On Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:59:15 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Awl --

So, now that Le Fadal is bustid with spindle pro'lengs, I got time to 1.
clean up, and 2. consider some mods.

The Fadal tech taking care of NJ, PA, and a bit of NY was surprised when I
axed about RS232, his response was, Why go for 10 year old technology, when
flash drives work so well, AND, he sez, can DNC!!! At least the one from
CalMotion.com does. http://www.calmotion.com/products.html
Not sure which product is which, but I'll find out when I call.

Supposedly they make a portable version (wireless?? not sure), so that I
can use one for both the Fadal and Haas, when it comes in.

Any opinions on the "obsolete-ness" of RS232 vs flash drives?
Previous threads on this indicated to me that RS232 was the better way to
go, so mebbe y'all can remind me why this is -- esp in light of the tech's
claim that these calmotion flash drive units (which replace the 3.5" floppy)
dnc as well
. This tech sez lots of his customers have the calmotion unit, and luvit
luvit.
Which, btw, he does not sell, so there would appear to be no bias, vested
interest.
I have RS232 communication with my Fadal and the other CNC machines in
my shop. Cons: I have to switch between cables with a selector switch,
I had to run cables to each machine. Pros: the cable was cheap. I can
make up new cables easily and cheaply for new machines. The cable is
cheap. Did I mention that the cable was cheap? Oh, and I can drip feed
the machines through the cables if needed, but I have never needed to.
Eric