I just converted my HF 44991 to CNC and need only to add home/limit switches to complete. Wanted to ask where home and limit switches were normally installed and where is home should normally be for X, Y, and Z?

I wanted to make sure and ask what direction should all 3 motors be turning for X, Y, and Z axis' as well. I'm having a hard time finding which direction + verses - is for the different axis' anywhere on web.

I have:

HF 44991
3 G201's
DesckCNC controller board w/DeskCNC

Let me know if and where this information is already in a different forum (I can't locate it as of yet).

Thanks in advance, ...Tim Pickering

Home is normally an arbitrarily set position, on my excello mills I set the home at Z all the way up posn. X table moved to the extreme left, and Y moves the table to the extreme front, With Mills, I set the homing routine up to always home the Z axis first to get the spindle out of the way, and then home the X & Y simultaneously. Obviously overtravel limits should be set at the extreme ends of travel for all the axis. Just before the maximum phisical limit is reached.
Al
The axis convention for milling machine from the view of the spindle is Z axis down is Z- Zaxis up is Z+ , X- to the left X+ to the right , Y + towards the machine and Y- forward away from the machine., remember that the X & Y axis table will have to move in the opposite direction as the spindle is usually stationary in the X&Y on a mill.

Thanks Al, That's the way I had my set up but I haven't yet figured out how to make the image of the bit shown on the DeskCNC screen show top/right (table all the way forward and to the right). Sure it's something I just haven't figured out yet.

...Tim

The tool motion determines the axis polarity, not table motion. Move the table all the way to the right and the tool is all the way to the left at X=0. Move the table all the way back and the tool is at Y=0. This is the bottom left on the DeskCNC screen.

Support for DeskCNC is at http://www.imsrv.com/discus

Fred Smith - IMService
http://www.cadcamcadcam.com

Thanks Fred, I'm still trying to learn everything. I added offsets to home settings (best place to physically put switches was where it homes full left and forward, just offset it to opposites) and now have X,Y 0 on table and DeskCNC at same place (lower left, table full right and back).

Thanks again, ...Tim