CNC file download program for machines

The CNC file loader is a Windows application. It is installed on a computer in the workshop: the program itself pulls the files of confirmed orders from the iFurn.pro server and lays them out into the folders the machines read programs from. «Download the archive, unpack it, carry it over on a flash drive» is no longer needed.

This is the overview article of the subsection. Here is what the program does and where to start; the details are in separate articles, listed below.

What the program does

• Every few minutes (three at the minimum) it asks the server whether new orders and updates to already downloaded ones have appeared.
• Downloads the order archive and lays it out into folders: cutting maps, CNC programs per part and per cutting map, labels, drawings, files for Felder / Otto Mayer sawing centres.
• Converts the graphics into what the machines read: cutting maps into EMF, labels into PDF, and for .may files into BMP.
• Copies the finished files into the machine folders by the rules you set yourself.
• Removes from the disk the files of orders that were cancelled or rebuilt on the server.
• Shows a card for every order: contents, status, events, links to the order form and to viewing the order in 3D.

What is needed to make it work

1. Download the program archive in the admin panel — How to download the program.
2. Check the computer and the access rights — What to prepare before installation.
3. Start it and make sure there is a connection to the server — First start and connection check.
4. Set the routes to the machines — Route rules.

Sections of the manual

Installation and connection

• How to download the program — where the button is in the admin panel and what is inside the archive.
• What to prepare before installation — computer, rights, internet access, folders.
• First start and connection check — key, address, the first polling round.
• The «Settings» tab — key, address, orders folder, interval, language.
• Where the program files are kept — settings, database, logs.
• Autostart when Windows starts — shortcut, task scheduler, running as a service.

The main window

• Window overview — header, tabs in a column on the left, status bar.
• The «Home» tab — start, counters, progress.
• The «Orders» tab — search, filters, actions on an order.
• The order card — contents, events, QR codes, 3D, files on the disk.
• The log and the «Issues» tab — where to look at what went wrong.

Order files and conversion

• What arrives in an order — the layout into folders on the disk.
• CNC post-processors — which machine gets which format.
• Cutting maps: SVG turns into EMF.
• Labels: PDF for printing and BMP for sawing centres.
• The «Conversion» tab — modes, parallel work, speed.

Routes to machine folders

• How the program copies files to the machines.
• Route rules — the line format and the two modes.
• Route examples — typical workshop layouts.
• The «Folder comparison» window — what got there and what did not.

Maintenance and troubleshooting

• How many orders to keep and how to clean the disk.
• Delete an order and download it again.
• Full reset and moving to another computer.
• Updating the program.
• «The program is already running» — how the ban on a second instance works.
• Common errors and what to do.

What is important to remember

• The program does not replace itself: it shows that a new version is out, but you install the new archive by hand.
• Only one instance works on one computer at a time — either the window or the service, but not both.
• Route rules are picked up on the next polling round, there is no need to restart the program.
• If a machine folder is unavailable, the program does not stop: it skips that rule, writes to the log and moves on.
• Until an order is confirmed and its files are generated, the program has nothing to download — check the order status on the server first.

Related articles

• Machine programs — which files the server builds for production.
• MPR files — the program format for Homag routers.
• Post-processors and CNC formats — the form in which the server hands over files for the machines.
• My machines: parameters, tools and post-processor — what is configured in your firm's admin panel.
• Exchange with BAS / 1C — a separate section about the «Products», «Services», «Managers and points of sale», «Customers» and «Queue» tabs in this same window.

If you also have an exchange with an accounting system

The same program works as a bridge between BAS / 1C and the server: the add-in in the accounting system talks only to it, and it is the program that goes out to the internet. Hence a simple consequence — while the program is switched off, the exchange with the accounting system does not work. It is worth starting with the exchange overview, then down to business:

• Connection: address, port, token — the token is issued in the program itself, on the «Products» tab.
• Matching the item list and services — where a new firm starts.
• The program queue — why «recorded» sometimes means «waiting to be sent».
• The protocol and the «Result» field — where to look for exchange errors.