Starting CNC without Last program Run Default

[TheKitMill]

I am trying to find a way to start the CNC without defaulting to last program run. I would like to start the Acorn CNC, Home the machine then load the program I wish to run set tool and work offsets and then run the program.

Right now I get a message to Hit reset then Cycle start to run the program. Which for an inexperienced operator could lead to a crash Any direction on how to correct this would be appreciated.

[Gary Campbell]

When I first started that "feature" irritated me also. I opened the editor and named a blank file "NONE.cnc" I load that when I wish to make sure that pressing cycle start will not restart the previous job

[cnckeith]

I'm still a little confused by this ...can you guys explain this little bit better.. I'm not sure what the problem is?

Upon boot up the control remembers the last G-Code job ran for operator convenience and if you want to run another job you simply hit F2 Load and load up another job and run that one. There's no extra keystrokes.

You can do exactly what is described in your post right now.

". I would like to start the Acorn CNC, Home the machine then load the program I wish to run set tool and work offsets and then run the program."

What am I missing here?

[Dave_C]

What am I missing here?

Uh, just bad habits from the good ole Mach 3 days!

My old Mach3 booted up with no program loaded and so I got in the habit of "doing stuff" with no G-code loaded. It was just as much a pain when I really wanted to run the part the next day as I had to load the same program again.

So I just had to change my habits a bit.

Acorn rules! Mach 3 RIP

Dave C.

[Gary Campbell]

Keith...
You are missing that inexperienced (to Centroid) users will press the cycle start button which rapids the machine into some position. None of the PC based controllers that I have experience with will have the previously loaded, ready to run. Takes some getting used to.

Other PC based controllers will have an "Auto repeat" or "Autorun" feature that can be toggled on, but for the most part it is seldom used other than by a few job shops.

[cnckeith]

Thanks for the explanation.
I'm creating a new tab in the Wizard called "Preferences" .. this new menu will contain a bunch of items of a similar nature that allow the user to configure the CNC12 software to certain default settings to their preference. . I will add the ability for the user to select whether or not they would like the last G-Code program that they were using to Stay Loaded or not during a power on and off cycle.

If a user selects to not load the last job... And the user presses cycle start... there will be no job to run...so I guess we'll could put out an error message ...or maybe better I can create a default load g code file that's got some comments in it that doesn't do anything besides display a message saying " hey go load the file you want to run"...?

[DICKEYBIRD]

Thank you Keith. That will be great.

All hail Keith the Great!

[Gary Campbell]

"If a user selects to not load the last job... And the user presses cycle start... there will be no job to run...so I guess we'll could put out an error message ...or maybe better I can create a default load g code file that's got some comments in it that doesn't do anything besides display a message saying " hey go load the file you want to run"...?"


This must be what you have seen your whole life. A cycle start button with no loaded file would require a warning about as much as the [ENTER] key on a keyboard with no sentence typed. If there is a file loaded, it runs, if not, it runs just like my blank "NONE.cnc" file. I would be exactly like most of the converts from other controls are used to.

[martyscncgarage]

I had this conversation with Keith awhile back.
It's not a big issue to have the last part run loaded. He wanted users something to start with and many shops just simply run the job again the next day or load another part. But for new DIY users, it can be confusing and if they just Willy nilly press cycle start a couple times, it may run the program unexpectedly.

I think Keith is suggesting there may be more flexibility in the future Wizard to allow the user to chose whether the software loads the last part run or not to load any part. (Keith, correct me if I'm wrong) But it will have to be coded into the Wizard.

[deanq]

This is just my opinion; If the CNC12 manual is ever released, and covers how everything is supposed to work, all of these issues will go away.
The current CNC11 manual, while it has most information available, is VERY non-user friendly. It's hard to even find where a particular chapter starts when looking at it on the computer.
My work around is old fashioned, I printed it out and use divider tabs. Kinda hard to do word searches, but it works.