I am using a CNC wood router table and I am trying to set up soft limits using MACH 3. I do not have limit switches on any of my axes so I would like to be able to set them up to protect my machine. I'm not sure if this is possible.
Questions:
1. If I take the time to set up soft limits via the machine coordinates, will the program (g-code) ignore the soft limits anyway?
2. Does a program respond to limit switches?
3. How do I "zero" the machine coordinates?
4. What is the exact purpose of soft limits?
I have been setting up my material and "zero"-ing my axes to the program coordinates/offsets. I haven't paid any attention to the machine coordinates and, while this works, it has caused me to nearly damage my machine a few times. I've watched a couple of videos and it seems that most everyone who uses soft limits also has limit switches, but this seems to be a little redundant to me.
Thanks!