CNC transfer
What is drip feeding, and when does a CNC machine need it?
Updated
Direct answer
Drip feeding—also called spoon feeding or buffered input—streams NC code one block at a time while the control executes it, so the full program never has to fit in CNC memory. Use it only when a program is larger than the control can store, such as long 3D or 5-axis surfacing toolpaths on a memory-limited control. If the file loads and runs as a complete transfer, leave drip feeding off; otherwise an unnecessary live connection creates another failure point.
Practical checkpoint
In DNC-Max Transmit Settings, confirm the line delay, handshake timeout, Wait for XOn behavior, and start/end triggers for that control. Then run a full safe test part at reduced feed rate and verify the stream does not stall before using it in production.