Serial Port Settings

You can have any number of different machines with custom settings. Choose the machine you want to change in the Machine dropdown box. Then click on Settings - Configuration on the main menu and the settings window of the current machine will be displayed.

Serial Format

Check your control documentation for setting these items. These settings must be the same as the settings at the machine control. Longer cables require lower Baud Rates.

Machine

Items that may be relevant for a particular machine. Strip Comments When Sending - If this is checked, DNC Server will strip out comments when sending. This is handy for the machines that don't accept comments. Set the beginning and and comment characters to look for. For instance, for Fanuc controls "(" would be the start comment character, and ")" would be the end comment character. If a only a single character is used at the beginning, like "!" to designate a comment, put it in the Start Comment Char and leave the End Comment Char blank, and everything from the start comment char to the end of the line will be stripped out.

Strip Characters : You have the option of stripping any characters that the control might send. Special characters can be stripped by using the ascii value enclosed in left and right arrows. These characters will be stripped at send and receive. Use left and right arrows around the decimal numeric value of special characters, as in <59>. Send Extra Characters : You have the option of sending extra characters the control might need at the beginning and end of the file. Special characters can be sent by using the ASCII value enclosed in left and right arrows. For example, to send an extra carriage return at the end you would would type in <13> in the box. Your control may need Null characters at the beginning or end of the program (like blank leader on a tape). A section of blank tape (feed holes) can be simulated by a series of zero values: <0><0><0><0><0><0><0>. Fanuc controls usually need end of file character: <20>. After file may not work when handshake is set to CTS/RTS because the control has already shut down the control line. For Example, you could automatically send a percent sign at the beginning of every program by using this: percent sign and carriage return and line feed characters. Some older machines may not stop receiving until they receive a couple feet of blank feed holes. This can be simulated by 20 or 30 zero characters like this: Strip Blank Lines -If this is checked, blank lines will be ignored when both receiving and sending files. Strip Characters : You have the option of stripping any characters that the control might send. Special characters can be stripped by using the ascii value enclosed in left and right arrows. These characters will be stripped at send and receive. Use left and right arrows around the decimal numeric value of special characters, as in <59>. Character Delay : Keep at 0 unless you have special circumstances where there is no handshaking and you need to slow the pace down to not loose any characters. When Send by Char is checked this delay is sent after every character. When Send by line is checked this delay is sent after every line.

Start and End

Wait for Signal from Machine Before Send: Normally you would want to have this checked. This allows you to first call up the program you want at DNC Server and get it ready to send. DNC Server will wait forever until it receives the start signal from the CNC. Then when you go to the control and press 'Read', DNC Server will receive the start signal and begin sending. This system relies on the machine control sending a signal to DNC Server when it is ready to receive ("X-ON" or CTS) which most all CNCs would do. To bypass this and send out a file immediately when pressing the Send button, you would leave this unchecked. End Receive File On - DNC Server automatically looks for these control codes in the files it receives. Fanuc controls send a char #20 at the end of the file so DNC Server will know when to stop receiving and close the file. It can stop receiving the file from the control and close the file when it receives any of these control codes: #20 (DC4) or #3 (ETX) or #4 (EOT). or when it receives a second "%" character. If your control doesn't send these codes, you can set DNC Server to stop receiving when it receives a certain string of characters. You could enter "M30" in this box and file receiving would end when this was found. Add After Sending a File - Most of the time you want to send character #20 to the control to tell it that it is finished sending the file. You can send any other characters in the Machine settings page. Tip for Testing the Connection - It is easier to test the connection by sending a program from the machine to the PC. The first inclination is to try to send a program to the machine, but when nothing happens, or you get an error at the machine, you have no way of telling what could be wrong. If you press the Receive button at DNC Server it will just wait forever for anything to come through from the machine. If you don’t see anything appear in the window when sending from the machine to the PC at any of the settings then there is probably something wrong with the cable or are on the wrong Comm port. If garbage characters show up in the window then it means you are on the right track. You should be able to adjust the settings to make it come out proper characters.