How Do I Put the Program from a USB Into Memory on a Haas?

Most flash drives have a larger storage capacity than the CNC.

Haas designed their CNC (computer numerical control) machines with the ability to transfer program files from a USB drive to the control. This feature makes it convenient to move files between different machines or copy from a computer.

Things You'll Need

• USB flash drive
• Haas CNC machine with USB port
• Program text file

Instructions

1. Check if the program text is properly formatted. The program can be edited with simple text editors such as Notepad. The beginning of the file must have a "%" symbol followed by a program number starting with the letter "O," followed by five numbers. For example: O55555. The end of the text must be marked by a "%" symbol.

2. Save the file to the USB drive with an ".nc" or ".txt" file extension. A ".txt" extension is readable by the CNC and by any other computer; an ".nc" extension is only eadable by other CNCs.

3. Insert the USB drive into the port on the CNC machine. Press the "List Prog" key on the control panel. This will display the device manager on the screen. The USB drive appears in a row of tabs across the top of the screen. Use the left/right arrows on the keypad to highlight the tab labeled "USB." Press "Write/Enter" to display the contents of the USB drive.

4. Use the up/down arrows on the keypad to highlight the program you want to copy. When it is highlighted on the screen, press "Write/Enter" to select it. A check mark appears to mark the file as selected. Multiple files may be selected simultaneously.

5. Use the up arrow on the keypad to go back up to the tabs. Highlight the tab labeled "Memory" and press "Write/Enter." The contents of the machine memory are displayed. Press "F2" to copy the selected file into the memory. The file name will then appear in the list. You can now activate and run it.

Tips & Warnings

• To access on-screen help, press the "Help/Calc" button on the control panel.

• The "Cancel" key will back up one step in the tab navigation menu.

• The control will display an alarm if corrupted data exists in the file. The corrupted data will still be uploaded, but will be converted by the CNC and enclosed in parentheses in the text.

• The CNC will hold a maximum of 500 programs at once. An alarm will be generated showing "DIR FULL" if it is full.

• Files can be transferred from the memory to the USB drive by following steps 3 to 5 in reverse order.

• Always look at the program file after uploading to verify that the correct data was transferred.

• Always verify a new program before operating the machine unattended.

References

• Haas Automation, Inc.: Mill Operator Manual
• Haas Automation, Inc.: CNC Magazine

Resources

• Haas Automation, Inc.: Operator Manual Updates