OVERVIEW

A completed CNC program, debugged and optimized for best performance, should be stored for future use or reference. Before such a program can be stored, it must be first loaded into the CNC memory, tested and optimized. There are many ways of loading a completed part program into the CNC memory. The most basic, and also the most time consuming, method is to simply key-in the program at the machine directly, using the control panel and keyboard. Without a doubt, this is also very inefficient method, prone to errors. It is true, that Fanuc controls offer a feature called Background Edit. This is a standard feature on most controls that allows the CNC operator to key-in (and/or edit) one program, while the control runs the machining operations for another program. In practice, however, many operators simply don't take advantage of this feature for various reasons.

In order to load a part program into the CNC memory or unload a program from the CNC memory, a hardware connection called a data interface is needed. An interface is usually an electronic device that is designed to communicate with the computer of the CNC unit.

Typical interfaces and storage media are:

• Tape reader and tape puncher (obsolete)

• Data cassettes (obsolete)

• Data cards (obsolete)

• Bubble cassettes (obsolete)

• Floppy disks (obsolete but still around)

• Hard (fixed) disks

• Removable devices (flash and USB storage)

• ROM (read-only-memory) devices

• and others

Many of these devices are proprietary, many require not only special...