Drip feeding DNC to Fanuc 6M

[Camfather]

Hi guys and gals, I am sure this issue has been beat to death but I can't find any solid answers to my question of can my fanuc 6m drip feed (dnc)

Facts

I can tx (send) and rx (recieve) programs no problem.
I do not know what a BTR is or if I have one
I have the tape reader on the side with a switch, auto | release | manual
Machine has the flap door with rs232 and the blue 50pin honda plug.
I have rs232 cable wired to be full hardware (i think its wired right)
I have rs232 mini tester.

I put the machine in tape mode, press start. Go to the PC and send from DNC software (surfcam sdnc or NClink Free) Nothing happens.

I've tried many different settings, I feel the parameters on the machine side are set correctly but I could be wrong.

Any help is appreciated.

[angelw]

Originally Posted by Camfather Hi guys and gals, I am sure this issue has been beat to death but I can't find any solid answers to my question of can my fanuc 6m drip feed (dnc) Facts I can tx (send) and rx (recieve) programs no problem. I do not know what a BTR is or if I have one I have the tape reader on the side with a switch, auto | release | manual Machine has the flap door with rs232 and the blue 50pin honda plug. I have rs232 cable wired to be full hardware (i think its wired right) I have rs232 mini tester. I put the machine in tape mode, press start. Go to the PC and send from DNC software (surfcam sdnc or NClink Free) Nothing happens. I've tried many different settings, I feel the parameters on the machine side are set correctly but I could be wrong. Any help is appreciated.

Hi Camfather,
Notwithstanding that your machine has a Tape Mode, and this is normally sufficient with a Fanuc Control to be able to DNC (Drip Feed), this is NOT the case with the Series 6. You will require a BTR for DNC applications.

To be able to DNC to the control, you will need a BTR (Behind Tape Reader) fitted. There are quite a few manufacturers of these, but the one I find very reliable is one made here in Australia. They are extremely easy to install, requiring only a Phillip's Head srewdriver, (or Plus Driver, as my Japanese colleagues refer to them as; they call Plain screw drivers Minus Drivers. Makes sense really), and a few minutes of time for the installation.



The attached picture picture shows a BTR installed on a Fanuc 5T control. The Rainbow cable in this installation connected to a PC, the components of which were mounted inside the control enclosure. This PC was then connected to a LAN. The monitor and keyboard were mounted conveniently for the operator and with the control being under DNC for all Auto Programming operations. As the Fanuc 5T control has no monitor, this method allowed the operator to veiw the progress of the program in real time via software I wrote for this installation. See attached picture.



Instead of having a dedicated PC, a remote PC can be connected to the DB9 plug shown connected to the Rainbow cable in the attached picture.

If you still want to DNC to the control and want further information on the device I use, send your email address via PM and I'll send you all the information I have.

Regards,

Bill

[Camfather]

Thanks Bill, if that is the case, then I think I would be better off buying the memex mme 512k upgrade board. Any thoughts on that vrs BTR?

[angelw]

Originally Posted by Camfather Thanks Bill, if that is the case, then I think I would be better off buying the memex mme 512k upgrade board. Any thoughts on that vrs BTR?

The BTR method is quite cheap, and although the 512k upgrade will cover quite large programs, the only limitation with the BTR in terms of program size, is the available space you have on the PC's HDD.

Regards,

Bill

[Camfather]

as none of these company's I have found publish prices, the memex board can be had for around $1000.00 usd from my research. What do the BTR boards run? I've seen people post about the same costs.

Of all the complex parts I'd like to make, the biggest one to date is 638k.

[angelw]

Originally Posted by Camfather as none of these company's I have found publish prices, the memex board can be had for around $1000.00 usd from my research. What do the BTR boards run? I've seen people post about the same costs. Of all the complex parts I'd like to make, the biggest one to date is 638k.

Around the USD400.00 mark for a good one.

As PCs are cheap, the installation I described in my first Post is a good way to proceed. You have way better editing tools that the Series 6 control can provide, and LAN connection with the office PC for good file management. Even with clients later model controls, I dismantle the PC and mount the components inside the control enclosure, then connect them to a Local Area Network.

Regards,

Bill

[Camfather]

Thanks for the info Bill.

[awemawson]

Which way did you jump Camfather? I'm looking for a BTR solution myself fo my Fanuc 6M controlled Tape Cut Model M wire eroder. Seems easiest & cheapest solution is to wire a parallel port on a PC to the 50way ribbon connector from the reader board but getting the connection information is proving elusxive.

[Camfather]

I'm still on the fence Andrew, the memex install I can do myself but it's 1k, how ever drip feeding is unlimited file size 1/2 the cost, but it's pc dependent. I'm leaning to the 512k memory upgrade just because drip feeding has always been a last resort in any of the shops I have ever worked in.

In the end I will end up with both because I have some complex 3x shapes I want to make that will run 2 megs in file size, but most of my work is well under 512k.

[awemawson]

I have now found sketchy details of the tape reader pins and an equally sketchy description of the signal timing, so I have seriously considered programming an Arduino Mega2560 (prototype board that only costs about £50) as that directly gives you a USB input, and buying a plug in 'shield' can give you a Cat5 input.

However that's on hold as I'm negotiating the purchase of a s/h Controls West BTR - if that lands I won't need to bother.

[Camfather]

Found a new memex 512k board for $900 and went for it, it work flawlessly as advertised and I was down a whole 20 mins while replacing it. The only downside I see is transferring 500k of data takes a long time! Otherwise I'm loving it. Thanks again to all that have help.