Hi Eric,
Any DNC program will likely work in the same way. It simply takes your nc-code (output produced by your CADCAM) and transmits it out the serial port a line at a time.
There are considerations, I guess, depending on what they expect the machine to be able to do. NC code for 3d milling can consist of very short line segments. Each segment is transmitted as one line of code. Depending on the communication speed capability, the machine can be "starved for data" if it can cut faster than it can receive. And, if the machine is too outdated, it will not have enough buffering capability to gather enough lines of data "ahead" so that it can assemble a smooth flowing "polyline", which leads to rough machine operation, as it pauses between movement vectors.
This could be what they are including in the $40,000 upgrade. But, just to attain the raw DNC capability should not be expensive, but it may not be satisfactory in the results, as I outlined above. |