Home Switches - Best Location???

[CanAm1]

Hello All,

I am getting ready to install my home switches and relays and was wondering what is the best or normal spot to put them. Right now I have machine zero in the middle of X, Y and Z. In reading up on how Mach3 hunts for home, it looks like one needs to position the zero spots almost at max -X and -Y. Any advice would be appreciated.

Mark

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by CanAm1 it looks like one needs to position the zero spots almost at max -X and -Y. Any advice would be appreciated. Mark

That is exactly correct. It can be at either extreme and you tell it direction in your setup.
Otherwise, it will not know in which direction to go to hit the home switch. These programs are setup to only go in one direction for home either the plus direction or the minus direction (notice I did not say position) as the homing routines are ignorant of position until it hits the home switch.

For instance, my X homes in the negative direction and the Y and Z in the positive direction.

[Greolt]

Having home position at one end of axis travel is certainly the easiest way to do it. However it is not the only way.

On one of my machines (mill) I have the X axis home switch at the centre of travel. It is just a convenience thing.

If the home switch is set up correctly then Mach will know which way to travel when seeking the home switch. However the switch setup is more complex.

It involves an actuation method that activates the switch and holds it active all the way to one end of travel. For this reason it really needs non contact type switch. (Prox or opto)

Mach can be set to seek home in one direction if the switch is active, and the other direction if it is not active.

I say again, much easier just to have switch at one end.

Greg

[ger21]

Right now I have machine zero in the middle of X, Y and Z. In reading up on how Mach3 hunts for home, it looks like one needs to position the zero spots almost at max -X and -Y. Any advice would be appreciated.

The home switches do not have to be at machine zero. My X home switches are at machine X45. Using the home offset settings in the Homing/Limits screen, you can specify the location of the home switches relative to machine zero.

So, you can have you're home switches at the end, to make it easy, and still have you're machine coordinates in the middle.

You can also modify the homing procedure to go to machine zero after homing.