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Running from USB question

Larry Dickman

Titanium
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Location
Temecula, Ca
So, I'm looking to find a used machine, like a VF-5 or 6, no older than a 2006. I want to use it just for roughing out some larger aluminum parts. I notice on most used machines I see, they usually don't have much for options. Most of my roughing ops end up in the 5-10mb range. So my question is, if you have a machine with the standard 1mb memory, can you run a 5mb program straight from a USB drive? All my machines have expanded memory, so I don't really have anything to try it on.
 
I have a 2006 VM3, I think I have 32mb of memory (expanded memory option). I have it networked,it has USB, and it has a 40GB hard drive onboard. I can run programs direct from network, usb, or RS232 serial, or transfer from those to internal memory or the hard drive and run from there.

Lots of ways to do it, but your mileage may vary based on the exact machine, year, software version, options, etc.

I'm running some very intricate parts right now with about a 12MB program size and it's a breeze compared to my old '93 VF3 where I really only have serial as an option (and like 80k of memory! DNC dripfeed every time).
 
If you want to use USB to RS232 adapter that would work, and then just make sure the software has something like Xmodem for Haas transfer ideally.

Or you can look at USB devices like mentioned before and plug directly into the the machine. Lots of options and feel free to ping us if you need any help.

Greg
Shop Floor Automations
619-461-4000
 
I know OP question is 4 months old now, but would like to add a thought.

On our 2013'ish machine, we can run from USB, but it is somewhat questionable on staying connected. If you bump it even slightly it will disconnect. Not sure if it is a machine issue, software issue, or USB issue. Thankfully we don't do it much...
 
If you're getting a Haas with a NGC you should have the ethernet option, and you can run directly from there. I don't think I've ever actually ran a program from the machine's memory!
 
Just a suggestion on what I did for an older machine.... USB to 232 (more or less a drip solution I guess). But here are several options that could work for large files via USB. I do not endorse one over the other.. just something to give ya ideas.

Highland DNC, LLC.

Haas USB FLASH memory upgrade for all Haas CNC Machines, connects to RS232 702038326380 | eBay

DNC software : dead easy to use : RS232 transfer between CNC and PC

Does anyone know if these USB/Serial devices allow you to transfer files from the USB drive to the internal controller memory or are they limited to only running the program off the uSB via the DNC function?

Thanks
 








 
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