Jog Controls
Let’s talk about the jog functionality labeled under “Jog Controls” in the Optimum CNC software. On the right side of the screen in the main window, you will see the arrows for the X, Y, and Z axes, as well as the jog step size. This size is the increment by which the machine will move upon every press of the button or press of the keyboard.
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Let’s say we select a step size of one; we can move in our X and Y direction, as well as our Z. We can also select a custom step size, let’s say a step size of 0.5 inches. So now we’re moving by 0.5 of an inch upon each click. Alternatively, we can select free movement, so whenever you press a button, the machine will move until you stop holding it.
The Jog Controls tab allows the operator to manually move the machine in the XYZ directions. The size of the “step” (the distance the machine moves per one press on the arrow buttons) can be set to 0.1 inch, 1 inch, or a custom value. Alternatively, setting the jog step sizeto infinite makes the machine move for as long as the jog button is pressed.The current speed for the XY motion is shown at the centre between the eight arrows (“0” in the picture). Likewise, the Z-axis motionspeed is shown between the two Z arrows on the right.
Jog Controls consists of three sections:
Section 1: X & Y Jogging controls
▼ Travels to the front of the table
▲ Travels to the back of the table
Travels to the left side of the table
Travels to the right side of the table
◣ Travels to the front left corner of the table
◢ Travels to the front right corner of the table
◥ Travels to the back right corner of the table
◤ Travels to the back left corner of the table
Section 2: Z-Axis control
▼ Travels to the bottom of Z-Axis, closer to table
▲ Travels to the top of the Z-Axis, away from table
Section 3: Step Size Increment Selection
SET Button = Tap this button to set your custom step size increment
0.1 = Tap this button to set your step size increment to 0.1″ inches
1.0 = Tap this button to set your step size increment to 0.1″ inches
∞ = Tap this button to set your step size increment to “Continuous Jog.” The machine will move continuously as long as you hold the movement key or button down. Movement is typically determined by a “jog speed percentage”.
WATCH VIDEO 1
Jog Controls Section Location: The Jog Controls panel is located on the right side column of the software underneath the Optimum CNC logo, below the Coordinates Section. The Jog Controls area forms the second section in that panel.
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Speed Override ( jog speed percentages)
When I click the free movement (∞) and press the jog button, the machine moves at a very high speed, which is likely to be very unrealistic and way too high for what we’re trying to do, especially if we’re trying to move to a specific position very precisely. In order to salvage this very quickly, without going into your full settings, you have these jog speed percentage buttons right below the jog tab. Typically, the speed is set to 100%, but if you’d like to slow it down, you can press one of these buttons, and the speed will slow considerably. This will allow you to much more precisely position your machine as you’re trying to reach a certain point. The user can quickly lower the Jog Speed of the system by using the “30%”, “10%” and “5%” buttons to reduce the jog speed to the respective percentage of its default value.
WATCH VIDEO 2
Speed Override Section Location: The Speed Override panel is located on the right side column of the software underneath the Optimum CNC logo, below the Jog Controls Section. The Speed Override area forms the third section in that panel. It contains 4 button settings to set your torch speed at 5%, 10%, 30% and 100%.
Optimum CNC Software Screenshots: Tap on Images to Enlarge
