For EDM machines, it is difficult to predict when the machine will finish, and regularly requires human intervention during machining. For example, when during wire-edm cutting a piece of material is cut free and falls into the cut and blocks the wire, the machine will know this has happened and stop, waiting for the operator to remove the blockage.
For such events, it is very usefull if operators can receive notifications, since EDM machines typically run long and unattended. When using the Dynomotion CNC control solution, there is no function to send emails to operators for machine events. BaxEDM has made a small program (Windows only) that runs in the background and can send emails to operators on a cue from Dynomotion CNC.
This cue is realised by KMotion c-code by writing an empty file to disk, with a specific filename and to a specific location. This is an existing function and can be done by adding 2 lines of code to the part of the custom C-code that needs to trigger the notification:
FILE *f=fopen("C:\\temp\\semaphore_2.txt","wt");
fclose(f);The number in the filename, will trigger a unique message, which is specified in the “baxmailsender.ini” and can be changed. The same holds for path to which file needs to be written. The “baxmailsender.ini” also requires input for the email address of the sender and reciever and mail server details.
The process works as follows:
1) The machine running KMotion is started
2) The “baxmailsender.exe” executable is started an allowed to run in the background. The “baxmailsender.ini” must be on the same path as the executable.
3) An event that requires notification happens
4) KMotion C-code writes an empty file to disk, with a specific filename, depending on the required message e.g. “semaphore_2.txt”
5) The “baxmailsender.exe” detects the file, immediately deletes it, and sends an email with a title as requested by the message number in the filename. This can be configured in the ini file
Download the application and the configuration files here: DOWNLOAD