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Home and limit switch location on combination machine

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:14 pm
by terrymcc
I am upgrading a Mill Turn. It is pretty obvious where to put the Y and Z limit and home switches. Since it is a combination machine, the X axis (left and right travel) isn't so obvious. Depending on whether there is a lathe chuck installed, where the tail stock is, and what is on the bed, it might be hard to travel a full extent for home. I was wondering about one of two approaches.

I could mount the home and limit switch on a bar such that they could be moved to the appropriate location for the set up at hand.

Or, I guess I could mount the home switch in the middle of the x travel such that it is always a safe location. The proximity switch could be such that the carriage can go past it. Then put adjustable limit switches on each end and set them to a safe location depending on the setup. That way, the home would always be in the correct location for fixture reference,... Could the software handle this kind of setup. Maybe have the home triggered by a bar so it would always be triggered once past it so it would know which direction to go on startup. Is the home switch always treated as a limit switch?

Any thoughts on this?