584,833 active members*
5,405 visitors online*
Register for free
Login
IndustryArena Forum > MetalWorking Machines > Milltronics > Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC
Page 1 of 2 12
Results 1 to 20 of 23
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Lightbulb Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    You can securely network DOS and Windows 10 together if you do it this way . . . for now.

    The idea is to bring two networks together in a windows 10 PC (I will refer to this PC as the laptop), one network goes to the mill (public, no firewall) and the other goes to the CAD/CAM computer (private, with firewall). Both networks see the “C:\share” directory that has permissions for everybody to read and write. My CAD/CAM windows 10 computer is networked with the laptop. So with this setup, when I post g-code, it is instantly available on the mill.

    The single board computer upgrade from Milltronics (SBC) with networking, runs Microsoft Network Client v3.0 for MS-DOS 6.22. In the past we used the simple DOS NetBIOS NetBEUI protocol with the old windows like Windows 2000. However, modern computers running Windows 10 use the TCP/IP protocol. They can still use NetBEUI but only over TCP/IP.

    Before the changes brought about by windows 10, my configuration was an Ethernet crossover cable connecting my circa 1998 MV-15 Centurion 6 loaded with a network card to an old Pentium PC running Windows 2000. This Windows 2000 computer has been connected to my mill for years, both before and after I got my SBC in 2015. The windows 2000 computer had two NICs. I have always run my CAD CAM in the most modern Windows possible and output g-code files directly to the Windows 2000’s shared HDD over my Ethernet network. Then I would then go to the mill and run the g-code file directly off that same drive as it was the mapped as F: drive on the mill. It had been working great but connecting Windows 2000 to Windows 10 is getting as difficult as just connecting DOS to windows 10. Microsoft has had to make Windows 10 a fortress against the nasty stuff out there on the net. The last straw for me was when Windows 10 could no longer login directly to my Windows 2000. So I needed to have this same functionality but to do away with the windows 2000 computer.

    I have talked to SportyBob, Moldcore and several others many times over the years in posts here on the zone. They have helped in getting me to this solution. If you ask them or Milltronics for help on this subject you tend to get the answer “it can be done but it is fiddley, unsecure and unstable (given Microsoft’s propensity to change things)”. They are right but it is working and it is secure. I do want to say that I am not a networking expert or pro.

    SportyBob had been experimenting with a NAS solution with some success but he has told me that the latest NAS he tried did not connect to DOS. I hear that he has a USB solution now that is quite nice so some of you may want to look into that.

    I have an old laptop that is running Windows 10. I decided to see if I could get it to connect directly to DOS. At first it was looking hopeless because the error codes do not tell you much. I just kept changing settings and eventually it connected. It tells me it did not connect, but it actually did.

    The laptop configuration is a j7 create USB to Ethernet adapter plugged into the windows 10 laptop. Then a crossover Ethernet cable connects it directly to my NIC on my MILL’s SBC. That is it, no switch and no router, though they probably would work in place of the crossover cable. I realize that the USB NIC is not probably needed as the laptop has a built in NIC. I wanted this configuration to stay with the USB adapter.

    This configuration is two completely independent networks that both come together in this windows 10 laptop where both networks can access the same shared folder on the C: drive. The Wi-Fi on the laptop is connecting to the shop network of the Windows 10 machines and it is set as a private network!!! This makes it usable and still secure. The USB NIC connects to the mill as an unidentified network, and so automatically defines it as a public network, you can’t even change it to private. But that is kind of the magic. Windows will let you turn off the firewall on the public network and leave the firewall enabled on the private Wi-Fi network. Amazing, that it works out that way because you need the firewall to the internet but you can’t have it going to the mill.

    When networking windows 10 to DOS you have to drop the firewall. But it is not a security threat when things are connected this way. I am surprised that this actually works because there is so little information out there on what Windows 10 is going to do with two separate networks connected to it at the same time. If any of you find more detailed information on this aspect of Windows please share it here.

    If anybody wants the rest of the network configuration settings I will post them here. All of this is based on windows 10 version 1803 which is after the removal of homegroups.

    Cheers
    SF

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Screen captures of the status dialog boxes
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails network and interenet status.jpg   change adapter options4.jpg   change adapter options5.jpg   change adapter options6.jpg  


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Share a folder with permissions to everyone. My folder is on the root and it is named share.


