[derekj308]

Hi Guys

I am really desperate to get a copy of the DOS file ANCADNC.EXE It's a DOS based program that allows drip feeding of programs into the ANCA Series 2000 Contoller.

If you have an ANCA Series 2000 Controller and can make it drip feed I would really appreciate info on how you did/do it.

Cheers

Derek

[Kookaburra]

Derek,

Send me an e-mail, I might be able to help!

Regards

Dave

[vladdy]

This may sound like a silly question, but..
If the ANCA controller recieves the file via serial port, wouldn't any of the commonly available programs designed to transmit files work??
Just out of curiosity I did quite a few searches for ANCA DNC, and found basically nothing..
However, ANCA still exists, they may be able to help, or other [some are even free] DNC drip feed utilities..

[derekj308]

Hi Guys
A quick update. I made a few calls and found a company that say they can get DNC drip feeding happening if the controller is set up for it which they say it is based on my explanation of the menu picks. I've been interstate for the last week and haven't been able to set up an appointment yet. I will let this thread know the outcome of this investigation so others can learn from my experience.
BTW vladdy I can get straight (as opposed to ??? lol) RS-232 up and down but cant get drip feeding happening because the contoller, I suspect, needs proprietry codes to maintain a communications link whilst drip feeding. I have tried the free 60 day version of EasyDNCXP and it works like a charm with straight RS-232 but not with drip feed as it cant talk to the controller. ANCA do still exist but dont support any of their very very old contollers (this is one of their first). I called them and was lucky enough to get a tech rep who put me on to the company I will be working with to get this going. If you do a search for ANCA in this forum you will find a post
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4132
that says "I have sent emails to them and they offered to fit a new controller for a huge sum of money" which I assumed to be a dead end for me also. WRONG. After I had exhausted other avenues I rang ANCA and got a lead within seconds. It pays to call and speak with a person with a name instead of getting lost within the 1000 spams that are sent to [email protected] .
Hi Dave, thanks for the offer. If my current leads doesnt pan out I'll give you a call.
Cheers and thanks for your interest.
Derek

[smoregrava]

Hi look forward to your results with this. I try to drip feed my Emcotronic controller. But I have never done any drip feed before so need all information on the subject that I can recive. My controller is also very old, RS232 working allrigth for transfering data. But don't know how to set up the machine to run in "Drip Feed mode"

[derekj308]

Hi smoregrava
I would try try to find out if your controller is enabled to do drip feeding before you purchase any software. Many companies back in 'good old days' had DNC drip feeding as an option for their controllers. I have also heard that DNC does not automatically infer that the controller is capable of drip feeding and that their version of DNC is only their proprietry way of communicating. Get the model number, board revision, etc of your Emcotronic and find out if it is DNC drip feeding enabled. Your menu picks in the controller may show the option for it. If the pick is non existant or kicks you back to the previous window then its probably not DNC capable. See if you can find some ex-Emcotronic employees who have started up their own company that supports the older controllers.
A few tips for those of you struggling to keep program sizes down 'cause your controller has less memory than a Tickle Me Elmo.

- Helical moves are extremely memory hungry if your post processor isn't set up to detect a helical move and output it as a G2 or G3 move with a Z lead. Your controller needs to be helical milling enabled as well which is usually an option on the old controllers. Try ramped lead in instead to keep program size down if you cant do helical interpolation.
- For multiple slices of the same profile you can use the G52 co-ordinate offset and sub programs to keep your program size down. You write the toolpath for one slice then call it over and over again as you require.
- Breaking programs is quite easy although frustrating since you need to babysit your machine to load each program as needed. Simply break the program at the appropriate block. The end of the programs need to have a z value the same as your safe retract plane and the start of the other programs need to have the last x and y position as their first movement block. The second block will be your z move back to your last z position. Its not perfect by any means but its quite suitable for hobby CNC where perfection is quickly traded for a cheaper solution. Dont forget your modals and the start and end of your programs if you need them!
Cheers
Derek