KinetiC-NC
User Manual
CNC-STEP GmbH & Co. KG ▪ Siemensstrasse 13-15 ▪ 47608 Geldern ▪ Germany
Page 15
Support: +49 (0)2831/91021-50
10.11.2018
Desktop PC or laptop?
As a control computer, if possible, a desktop PC or similar device (industrial, panel or box PC)
should be used and no laptop or similar portable, battery-powered device. Although laptops tend to
have decent processing power these days, they are designed for low power consumption.
Unexpectedly switching to energy-saving mode may result in sudden program delays. It requires a
good knowledge of the operating system to disable all energy-saving options, and to make a
portable device operational for CNC operation.
Virus Scanner
Another problem can be virus scanners or automatic updates, which are started automatically at a
certain time, and cause sudden network load or changes to the operating system. While surfing the
Internet or transferring files on the corporate network itself does not interfere with CNC operation,
the background actions of an anti-virus program that it causes can cause problems. It is therefore
recommended to disable problematic programs such as virus scanners, expensive screen savers and
the like, and to refrain from surfing the Internet while the CNC machine is running.
No step losses
Nevertheless, if an unexpected delay should occur, this will not be a problem for the KinetiC-NC
controller. While with other programs such as Mach3 even a delay of a few microseconds can have
fatal consequences (step losses, possible collisions), the machine with the KinetiC-NC simply stops
briefly (with the correct braking ramp, of course) and drives normally once the problem has been
resolved. This is usually harmless but can still lead to unwanted effects in certain cases (chatter
marks in case of metal or burns in woodworking or plasma cutting).