Rybett Controls WebDoc 106 (Copyright 2008) Return to [Index]
If appropriate installation instructions are not available, you may examine a list of Rybett BTR or CNC procedures. Then using this list, you may request the specific procedures of interest via fax at (818) 341-2133 and the appropriate notes will be sent to your fax machine.
Rybett WebDoc-401:
List of BTR Installation Procedures
Rybett WebDoc-402:
List of CNC RS232 Installation Notes
GENERAL PROCEDURE for ADDING NEW MACHINES:
To add a machine to a Rybett DNC System, follow these steps assuming that you already know how to operate the machine control:
1. Build a cable per the installation instructions. If instructions are unavailable, assume a Fanuc pinout and use a Fanuc cable.
2. Using a text editor such as DOS EDIT or Windows NOTEPAD, add a new line to the file MACHNAM.TXT as follows: NEWNAME ! DESCRIPTION
3. Run DNC and choose the new machine. Define a Machine Setup page per installation instructions. Answer "Y" (YES) to save the setup when exiting. If instructions are unavailable, use the outline for "Interfacing New CNC Controls" that follows.
4. Change the parameters on the CNC control to match those entered under Machine Setup on the PC. When possible, "Enable DC Codes" on the CNC control so that a character such as ^Q (DC1) can initiate a download or an upload sequence.
5. When adding new machines to a Phantom DNC, always reboot the DOS computer (or restart the Windows task) after making setup changes.
6. On CNC controls with memory, it is usually easier to test Upload first. There are fewer conditions to be met when uploading and the port settings can be debugged. Then, the captured upload file may be used as data for a test Download. This guarantees that data format or post-processing errors will not confuse the communication tests.
If you have difficulties, check the new Machine Setup page for mistakes such as semicolon instead of colon (; instead of :). Check the cable and run a port test to insure that your hardware is good.
To make things simpler, you may operate with all Machine Setup UP and DOWN fields left blank. This will specify data transfers that are started by just pressing the <Enter> key. After things are running smoother, you may try adding START and STOP strings on the Machine Setup page to control the data flow.
PROCEDURE for INTERFACING NEW CNC CONTROLS:
7. You may use a terminal emulation program on the PC computer called RTERM.EXE (located in the DNC directory) to display and manually generate data sent to and from the machine tool port. To run, type RTERM followed by a mode format. For instance:
RTERM COM1:9600,E,7,1,S <Enter>
The above line will call RTERM using COM1 at 9600 baud specifing even parity, 7 data bits and 1 stop bit. The S on the end of the line is not a conventional mode parameter, but is used to distinguish between S(oftware) and H(ardware) handshakes. Within the RTERM program, F1 is used to quit and F2 toggles the monitor mode, enabling/disabling the display of control characters. Characters received by the PC will be displayed on the screen, while characters pressed on the keyboard will be sent to the CNC.
8. Try a punchout from the machine tool to the DNC RTERM routine as the first experiment. Usually, the machine will output a file with little or no protocol to worry about. Adjust the cable pinout, baudrate, parity, etc. until communication is sound. Record the necessary characters to start and stop the process. Then try switching to the regular DNC software by rebooting the PC (or restarting the Windows task) and filling in the proper Machine Setup UP characters to begin and end an upload transfer. Select the Upload option and try to capture a file.
9. Use the captured uploaded file as the test file for download experiments. This eliminates any possible tape format problems. Since the pinout and baudrate puzzles were solved above, only the download protocol to start and stop the transfer needs investigation. If necessary, return to the RTERM program and manually experiment with the CNC serial loading protocol.