Southwestern Industries, Inc.
TRAK
EMX Knee Mill, Bed Mill & ProtoTRAK
EMX CNC Retrofit Safety, Programming, Operating & Care Manual
64
The point where the X line and the Y line cross is the 0,0 point. This is known as Absolute 0.
To the right of the Absolute 0 is the X plus. To the left is X minus. That is true for points
whether or not they are actually on the X line or not.
Above the Absolute 0 is Y plus, below is Y minus. Again, that is true whether the point is
actually on the Y line or not.
Quiz 1
Answer these questions about what you've just read. Check your answers at the end of this
section.
1.
Absolute 0 is the point where _________________________________.
2.
Left of the Absolute 0 point is (X or Y) minus.
3.
Above the Absolute 0 point is (X or Y) plus.
4.
True or false. Any point in two dimensions can be plotted with the Cartesian
Coordinate System.
Tip: if you have any problem with this part, take this manual out to your machine and put
the drawing under the spindle so that the 0,0 point is lined up with the center of the spindle.
Zero out the DRO on your display and crank the table different directions. Watch the DRO
measurement count up and down, turning from positive to negative as you pass the 0,0
points.
Quiz 2
Write down the X and Y dimensions (including the + or - sign) of points A through H in the
figure above:
X
Y
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Check your answers at the back of this section.
Absolute (ABS) and Incremental (INC)
In the previous section we saw that the absolute dimension is the point at which both X and
Y are 0. Every part we make with a ProtoTRAK EMX will have an absolute zero that you give
it. We want to put the Absolute 0 where it will make it easy to define the other points we
need to machine, so a corner or the center of a circular pattern are usually the best.
