It does reverse but in the final analysis, we need to add the mirror code for all 3 axis. Maybe our whole machine is just set up backwards but it never use to do this kind of thing.

Hi,
the most likely explanation is that your original machine/controller had one axis reversed by comparison to the industrial standard, and you became used to it.
I did the same many years ago with Mach3 and a parallel port. It was not until I started using CAM (MasterCAM in particular) did I discover that I had one axis back to front
relative to the standard. I changed my machine. It did mean that some of the Gcode that had previously worked no longer did, at least without manipulation, but it meant that
any standard Gcode would work on my machine.

Use the little diagram I posted earlier to determine the 'right hand' directions and stick with it.

That may mean that you have to prepend a single line of code to your existing Gcode files, namely a g51 line to have them work with your new control combination.
Another alternative is to use a Lua program the re-write your Gcode files by reversing the sign of all the Y coordinates. That starts to look complex if you have g3 and/or
g4 moves in your files. Do you?


If you need to change the direction of an axis use the ESS Pin Config tab to do so.

Craig

So this set up is wrong? See attached.

Hi,

So this set up is wrong? See attached.

By my reckoning what you have nominated as  -Y should be +Y.

Craig

Forgive me but I just don't understand your diagrams. When I move the spindle out away from home, the Digital Read Out in Mach 4 counts into the minus numbers for x an y. You're saying it should be positive? Is our "Home" in the typical spot?

Hi,

he Digital Read Out in Mach 4 counts into the minus numbers for x an y. You're saying it should be positive? Is our "Home" in the typical spot?

I would say no, the typical spot for home is the bottom left corner ie first quadrant, however anywhere is acceptable. In your case you have drawn your table in the second quadrant.
You may remember drawing graphs at school, the first quadrant is normal, but the second is OK to.

Still that means that the Y axis should count up, ie positive, from your home, the X axis would count negative from your home.

Craig

Hi,

the attached pic is of the right hand rule and is in the Mach4 Mill Programming Guide in Help Docs.

Craig

Are you sure that its not just because you're in New Zealand and everything is upside down? Just kidding. I just got off the phone with a local fellow and he basically explained all of this to me. Who new? The whole machine is backwards. But that's the way we bought it and had no way of knowing the difference. And its been running fine for several years. The man we bought it from used Linux and spoke G Code like it was his first language but I didn't have the time to learn programming and G Code so I went with VCarve and M4. Why not let the software do the work for you right? Now I know why the tech support people blow me off so quickly. They all think I've been drinking heavily. At any rate, once we get past this next week or so, we're going to spin that puppy around, re-locate the home switches and this local fellow will help us get on the standard track. Thank you so much for all the valuable info. It does make more sense now.

Hi,

re-locate the home switches and this local fellow will help us get on the standard track. Thank you so much for all the valuable info. It does make more sense now.

Kool. You do not not have to change the Home switches though, they can stay where they are.

Lets say you leave the switches alone and you retain the fact that the machine drives to the lower right hand corner of its travel. When it gets there you'd normally
say 'You are Home', ie the machine coordinates would be set to 0,0,0. But if you want to call the lower left hand corner Home then you'd say 'You are at 0,450,0' and
the machine would set the machine coordinates to 0,450,0. (I am assuming 450mm is the Y axis extent) So if you now said <GoTo Work Zero> it would drive 450mm
to the left and stop at your nominal Home location, ie the lower left hand corner despite it being homed to the lower righthand corner.

The Home switches define one particular location in your machines envelope, and so long as that location is precisely and repeatably defined it does not matter where it is.
You can declare home to be so many mm in that direction and so many mm in that direction from that unique location, and call that Home. The settings to make it so are
the Homing Offsets on the Homing tab of the Control Plugin.

Craig