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DNC upload while machine is cutting

Pattnmaker

Stainless
Joined
Nov 2, 2007
Location
Hamilton, Ontario
We bought a early 2000s mill about a year ago with a Siemens 840D controller and had some problems getting it up and running. One of the repair guys who came in removed the network card and the guys who managed to get the machine running couldn't get it re installed. So they set us up loading programs using the serial port and a DNC program.

All of our jobs are one offs and almost all are 3d so the files tend to be big. The transfers take a long time but our machining cycle times are long as well. It took 80 minutes to load the toolpath than is running right now that has been running for the last 5 hours and probably has another hour or 2 to go. The long load times would not be that big a deal if I could load the next program while the machine is running. Would this be safe to do? We run the jobs from the controller hard drive as they are too big to "load" we would be uploading and downloading to the same hard drive.

We are transferring at a baud rate of 57600. The technician set it up faster for us but the first large file we tried uploading, it cut off the end of the program.
 
If the control lets you do it then it would be safe. Best way to know is to do: Test it while cutting air.

Just don't overwrite any programs\sub programs that will be needed for the current operation.

If the machine has a hard drive that is separate from "machine memory" or what FANUC calls the "Data Server" then you can often access these things remotely while the machine is running. If you could get that network card installed then I'll bet you could do it across the network.
 
I load programs while a program is running all the time. I have a 2000 vintage DMG DMC103V with an 840D. No problems so far doing that. No network card, just over the serial port at 19200.
 
I’m not Siemens literate so no direct advice. Every CNC control that I have worked on since the late 80s could upload and download while in cycle if the option was spec’d. Methods differ between brands and models, but anything with a “background edit” or similar function could do it. One warning, most machines will stop reading when the reset signal operates. That can be via a reset button or the execution of M30. Kind of sucks to be in the middle of a longish download and have the program in the machine end and stop the download too. I have my post output an M1 before the M30 so by turning on optional stop the program can end without stopping the download.
 








 
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