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Southwestern Industries, Inc.
TRAK
EMX Knee Mill, Bed Mill & ProtoTRAK
EMX CNC Retrofit Safety, Programming, Operating & Care Manual
5.0 Definitions, Terms & Concepts
5.1 ProtoTRAK EMX Axis Conventions
X-axis:
positive X-axis motion is defined as the table moving
to the left when facing the mill. Consequently, measurement
to the right is positive on the workpiece.
Y-axis:
positive Y-axis motion is defined as the table
moving toward you. Measurement toward the machine
(away from you) is positive on the workpiece.
Z-axis:
positive Z-axis motion is defined as moving the
quill up or the column up. Measurement up is also positive on the
workpiece.
In this manual you will often times here us refer to the DPMEX2 machine as a 2 ½ axis machine.
This means the X and Y axis are allowed to move together, but the Z axis is stationary or the X
and Y axis are stationary and the Z axis is moving. This is different than a full 3 axis machine
where X, Y and Z axis can move at once.
5.2 Absolute & Incremental Reference
The ProtoTRAK EMX may be programmed and operated in either (or in a combination) of
absolute or incremental dimensions. An absolute reference from which all absolute dimensions
are measured (in DRO and program operation) can be set at any point on or even off the
workpiece.
To help understand the difference between absolute and incremental position, consider the
following example:
5.2.1
Some Rules for Incremental Reference Positions
In the section above, it was pretty clear what was meant by an incremental move. There are
times that this is not completely clear. This occurs when you want to use incremental references
for the first X and Y dimensioned data in a new event and the ending point of the previous event
is not obvious. For example, with a circular pocket the ending point is not defined, what does
the INC SET reference mean when programming the next event? Since this is not always
completely clear, there are some sensible rules for what the ProtoTRAK EMX looks at in the
previous event when the first dimensioned data is entered as an INC SET.*
* For events, such as Mill, that have an X,Y beginning and an X,Y end, the second set of
data is always referenced from the first.
