i've seen CNC machines still used in factories that require floppy disks to transfer programs or restore backups. the past (tech) is never really past.
This was the WORST. Lubricant mist, swarf (metal chips), and all sorts of foreign materials would always find their way into the floppies, fuck up the floppies, destroy CNC programs, and periodically take out the drives on the CNC machines as well. Most of these machines also do RS-232, and if you hook them up to WiFi/Ethernet RS-232 adapters, that is the way to go. Most newer machines have Ethernet (thank god), but even still, many don't.
But I've seen some machines in production which didn't even use floppies. Some old Mazak lathes from the 80s which used cassette tapes which are no longer manufactured. Those had to be retrofitted. Bet it wasn't cheap.
i've seen CNC machines still used in factories that require floppy disks to transfer programs or restore backups. the past (tech) is never really past.
This was the WORST. Lubricant mist, swarf (metal chips), and all sorts of foreign materials would always find their way into the floppies, fuck up the floppies, destroy CNC programs, and periodically take out the drives on the CNC machines as well. Most of these machines also do RS-232, and if you hook them up to WiFi/Ethernet RS-232 adapters, that is the way to go. Most newer machines have Ethernet (thank god), but even still, many don't.
But I've seen some machines in production which didn't even use floppies. Some old Mazak lathes from the 80s which used cassette tapes which are no longer manufactured. Those had to be retrofitted. Bet it wasn't cheap.