    Attachment 398058

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    set the options for the adapter that is connecting to DOS


    Attachment 398062


    Attachment 398064


    Attachment 398066



    on the mill DOS networking use IP address 192.168.10.2

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    set the sharing options for both the public and private networks


    Attachment 398068


    Attachment 398070


    Attachment 398072

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    firewall settings for public and private networks

    Attachment 398074

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    conclusions and lingering issues

    I would say this is stable enough for a home shop. The network does eventually timeout at the mill but you only have to select the menu/drive again and it wakes just fine. I only use the run command that loads the entire program instantly into the controls RAM so the timeout has no effect on execution of the g-code. I do not know if it will timeout in DNC. Maybe somebody will have a fix for this timeout. The other problem is the error in running the autoexec bat file where you have to answer yes to two questions. See attachment.

    Attachment 398076


    https://youtu.be/Ix_cvqfT540


    I suspect that it just needs more time and if I were to put in a couple wait commands in the autoexec file it would get through it. I do not remember the wait command for DOS. I think I answered the two yes questions too quickly a few times and it never did connect to the laptop drive. I just reboot the mill and it almost always works the second time.

    The laptop complains about the firewall being off once after you boot into windows.

    If somebody else tries this, please post your results here too.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    someone needs to post all the DOS network setup wizard screens to add to his thread

    but I remember that you have to take out the netbeui and put in the tcpip protocol and call out the name of the shared directory and give it a drive letter like F:

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Posts
    72

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    as a nerd with a bunch of machines running many different operating systems, I will add that my sbc cent 5 can see and access without issue a Linux samba share hosted on an Ubuntu server, and on a raspberry pi. I didnt bother trying to get any of the modern windows machines to communicate with it, I just use the Raspberry Pi that controls my 3d printer as a NAS device. This works easily with my setup because I dont store anything on my workstations, it is all saved on one server that then distributes copies to a few others onsite and off so Im already accustomed to saving things to a network location (Read that as ridiculously paranoid of loosing data)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    130
    Quote Originally Posted by ImTippmann View Post
    as a nerd with a bunch of machines running many different operating systems, I will add that my sbc cent 5 can see and access without issue a Linux samba share hosted on an Ubuntu server
    I had a similar thing about using a Pi. Hardwire Ethernet to the milltronics and use wifi to talk to the Windows machine.

    Small script monitors a directory for changes and pushes updates to the control.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Quote Originally Posted by single phase View Post
    someone needs to post all the DOS network setup wizard screens to add to his thread

    but I remember that you have to take out the netbeui and put in the tcpip protocol and call out the name of the shared directory and give it a drive letter like F:
    That would be: NET USE <DRIVE LETTER> <NETWORK SHARE> /user <LOGIN NAME ON SHARE COMPUTER>

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    I am setting this up right now. It worked for 12 years on Netbeui and another 3 or so years with TCP/IP connected to a win 10 system, then one day in April it quit.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Quote Originally Posted by ab.machineshop View Post
    I am setting this up right now. It worked for 12 years on Netbeui and another 3 or so years with TCP/IP connected to a win 10 system, then one day in April it quit.
    let us know how it goes

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    All is working again, in Win 7 Ultimate using TCP/IP.

    The mill saw my Win 7 machine when I ran the net.exe program, it didn't see the Win 10 system.
    I have a drive mapped to the Win 7 system that the mill can read from and my CAM system writes to the same.

    Simply, follow the guide from Milltronics and relax the network group policies on the Win 7 system

    On the Win 7 system I ended up deleting the login for the mill and recreating it which got rid of the error 86 I was getting.
    I also deleted the .pwl files in the \NET directory on the mill
    Be sure to add your Win 7 system to the LMHOSTS and HOSTS files on the machine.

    I was trying off and on between jobs so that's why the long delay between posts.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    39

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Quote Originally Posted by yugami View Post
    I had a similar thing about using a Pi. Hardwire Ethernet to the milltronics and use wifi to talk to the Windows machine.

