DNC Software for Linux/Ubuntu

I have a project I'm working on and would like to be able to transfer programs from a system running Ubuntu. I haven't found much for coms software.

There seems to be an old version of Easy DNC (or EasyDNC?) that was ported to Linux but so far I haven't had any luck getting that to run on the current version of Unbuntu.
http://www.tucows.com/preview/519022/Dnc-X-For-Linux
Easy DNC Software for Windows 1, Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. EasyDNC, RemoDNC.

Doesn't need to be free, I'd be happy to pay but so far haven't found anything.

Anyone seen anything out there?

What kind system are you trying to transfer to? Gcode is a simple text file. Do you need RS232, Ethernet, etc?

Ed.

RS232
Hoping to connect to multiple machines and be able to drip feed on occasion.
Mostly Yasnac I80 machines, also some Fanuc

Linux requires a patched UART driver for robust operation of RS232 handshake protocols.

This is especially important for FANUC DNC.

the kernel patch said:

According to HW specification of serial UART devices, RX interrupt trigger can be changed, but the trigger is hard-coded. For example, RX interrupt trigger in 16550A can be set to 1, 4, 8, or 14 bytes for HW, but current driver sets the trigger to only 8bytes.

This patch makes some devices change RX interrupt trigger from userland.

Click to expand...

[V7] serial/uart/8250: Add tunable RX interrupt trigger I/F of FIFO buffers - Patchwork

You must set the RX queue depth to 1 byte to immediately respond to XOFF and not overrun the FANUC serial input buffer.

With this patch applied you can use the standard 'minicom' modem software for DNC.

I use Cutecom on my Ubuntu box to do program transfers and DNC to a Haas VF2 using Xmodem protocol over RS232.

TimD said:

I have a project I'm working on and would like to be able to transfer programs from a system running Ubuntu. I haven't found much for coms software.

Click to expand...

Depending on how adventurous you are, Aaron Gough put together a Ruby script to drip feed to his Fadal from Mac OSX. He posted the code here:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...le-transfer-dnc-mac-osx-fadal-similar-302415/

My plan is to implement a network for file transfer to machines from a Linux server at some point. If you get something put together, I'm interested to hear what you found to work.

I know this is an old thread. I found it due to my desire to DNC from old salvage computers. For anyone else lurking the topic I suggest maybe running a virtual windows machine on your linux. I have yet to go this route but it should work. I am still ironing out bugs with my BTR at the moment.

DNC-X won't run on 64 bit Linux, but seems to work OK on 32 bit. I just installed Linux Mint (version LMDE 4 Debbie 32 bit) on an old XP laptop and everything seems to work.

Also, here's a link to a useful article re interrupt triggers:
Fanuc, RS232, Cables, Flow Control and easyDnc. - Denford Software & Machines

Linux has a "low latency" option which can be set for the serial port.
To enable low latency:

1) Install "setserial" if not already installed:
sudo apt-get install -y setserial
(or use the Software Manager in Linux Mint instead of command line)
2) To view serial port info:
setserial /dev/ttyS0
(this will display settings without making any changes)
(For other serial ports, ttyS1, ttyS2, etc)
3) Enable low latency for the serial port used for DNC to the CNC machine:
setserial /dev/ttyS0 low_latency
4) View settings by again typing:
setserial /dev/ttyS0
(should show low_latency enabled)


Note that the low latency flag has to be set each time Linux is restarted.
I created a simple shell script to do this and run Easy DNC.
You could probably enable the low latency on startup. I'm new to Linux so
haven't got that far yet.

Here's a couple of links for some background info:
setserial(8): get/set serial port info - Linux man page
Serial HOWTO: What Are UARTs? How Do They Affect Performance?

I use scp (secure copy) to get from my desktop to the machine(s). On your own local net you don't need the secure part but it is reliable and works well
10-baseT is plenty fast. Switch near desktop and 30+ m of cable then a 5 port switch in the shop so I have access to multiple machines. If you are linux on both ends it is a lead pipe cinch.
I'm not a Windoze person but it should work just a cleanly on the Windoze side.