USB Wireless Connection for Tormach Machine Controller

[anglin]

All,

I have the Tormach performance machine controller, PN 31520, running the OEM operating system software. I'm interested in attaching it to the home network so I can eliminate the need to access the USB port to transfer .NC files to the machine controller. I'd rather not wire a network cable to the router because of the distance it has to cover, so I'm looking at wireless adapters. The USB adapters are particularly interesting because I can install it without opening the case.

Has anyone used a wireless USB adapter, similar to these?

Newegg.com - Rosewill RNX-MiniN1 (RWLD-110001) Wireless-N 2.0 Dongle

Newegg.com - Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 1T2R / 5 dBi External Antenna

Thanks.

[David Bord]

One thing to consider is that if you connect your controller to your network(if connected to the internet) you will need to be concerned about viruses etc making there way to the controller. You probably shouldnt run virus scan software as it is fairly processor intensive and may interupt the machining process. You would need to experiment I guess.

The risk may be lower if you do not use any internet or email apps on the controller.

Re the units you linked... Depending on where your controller is located in relation to your wireless router etc, you may have more of a challenge with getting a good signal with the little tiny one. The unit with the antenna (given it works fairly well) may be better, but its hard to say.

Remarkable they can make a wireless unit that freaking tiny... Im in the industry and Im still amazed.

David

[SpruTormaCam]

I've been using a Medialink Wireless N USB Adapter for over a year with no problems. My desk and design computer (and wireless router) are on the main floor and my shop and mill are one floor down. I forget what I paid for it but Amazon has it for $19 now. I did get a long usb extension cable and have the Medialink suspended about a foot below the ceiling. Not sure if I needed to but I've never had any connection issues.

Mark..

[anglin]

Thanks for the input.

I don't plan on accessing the internet with it or running any sort of email application. No reason to risk the controller. I'm just looking for a handy way to move files. I'll probably add a shared folder to my main PC and access the documents that way so there's no write access to the machine controller from the outside.

My biggest worry is the installation of the network device on the machine controller. I'm comfortable with Windows software, but didn't know how Windows CE would react to my attempts.

Remarkable they can make a wireless unit that freaking tiny... Im in the industry and Im still amazed.

Indeed. I'm impressed by this as well.

I'm definitely leaning toward the unit with the antenna because I suspect the range would be better than with the tiny one. I've got to get the signal through two walls and about 40 feet across a three bay garage to the machine controller. I've got a wireless signal strength measuring app on my phone, so I'll adjust antennas as necessary with that.

I appreciate the data point, Mark. I'm much more confident in making this move now. Thanks again!

[gsnorcal]

Any thoughts on USB interrupts versus ethernet? I read somewhere that ethernet, with a configured, set speed might be more stable from the controller/interrupt standpoint.

So, to get wireless, maybe use some router/range extender like the Apple AirPort Express? It itself is wireless, but the connection to the controller is plain old wired ethernet. I have a few of these in my house to extend the range of my wifi and to also attach wire-only devices to my network.

Thoughts? I plan on trying this soon.

BTW, a simple firewall is also a good idea.

Dave

[anglin]

BTW, a simple firewall is also a good idea.

Indeed. I'm relying on my router to perform that function, though. I don't do anything that invites bad stuff in, so I should be in good shape.

[ez3022]

Rather than deal with wireless why not just use ethernet over power adapters like the ones from Netgear:

Network Powerline Products from NETGEAR®

No changes to the machine controller necessary as I believe it has an ethernet port and no drivers to install and dork with. I use these in my shop and they have proven to be fast and reliable. They took me about 10 minutes to install and that was because of the dang plastic bubble packaging. I just plugged them into the power outlets and connected the ethernet adapter from the machine controller to one of the adapters and a wired port off of my router and voila. Networked machine controller.

Mark

[rowbare]

I have a DLink USB wireless dongle on one of my PCs and it works fine. If you put it on the machine controller, remember to disable it whenever you start to machine.

bob

[Scottluther]

I'll 2nd the warning about remembering to disable before running the machine. When you send anything over Ethernet, it goes everywhere on your subnet (which for most shops means everywhere). Each machine must look at every packet and determine if it is for them. Most Ethernet cards will do this internally without the PC involved but I'm not sure the little USB will. The result though is that you don't want your controller being interrupted while it's running by someone else transmitting to another machine... Or yours by mistake, disable the port. And for us Homey's, no since in juniors playing Grand Theft Auto or downloading that movie we wouldn't let him go see, messing up our projects.

[shred]

Alas, the powerline network things won't quite get to my garage for some reason but if they work, they're a good option.

[kevinro]

I have used the ethernet quite a few times on my Tormach controller. Doesn't seem to interfere at all. I am using a wired connection, and my house is pretty busy on the network (about 35 devices on my internal internet).