    Small script monitors a directory for changes and pushes updates to the control.
    This I’m interested in. I just started getting into 3d printing and looking into Raspberry Pi and Octoprint to send files and control the printer. Then I thought hey, I wonder if Pi could hook up to my mill and let me pull programs off my computer through WiFi?
    Running inside, connecting the usb floppy drive to the laptop, copying the file to floppy, then running outside to copy the floppy to the control is getting kinda old.

  16. #16

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Yugami- Could you give some more info on how you set it up on the pi? I'd love to be able to get that running, but I'm not great when it comes to command line stuff in DOS and Linux. I have Pis running my 3d printers and a kiosk at each of my machines already though, so if they can do double duty to network the milltronics it would be amazing.

    Thanks!
    Nick

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    130
    Quote Originally Posted by npolanosky View Post
    Yugami- Could you give some more info on how you set it up on the pi? I'd love to be able to get that running, but I'm not great when it comes to command line stuff in DOS and Linux. I have Pis running my 3d printers and a kiosk at each of my machines already though, so if they can do double duty to network the milltronics it would be amazing.

    Thanks!
    Nick
    i stopped using it more problem than not

  18. #18

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    Fair enough. I'm working on getting it either running over serial or networked to a win10 pc per this post, also picked up a USB to floppy adapter. Gotta get files to this thing somehow. So far no luck with any of them. It looks like the RS232 cable inside the machine was modified so I have no idea what pinout to actually use (Tried the one published somewhere on this site, as well as the one that works for my HAAS and Fanuc machines), and the machine is looking for an E:/ drive when I tell it to read from disk- I thought floppies were pretty much always A:/ or B:/ ? It doesn't see any of the files I have on my flash drive. Going to dive in further, but need to get a real keyboard so I can actually navigate properly in DOS.

    To be continued when I don't have ridiculous deadlines. Gotta keep the other machines running. I might just hand-code some stuff at this rate so the milltronics can bore locating pin holes for my carvesmart jaws or do something useful.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    130

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    I just push over RS232 currently -- I bought these two things from amazon and use my laptop and the program EdytorNC (free software)

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    The 15 foot and 3 foot respectively. Run under the machine I can hook up about 6 feet away from the door away from the coolant spray.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    370

    Re: Networking Windows 10 to DOS 6.22 on the Milltronics Centurion 6 SBC

    I just wanted to update everybody on my ethernet connection to my mill using a Windows 10 laptop with a built in ethernet NIC and WiFi.

    It still works most of the time. I have stopped using the USB NIC. I now plug the crossover ethernet cable from the mill directly into the NIC that is built into my laptop. It works exactly the same except in the configuration screens above you of course would be selecting the built in NIC.

    To reiterate, there are two network connections active on the laptop at the same time. Both can see the same shared folder on the laptop C: drive. The Wi-Fi on the laptop is connecting to the house WiFi so it can see all the other computers and access the internet, it is set as a normal local private network with a firewall. For the other network the laptop NIC connects with an ethernet wire to only the mill. It is listed in Windows configuration as an unidentified public network.. Windows will let you turn off the firewall on the public ethernet network while still leaving the firewall enabled on the private Wi-Fi network. The network to the mill is without a firewall and that is why it works.

    This configuration connects to the mill most of the time but you do have to deal with the DOS batch file prompt, selecting reconnect with a yes when you first turn the mill on. I find I have to wait 5 seconds or more before answering the prompt. One other minor issue is that after a period of time of inactivity, the network to the mill will time-out and you will have to reslect Menu >> Drive >> F: , fortunately it will wake and be immediately ready for you to use again with the Run, Prog or Verf command. Example: Run >> Menu >> scroll up and down >> select NC file by pressing Enter and you get a file listing right on the mill that is of the files that are in the shared folder on the laptop,


    Chees

    SF

Page 1 of 2 12

Similar Threads

  1. Milltronics Centurion 6 CNC Control
    By aaautoglaze in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-07-2017, 04:03 PM
  2. Milltronics Centurion IV DNC?
    By papp101 in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 01-04-2014, 03:57 AM
  3. Milltronics centurion V program?
    By dj_pigs in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 03-10-2011, 03:01 PM
  4. Networking Centurion 7
    By Jaxmachine in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-07-2008, 05:01 PM
  5. Milltronics Centurion Six
    By CUTRITE in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 10-13-2006, 07:48 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •