I have asked this question on another part of the forum with different answers
so I'm still confused. I am building a 4'x4' cnc table. The question is which axis is X and which is Y. Mine has a moving gantry which moves on rails which
I believe to be the Y axis. The tool holder moves on rails on the gantry itself
which I believe to be the X axis. Other people must have this confused also from their description of their machine. I had one guy tell me I can call it anything I want. I'm sorry but I can't accept an answer like that.......put a drawing if you can. I would really appreciate it. ..........................next question. My gantry moves supported on both ends on dual linear bearings on 1 inch shaft being driven by 3/4 x 6 acme x two....one on each side......I planned to have a 425 oz on each side direct driving the acme screws. The same 3/4 x 6 setup to move the tool across the gantry with another 425 motor also direct drive. I'm guessing the gantry weighs about 25 lbs. Z will be the same. I was hoping to use a Xylotex 4 x 425oz kit with their driver and power supply. I expect to router with this table as well as plasma cut. I have been told that I may not achieve a fast enough speed for thin metal cuts with plasma. Well I hope someone or two can steer me in the correct direction with this. I'm real close to needing motors. The table is almost done.
Thank for any help.......nick

You can define the axes any way you want. I use mine the way you describe. It works for me because of the way I load my material.

The longest axis is (almost) always X. If they are the same length, then it is up to you - as long as you know which is which you will be fine.

Scott

The longest axis is (almost) always X. If they are the same length, then it is up to you - as long as you know which is which you will be fine.

Scott

It's always up to you. Just as the +/- directions are. If I loaded my material from either side instead of the front I would change the axes and the +/- direction.

Yes - I agree.

I don't care to work in negative quadrants (no big deal, really) and I like to run machines that are configured in conventional manners.

The typical naming convention is to label the longest axis of any equipment "X".

Scott

When I stand at the operators postion of my table I want it to reflect the way I draw the part on the computer. I want 0,0 on my table to be the same as the lower left part of my drawing. I don't care if it's the long or short axis. The one that runs the same as X in the computer is X on my table. The same with Y. That way it cuts'm like I drawz'm. It's your table, name it anything you want (:-)

while i understand the "conventional" long axis being the x, i would have to agree with torchhead, that i would want it named like i draw them.. it would just make loading the blanks easier, plus it will make it easer for you to take a look at mid process and see if your getting what you wanted when you drew it... On the machine that im designing, it just so happens that my long axis will be my x, it works out that way for me cause i already have several drawings of parts i would like to make, and when i drew them, i did it with the long x in mind...

This is an issue I have always had particularly with Gantry tables, To me the convention of where you view or position your self to operate the machine should really dictate as to how the axis is named.
Often commercial gantrys are automatically given the X axis to the 'long' side, but the operator station is generally at the end of the table, so the X axis is actually up and down when looking into the part, and the Y is left to right, which goes against convention of when viewing down (Z) the X should be from left to right and the Y from towards one and away (Y).
If I set up a Gantry, I always use the view-point method.
Al.