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Load Meter:
An animated real-time bar graph that displays the percentage of maximum motor torque
being used.
Manual Mode (obsolete):
Condition for manually controlling the 4
th
axis for non MACH systems
Reporting Mode:
Condition where the Controller continuously scrolls the internally stored
parameters.
SFM (or MPM):
Surface Feet per Minute -or- Meters Per Minute
– speed at which a cutting tool
moves over a workpiece.
SSR (Solid State Relay):
A relay for using a tiny signal to switch large loads that does not use
physical contacts.
SetSpeed:
Spindle is matched to a set speed entered by the user or by macro command.
Surrogate Signal:
Some drives send an alarm when they are disabled causing MACH to go into an
unwanted E-
stop. A temporary ‘fake’ signal is generated to prevent this from happening.
MACH Terminology:
Brains:
This is actually a MACH-specific term. It is their name for specific control programs that are
based on ‘Ladder Logic’ and run continuously in the background to perform tasks that need to be
ongoing at all times.
Emulated:
Signals usually come into MACH over physical wires connected to pins. A purpose of
configuration is to tell MACH which pin is used for each signal. Occasionally, a signal may be needed
that does not come in over a wire, but is instead ‘emulated’ by some internal software source. When
emulated, MACH would not need to monitor the pin because the INPUT is being controlled by
software.
Loader:
The ‘startup’ program for Mach that will stop to ask the user which ‘profile’ to use. The
‘Loader’ then starts MACH using that profile which contains all of your settings. To accomplish the
same thing, but without answering the sam
e question each time, a Windows ‘shortcut’ can be made
which automatically starts Mach with your profile. Detailed instructions on how to do this are in the
Installation Manual.
Mach3:
A
software ‘program’ that reads a specific form of instructions called ‘G-Code’ and controls
positioning motors as needed to perform the moves contained in the G-code.
Macro Pump:
A special kind of Macro that runs continuously in the background.
Profile:
Mach 3 performs in a specific way based on how it is told to behave. The choices that you
make during the ‘configuration’ process are grouped together and stored as a named ‘profile’. This
way, you can simply tell MACH, each time it starts that you want it to use your profile to gather all of
the settings.
