Two newbie questions ~ I'm sure they are easy

[eagle55]

Question #1

Just wondering. Does the thumb drive (little wood looking 8mb one) come with the machine or was that an option I missed or declined?  I have plenty but was just wondering.  My machine set in the corner for a couple of years and I'm not sure if I had it and have lost it (which I doubt) or if I didn't buy one because I had tons of thumb drives.

Question #2

Can you hot swap the thumb drive once the machine is on?  I had my thumb drive loaded but didn't put it in the controller until after the machine was turned on.  Wasn't able to get the controller to recognize it when I went to load the file.  I finally got frustrated and turned the machine off, plugged the thumb drive in and the controller found it this time and all went smooth.  I couldn't find reference cautioning to plug the drive in before turning power on.  Sometimes I would like to take a thumb drive back to the computer and add a file to it and would rather not shut down the machine just so I could.... or plug another drive in that I had been working on while the machine is running a job. (ie the next job)

[grossmsj]

I didn't get a thumb drive with my machine in January 2022.

You can move a thumb drive while the machine is powered up. Certainly, you shouldn't do it while the machine is running a program from the drive itself.
The requirements for the thumb drive are fairly specific. You can find them by searching the Forum. Basically it should be a relatively small capacity drive formatted a certain way. If I recall correctly, swapping between two different thumb drives didn't go smoothly. Find one that works and use the same drive all the time.

[eagle55]

I guess I never did have one then. Knowing me I was too cheap to buy one with the machine (if it was optional) because I have a ton of them laying around all the time. Although I had a tough time finding one that small, but I did find three or four that were 8gb and were Fat formatted.

I went back after I posted that query and tried it again. I think I may not have allowed enough time for it to recognize the drive before I tried to load a toolpath. It seemed to work ok that time. I like to have at least two so I can be working on another task while that one is running and then just put the next drive in and take the first one back to the computer and work on another task. Would be nice to have all my design work done the night before and ready to run, but never seem to get to that point.

Thanks for the reply. I've only run the bed leveling tool path and one other easy carve but think I am going to make the transition from my Shark HD just fine. Getting over my being terrified faster than I thought I would.

[zaxis4]

Hello eagle55, I purchased 2 of those drives when I got my machine. There is nothing special about them. They seem like an advertising object more than anything. a regular drive is easier to use because they don't have the string on them. I hot swap the drive all the time. Just make sure that your tool path is finished...should be no problem. Also make sure that you eject the thumb drive on your computer properly. Sometimes that can corrupt what is on the drive. Enjoy your machine. You have a good one.