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Sampo: cloud DNC software for CNC program transfer. In development

The problem

Most shops still handle CNC file transfer the hard way:

  • a USB stick walked out to the machine
  • a laptop with a serial cable
  • a shared folder that everyone writes to

Every serial program transfer is a manual errand and nobody can reliably say which revision is actually loaded on the machine.

How it works

Sampo is DNC software run from the cloud. Upload a program once; send it to any machine from the browser.

A small agent sits beside the control and handles the RS232 program transfer: whole files, or drip feed for programs too large for the control's memory. The machine itself needs no network card and no control upgrade.

What works today

Upload, send, and track

Upload a program in the browser, send it to any enrolled machine, and watch the transfer run to done, with a stop button while it is in flight. Every upload is a new immutable revision; nothing is ever overwritten.

Revision history, rollback, and diff

Roll back to any prior revision (recorded as a new revision, so history never rewrites) and compare any two revisions as a line diff.

Save from machine

Capture a program off the control over the same cable, straight into the program’s revision history.

Work instructions at the machine

Upload PDFs or Office documents (converted automatically), or write them in the portal’s built-in editor. Operators read them on the shop-floor terminal, which adds zoom, an offline cache, and a reload banner the moment a newer revision lands.

Send over RS232 or FTP

Push over RS232, or let a control with an FTP client pull the current revision from a read-only server the agent runs beside the machine.

Shop administration

From the portal:

  • one-line agent install
  • machine enrollment with single-use tokens
  • serial settings per machine
  • user roles and an audit trail of who did what

Ask your AI about the shop floor

Sampo is an MCP server.

Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or any other MCP client, to your own Sampo portal. You can ask it questions in plain language like:

  • Which revision is on the Haas VM-2?
  • What changed between the last two revisions of the roughing program?

No copy and pasting between the portal and your assistant required.

Secure

The connection is encrypted end to end over TLS, the same as the portal itself. Each client connects as a specific user and inherits exactly that user's permissions. If a user cannot see a program or a machine in the portal, their AI cannot see it either, and every action it takes is logged in the audit trail under their name.

Safe defaults

By default, your AI can only read:

  • the program library: revisions, G-code, line diffs
  • transfer jobs and machine status
  • work instructions

If you enable more actions, your AI can also:

  • upload new program revisions
  • send a program to a machine
  • cancel a transfer in flight
  • roll back to a prior revision
  • configure serial and FTP settings
  • enroll new machines
  • review the audit trail

Status

Still in development, targeting a release in early 2027. The full flow runs end to end today, over both RS232 and FTP. You can:

  • enroll a machine
  • upload, send, and roll back
  • receive from the machine
  • read work instructions at the terminal

We're actively developing integrations with ERP systems like Epicor Kinetic.

If transferring programs is a daily pain point for your shop, let us help you

FAQ

What is DNC software?

DNC (Distributed Numerical Control) software moves CNC part programs between a central computer and shop-floor machine controls, most often over an RS232 serial connection, and drip-feeds programs too large to fit in a control's memory. It replaced walking floppy disks and punched tape out to each machine by hand. Shops still rely on DNC because many CNC controls — older Fanuc, Okuma, and Mazak units especially — have no Ethernet port at all; RS232 is the only way in. Sampo is DNC software run from the cloud: upload a program once in the browser, then send it to any enrolled machine. A small agent beside each control holds an outbound-only connection to the cloud and handles the RS232 transfer, so the machine needs no network card, no control upgrade, and the shop firewall sees nothing but ordinary outbound traffic.

How do I send a program to a CNC machine over RS232?

With Sampo, upload the program once and send it from the browser. A small agent beside the control holds an outbound connection to the cloud and delivers the program over RS232. The machine needs no network card and no control upgrade, and the shop firewall only ever sees ordinary outbound traffic.

Can CNC controls with no network connection receive programs?

Yes. Older controls with no network stack are exactly what Sampo is built for. The serial port is the only way in, and the agent beside the control handles the serial program transfer.

How do I know which program revision is loaded on a machine?

Sampo logs every transfer, so the question of what is running on that machine has an answer.

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