Need Help and Camsoft will not help.

[SMcDevitt]

Ok so I just finished all the wiring and I wired the limits as sourcing. Because of it I need to enter !COMMAND CN 1,1 into the startup.fil. The problem I am having is when I open the startup.fil in Edit Other Motion Control Files and save it. Whether or not I add any logic, when I go to open Camsoft after I save the file I get to where I enter the password and then the user interface will not come up. In windows task manager it says not responding. It makes me think there is something wrong with the CBK file that Camsoft initially sent with the program.

Ok so let me give you a rundown of what I did from the beginning to show you that I think something is wrong with the CBK file.
After I first had the program not respond I reinstalled it.
Once reinstalled, before anything, I launched the Camsoft program. Everything Started as normal.
I then went into setup, clicked "restore" and opened the .CBK file that I put into the Galil folder that was on the floppy disk Camsoft provided.
Opened Camsoft and everything still started as normal.
Then I went back in setup and set my general settings and i/o settings. Clicked save.
Then Clicked backup to save information into .CBK file
Then I went back into Camsoft and everything started as normal.
I then went into setup and then Edit Other Motion Control Files.
I opened the startup.fil and without entering any logic this time I clicked save and exited out of the setup program like I was prompted.
Opened setup again and backed up the CBK file again.
I went into Camsoft, entered the password, and then I got not responding just like the first time.

You see, even when I do not enter any logic, something is going on when I save the startup.fil and then backup the CBK file. This makes me think there is something wrong with the coding in the CBK file because you should be able to save the startup.fil especially when I do not add any logic. Its just re-saving what is already there to begin with.

I sent this to Ruben at Camsoft and he is telling me that there is no problem with the CBK file so it has to be something I am doing but he did say that reading what I wrote that I am not doing anything wrong. He says in order for him to help I would have to send the CBK file over for him to see if there is something wrong with it. But in order to do that we have to pay a subscription fee of 1200 bucks just so he can help me. This is outrageous because I am doing things the book says I can do.

Anyone have any ideas? I need to get this right so I can see if I did the wiring correctly and get the machine running. I did have a long posting on here a couple months ago and the gentleman on here helped me through the process and confirmed that my wiring looks correct.

[Karl_T]

Can't see what's happening from your description. My guess is startup.fil is getting corrupted and won't load.

A suggestion, why don't you try a simpler route? All your *.fil are just text files. Use your favorite programmer's editor on them. MAKE SURE WORD WRAP IS OFF. The Camsoft editor is a good choice. I just use notepad when working right at the machine.

On another note, Camsoft is a powerful control software with a ton of features. Because of this, its difficult for first time installers. IMHO, its near impossible to configure your first machine without serious help. I know the maintenance fee is steep, but it is worth it. If you're not willing to do this, I'd suggest you switch to simpler controls like EMC or Mach.

Karl

[Mbock]

I had the same problem right away as well, After I reinstalled it the problem never came back. I change the .CBK file name every time I back up to save my progress. That way if I run into a problem I can restore from a file I know to be good. I used Camsofts help and sent them my .CBK file when I got stuck and they were alot of help. I will absolutely use Camsoft again. Very powerful system.

[Karl_T]

Originally Posted by Mbock I had the same problem right away as well, After I reinstalled it the problem never came back. I change the .CBK file name every time I back up to save my progress. That way if I run into a problem I can restore from a file I know to be good. I used Camsofts help and sent them my .CBK file when I got stuck and they were alot of help. I will absolutely use Camsoft again. Very powerful system.

Seriously good advice. You WILL screw up. My naming convention is machine date current change. For example, I just put a RESUME user button on my mill and then named the file: Excello 110225 RESUME button.cbk

[Mbock]

I have been just using the date, then I make a note in a type of journal. I keep track of stuff that way because my mind is not like a steel trap, stuff gets out of it all the time.

[camsoft]

We did try to help even though your software is old and you declined
maintenance. We looked at your settings and files for you. There was nothing
wrong in the CBK or the settings you had. We concluded that there must be
one or more damaged or missing supporting CamSoft, Windows and/or motion
card files and ask you to reinstall from the CD from scratch.

