Chapter 3 Basic Operation
3-2 Moving the Tool
Chapter 3 Basic Operation
55
Viewing the Tool Location
Coordinate View
VPanel displays the present location of the tool as numerical values. The numerical values that indicate the
location of the tool are called "coordinates," and the starting point for the coordinates is called the "origin
point," or sometimes just the "origin." The following figure shows a location that is shifted from the origin point
by 30 millimeters along the X axis, by 10 millimeters along the Y axis, by 20 millimeters along the Z axis, and
by 15 degrees along the A axis. This X-axis distance is called the "X-axis coordinate" (or sometimes just the "X
coordinate"), the Y- and Z-axis distances are similarly called the "Y-axis coordinate" and the "Z-axis coordinate,"
and the angle of rotation along the A axis is called the "A-axis coordinate." The distances or the angle from the
origin point for the respective axes to the tool are therefore the corresponding coordinate values.
About the A-axis Coordinate
The location of the A axis is indicated as an angle of rotation. In this way it differs from how the X, Y, and Z axes
are indicated.
Despite this difference between angles and distances, in other respects it is treated the same
as X-, Y-, and Z-axis coordinates. The unit of measurement used to indicate A-axis coordinates is the degree,
and this cannot be changed.
This position is expressed as "X = 30 mm, Y = 10 mm, Z = 20 mm, and A = 15 deg."
Locations of the X, Y, and Z axes
A-axis location (15°)
A-axis origin(0°)
A-axis center
Location of the A axis
Origin
X-axis coordinate
Y-axis coordinate
Z-axis coordinate
A-axis coordinate
VPanel display
