OPTIMUM
M A S C H I N E N - G E R M A N Y
General information about CNC
Version 1.0 dated 2015-05-27
Page 39
Original operating instructions
GB
The Greek Pythagoras (from about 580 to 496 before Jesus Christ) had been the first person to
prove the following mathematic relation which had later on been named the Pythagorean the-
orem.
The sum of the cathetus square is equal to the hypotenuse square and expressed as a
equation:
a² + b² = c²
4.4
Trigonometric functions
The trigonometric functions describe the relations between the angles and the sides of a rec-
tangular triangle. With the help of these trigonometric functions it is possible to calculate
unknown leg lengths with an unknown angle and a known leg. It is depending on which side
and which angle are known in order to choose the appropriate trigonometric function e.g. the
sinus function, the cosine function or the tangent function.
For the calculation of unknown legs the corresponding equation needs to be transformed as
described in the following example:
Known are: the angle and the length of the adjacent leg
Looking for: the length of the opposite leg
It applies: tan alpha = opposite leg / adjacent leg
The results is:
opposite leg = adjacent leg x tan alpha
a
b
c
