Hello all!
I am new to the site and also new to CNC controllers, DNC and everything around it. I have spent an entire weekend educating myself and trying to wrap my head around the whole thing out of necessity (emergency at work).
I think I finally have a good grasp on what I'm doing. We use a Fanuc 6M controller for an Amada Coma 567 turret punch.
I know that parameter 340 and 341 determine the I/O device to be used. In my case 340 and 341 are set to 3 which would use I/O device #3 (RS232) with settings controlled by parameter 312 . Not sure why device #2 / parameter 311 is so often recommended, they seem identical in the maintenance manual. My 312 parameter is set as follows:
[0][0][1][1] [1001]
Which I determined would mean (left to right):
No tape feed
N/A (unused bit)
Control codes not used
Stop bit = 2
Baud rate = 4800
The only thing I don't understand is the whole Xon/Xoff DC1/DC3 control codes. Third bit from the left dictates what happens in that regard. From what I read, I think DC1/DC3 is Xon/Xoff and is used when transfering from PC to Fanuc (Tx) and DC2/DC4 is used when receiving from Fanuc to PC (Rx). Is that right? If so, how are they used? I thought it would mean that when the controller is ready to receive the program it sends a Xon signal (DC1) and when the PC is done sending the program, it sends a Xoff signal (DC3) but I might be completely wrong.
Obviously from my 312 parameter, control codes are off which would mean the Xon/Xoff handshake is not used. However, I am still able to transfer programs via DNC software (although I have to send it twice for it to work). Is it vital to use the Xon/Xoff handshake? These parameters have been used and unchanged on our machine for over 10 years without issue. I have only started getting this issue where I need to send twice for it to work after I had to change the hard drive in the PC that's used for DNC. I would rather not need to flip the parameter write switch on and flip that bit to 0 if I don't have to.
Does anyone have any insight on the behavior of control codes and how necessary they are?
Also, does anyone have a Fanuc 6M maintenance manual in PDF or for sale? I have been using a 6T manual which is pretty much identical when it comes to DNC parameters but I would like to have a 6M if I ever run into more problems in the future.
Thank you very much for reading and I am looking forward to hearing from you guys.