Did you try re-installing before you wrote here?

[SMcDevitt]

Camsoft,

You did not look at my CBK file because you would not allow me to send it without the subscription. In my email to you I stated that I reinstalled the program. I did it 3 times because every time I would reinstall it everything worked fine until I tried to save the startup.fil with or without any added logic. I sent my emails to Ruben, and he stated from what I said that I am not doing anything wrong. So how are these files getting corrupted? They shouldnt when I am only doing what the book says to do.

[SMcDevitt]

Mbock,

I did reinstall the program and the problem went away until I saved the startup.fil. Once I saved it the system hung up. Because of this I can not add the logic needed for the limits being wired as sourcing.

Karl T,

I will try to use notepad and save it that way. Hopefully that works. Thanks for the advice.

All,

Im and under the impression that I add the !COMMAND CN 1,1 at the end of the preexisting logic, correct?

[Mbock]

I have !COMMAND CN 1,1 as the very first line in my startup.fil. I just checked it out to make sure. Maybe if you open the file with note pad and omit things with the (') before the instructions, the enable them 1 at a time to see where your startup is hanging. It would be time consuming but you should be able to locate where the hangup is. I don't know for sure if this would be the proper way to do it but it is what I would try.

[camsoft]

We used the CBK we last gave you and it's not the STARTUP.FIL file itself. Yours and every default CBK work with or without logic in the STARTUP.FIL file when saved. We still believe it's one or more of the supporting files that run the whole system. If re-installing doesn't help this would take some deeper investigation and to do so would mean you would need to be using the same software as we are and possibly a look at your PC as well.

We are trying to be helpful, but there's no quick answer to get you on your way. It's not our place to say but you should know that the talk in the office is that your approach is not advancing your goals with us. At this point it looks like you set the bridge on fire.

Tech Support
CamSoft Corp.
support@camsoftcorp.com
PH 951-674-8100
Fax 951-674-3110
PC Based CNC Control For The Machine Tool CNC Retrofit And CNC Controller OEM Market

[Karl_T]

Originally Posted by SMcDevitt Camsoft, You did not look at my CBK file because you would not allow me to send it without the subscription. In my email to you I stated that I reinstalled the program. I did it 3 times because every time I would reinstall it everything worked fine until I tried to save the startup.fil with or without any added logic. I sent my emails to Ruben, and he stated from what I said that I am not doing anything wrong. So how are these files getting corrupted? They shouldnt when I am only doing what the book says to do.

I should warn you, I've bet these guys a beer on more than one occasion that it was their problem. I now owe enough beers to get the whole office wasted. These guys work miracles, but they don't work for free.

[Lohmeyer]

Obviously Camsoft's file editor should work. There is probably some unconventional problem going on (hence why Camsoft suggested re-installing the software). Consider it might also be your Windows installation.

But first... Do a _binary_ comparison of the .FIL and/or .CBK file you edit (before and after) using a program like Beyond Compare. This will show you exactly what changed. An ASCII comparison won't. If you need help with this, contact me and send me the two files.

There's not much that can go wrong here. I mean, the .FIL files are just standard text files. I always edit them using text editors like Notepad (or Notepad++ which allows me to open multiple .FIL files at once). Or, I edit the entire .CBK file and read it back in through CNCSetup. Try that and see if the problem continues so you can isolate that it really is a problem with CNCSetup corrupting the file. If CNCSetup is corrupting the file, it has to be something on your system that is messed up (bad Camsoft install, or bad Windows install).

To see if it's your Windows system, install Camsoft on another PC. You can run CNCSetup without the license key even. Edit the file on the second PC in CNCSetup, then copy either the specific .FIL file, or save and copy the .CBK back to the original machine and see if the problem persists.

Regards,
Mike

P.S. What do you mean by enter the password when starting Camsoft? Is this the AT YOUR OWN "RISK" password you must enter on a new Camsoft installation? Is there any reason having this password enabled would cause this problem? I imagine most people clear this password right away.