Program send/receiving boss 6

[dmschell]

Ive just purchased a Bridgeport boss 6 series 1 and I finally have gotten it powered up. I am having problems trying to send and run a program to the machine. I really have no clue with this control and was wondering if anyone could step me through the process. The machine does have the serial port plug cord for the computer but I just need to know what process of switches I need to press to get it to load and run. I have a dnc program provided by surfcam to transfer the code.

Thanks for all your help.

[machintek]

A Boss 6 does NOT DNC unless it has a DNC loader. In 40 years of this I have only seen 1. I know that "behind the tape reader loaders" exist but I am not familiar with them.
I believe that someone was selling on Ebay an entire communications kit.
Give me your email and I can send you a tech document about communications to this machine.
I suggest you get some manuals too.

George

[fredhh47]

Originally Posted by dmschell Ive just purchased a Bridgeport boss 6 series 1 and I finally have gotten it powered up. I am having problems trying to send and run a program to the machine. I really have no clue with this control and was wondering if anyone could step me through the process. The machine does have the serial port plug cord for the computer but I just need to know what process of switches I need to press to get it to load and run. I have a dnc program provided by surfcam to transfer the code. Thanks for all your help.

You need to read the Bridgeport manual for a description of the editing commands, to be able to manipulate programs in the machine, enter them, etc.
You can use Bridgeport's EZ-Utls program, a stand-alone loader that came with EZ-CAM, to load programs using Windows. It has a rudimentary DNC mode, but I haven't tried it. The BOSS 6 memory is limited to about 10000 characters, so some programs may need to be trimmed to fit. Some CAD-CAM software is capable of creating Macro programs that can be used for repetitive programming to shorten files. Or you can learn about creating macros, repeats and nesting in the programming manual. (need one?, I can provide a copy). Another trick to keep programs short is to set up your postprocessor (the part of your CAM program that actually creates the machine code) to suppress leading and trailing zeros and spaces between characters, and to NOT create line numbers. At best, you only need line numbers on tool change lines, and you can edit them in after the code is generated, using Wordpad, Notepad, etc. I use line numbers that correspond with the tool number for convenience, i.e. N1 for tool 1, N3 for tool 3, N31 for a repeated tool 3, etc. This is ONLY significant when you restart a program at something other than the top of the program. At your machine control panel, you can "search" for a Line Number to start on. ((In RUN mode, press the key marked N, then the tool number and wait for the number to come up on the display, then press Start. (also see HINT below)). You can also search for a Tool Number, but it can get confusing if you repeat tools. You can configure Windows Terminal or HyperTerminal to edit programs once they are in the machine, but they are not as effective for file transfers. For best results, keep your baud rate set to 2400 or below. The Boss 6 can be set for transfer speeds up to 9600 and Terminal can be set even higher, but it won't work with even the shortest connecting cable. Stick to 2400 and read the manual or do a crossword puzzle while long programs load. One peculiarity of EZ-UTLS that I have found is that it does not always disconnect after a download (to the machine) but always disconnects after an upload (from the machine). I have to close EZ-UTLS and open Terminal - they won't run together on the same port- to exit from the machine's editor mode. (In Terminal, make sure the CAPS LOCK is on, hit ENTER several times to get out of input mode, then CTRL-Z to exit). I leave Terminal running whenever I have the machine running, in case I need to make a quick edit. Never mind the error codes that the machine occasionally spits out, nobody can tell you what they mean anymore. I can post the settings for both EZ-UTLS and Terminal that I use all the time, if anyone is interested.
HINT: If you find that you accidentaly hit the EDIT button instead of the Start button, and don't feel like going to the computer to "EXIT" from Edit mode, lightly press the Emergency Stop button just enough to make the light come on (assuming it is working, and don't do it while the machine is moving), but not hard enough to lock it in. Then press the Override button and go to Restart to restart your program. If you are at a tool other than T1, you will have to Search for the correct tool, using the N button at the top of the button panel, followed by the line number/tool number and press the enter button (small black button obn the bottom right of the keypad. Wait until the correct tool number appears (you have to be displaying the tool number, by pressing the button with the small T above it - #4, or line number by pressing the number 1)
then press start to begin. NEVER, NEVER set the EDIT/RDI button to RDI. ALWAYS leave it set on EDIT.
Fred