Used CNC lathe programs

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Many machine shops that do a lot of turning of different types of parts that do repeat over time may have hundreds if not thousands of various part programs that have worked very well in their used cnc lathes. It is imperative that these programs all be saved in computers off of the cnc lathe itself. Additionally backups of these programs need to be maintained off line for safety. The big issue comes in when newer models of the cnc lathes from the same manufacturer sometimes update their programming code and suddenly all of the programs from your used cnc lathe will not work in the new machine. Thus while progress is welcomed everywhere including the machine building industry, it sometimes becomes an issue for small machine shops that have thousands of part machining programs in used cnc lathes that will not function in the newer models. This used to be a serious problem in the olden days.

Manufacturers however have come up with a solution. That is they have started making cnc lathe controls that are downwardly compatible. In other words machining programs written in the newer cnc lathes will not function in the used cnc lathes but programs written in the used cnc lathes will function properly in the newer machines. There is however, still a cut off point where the downward compatibility of machining programs stops. Thus if you have a thirty year used Mazak cnc lathe, and you just purchased a 640 fusion control two axis cnc lathe, you may have a problem running the thirty year used program in the new machine. At the same time programs written on a ten year used Mazak QT-6T with a mazatrol t-plus control will continue to work in the new 640 fusion control machine.

It is the trade off that needs to be made between progress and comfort. By the same token, we have had similar problems between eight tracks and audio cassettes and five inch floppy discs and compact discs, vinyl records and Cds. That is progress, isn’t it or is it?