonb pcan1$, pbld, n$, pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, prdrlout, dwell$, (line 1023) feed, strcantext, e$ pcom_movea 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'met_ltol$' was re-initialized from 0.002 to 0.01 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'helix_tol$' was re-initialized from 0.0005 to 0.0001 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'met_helix_tol$' was re-initialized from 0.005 to 0.001 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'dec_seq_right$' was re-initialized from 3. to 0. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'arctype$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'arctypexz$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'arctypeyz$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'larctype$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'larctypexz$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'larctypeyz$' was re-initialized from 2. to 5. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'helix_arc$' was re-initialized from 2. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'lhelix_arc$' was re-initialized from 2. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'arccheck$' was re-initialized from 1. to 11311. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'larccheck$' was re-initialized from 1. to 11311. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'rotfeed4$' was re-initialized from 2. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'rotfeed5$' was re-initialized from 3. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'lrotfeed4$' was re-initialized from 2. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'lrotfeed5$' was re-initialized from 0. to 1. 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - CONTROL DEFINITION - Post variable 'peckacel$' was re-initialized from 0. to 1. ^^^ Are these errors? ^^^ 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1210) - Dollar Sign ('$') found terminating user defined variable/string/postblock pcan1$ #Canned text - with move (line 1210) strcantext = sblank if cant_no$ > zero, [ if cant_pos1$ = one, pcant_1 if cant_pos2$ = one, pcant_2 if cant_pos3$ = one, pcant_3 if cant_pos4$ = one, pcant_4 if cant_pos5$ = one, pcant_5 if cant_pos6$ = one, pcant_6 if cant_pos7$ = one, pcant_7 if cant_pos8$ = one, pcant_8 if cant_pos9$ = one, pcant_9 if cant_pos10$ = one, pcant_10 ] if cstop$, strcantext = strcantext + sm00 if cgstop$, strcantext = strcantext + sm01 #Output of strcantext occurs at the end of the output line 01 Oct 2012 09:21:55 AM - <2> - PST LINE (1229) - Dollar Sign ('$') found terminating user defined variable/string/postblock pcan2$ #Canned text - after output call (line 1229) strcantext = sblank if cant_no$ > zero, [ if cant_pos1$ = two, pcant_1 if cant_pos2$ = two, pcant_2 if cant_pos3$ = two, pcant_3 if cant_pos4$ = two, pcant_4 if cant_pos5$ = two, pcant_5 if cant_pos6$ = two, pcant_6 if cant_pos7$ = two, pcant_7 if cant_pos8$ = two, pcant_8 if cant_pos9$ = two, pcant_9 if cant_pos10$ = two, pcant_10 pbld, n$, strcantext, e$ strcantext = sblank ]

hmm... how would i go about opening up said post processor?

gcode is fine on those lines. the only thing i see is a z offset of .0101 instead of .0100, but the program is a constant scallop of a complex 3d surface, so there's lots of .0001 z differences.