Documentation Reference
Settings reference
Every setting of the controller. $<n> shows one, $<n>=<value> changes it, and $$ lists them all. The values given are the MC-1's. A setting marked restart takes effect after the controller restarts.
Contents
- General
- Control signals
- Limits
- Coolant
- Spindle
- Tool change
- Homing
- Probing
- Parking/Safety door
- Jogging
- ModBus
- Stepper
- VFD
- X-axis
- Y-axis
- Z-axis
General
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$10 | Status report options | bit field | 15871 | What the real-time status report contains. The parser state is sent as its own line, only when it changed. Bits: 0 Position in machine coordinate, 1 Buffer state, 2 Line numbers, 3 Feed & speed, 4 Pin state, 5 Work coordinate offset, 6 Overrides, 7 Probe coordinates, 8 Buffer sync on WCO change, 9 Parser state, 10 Alarm substatus, 11 Run substatus, 12 Enable when homing, 13 Distance-to-go | ||
$11 | Junction deviation | mm | decimal | 0.002 | How far the path may deviate at a corner between two moves; it sets the corner speed. Smaller is slower and more exact. | |
$12 | Arc tolerance | mm | decimal | 0.002 | How exactly arcs are followed. | |
$13 | Report in inches | boolean | 0 | Positions and rates in reports are in inches. | ||
$28 | G73 Retract distance | mm | decimal | 0.100 | The short retract between the pecks of G73. | |
$32 | Mode of operation | choice | 0 | Mill, laser or lathe. Choices: 0 Normal, 1 Laser mode, 2 Lathe mode | ||
$39 | Enable legacy RT commands | boolean | 1 | '?', '!' and '~' act as real-time commands everywhere, also inside $ commands and comments. | ||
$60 | Restore overrides | boolean | 0 | Overrides go back to 100 % at the end of a program. | ||
$62 | Sleep enable | boolean | 0 | Go to sleep after a long idle time. | ||
$63 | Feed hold actions | bit field | 3 | What a feed hold does besides stopping the motion. Bits: 0 Disable laser during hold, 1 Restore spindle and coolant state on resume, 2 Set RPM to minimum (except for laser M4) | ||
$64 | Force init alarm | boolean | 0 | Start in the alarm state after power-on. | ||
$384 | Disable G92 persistence | boolean | 0 | G92 offsets are not kept over a power cycle. | ||
$398 | Planner buffer blocks (restart) | integer | 30–1000 | 100 | Moves the planner looks ahead over. | |
$481 | Autoreport interval (restart) | ms | integer | 100–1000 | 0 | Send status reports at this interval without being asked (0: off). |
$484 | Unlock required after E-Stop | boolean | 1 | After an emergency stop the machine stays locked until unlocked ($X) or homed. | ||
$486 | Lock coordinate systems | bit field | 0 | Coordinate systems that G10 may not change. Bits: 0 G59.1, 1 G59.2, 2 G59.3 | ||
$676 | Reset actions | bit field | 15 | What a reset clears. Bits: 0 Clear homed status if position was lost, 1 Clear offsets (except G92), 2 Clear rapids override, 3 Clear feed override | ||
$1030 | Stop the job when the host is lost | boolean | 1 | When the link of the sender that runs a job goes down for 0.1 s (USB unplugged, the port closed), the job stops as at a stop (0x19): the motion slows down to a stop, spindle and coolant go off, the lines it sent that have not run are dropped, the position is kept. The sender is told once it is back. A program from the file system runs on without its sender. |
Control signals
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$14 | Invert control inputs | bit field | 0 | Control inputs that are inverted. Bits: 1 Feed hold, 2 Cycle start, 6 EStop, 8 Motor fault | ||
$17 | Pullup disable control inputs | bit field | 0 | Control inputs without the internal pull-up resistor. Bits: 1 Feed hold, 2 Cycle start, 6 EStop, 8 Motor fault |
Limits
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$5 | Invert limit inputs | axis mask | 7 | Limit inputs that are inverted, e.g. for normally-closed switches. | ||
$18 | Pullup disable limit inputs | axis mask | 0 | Limit inputs without the internal pull-up resistor. | ||
$20 | Soft limits enable | boolean | 1 | Refuse motion beyond the travel ($130 ...). Needs homing, so that the position is known. | ||
$21 | Hard limits enable | bit field | 1 | Stop at once when a limit switch triggers. Strict mode: no motion at all while a switch is active. Bits: 0 Enable, 1 Strict mode (bit 0 enables the rest) |
Coolant
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$15 | Invert coolant outputs | bit field | 0 | Coolant outputs that are active low. Bits: 0 Flood, 1 Mist | ||
$673 | Coolant on delay | s | decimal | 0.5–20 | 0.0 | Time the coolant gets to start after M7/M8. |
Spindle
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$30 | Maximum spindle speed | RPM | decimal | 24000.000 | The highest spindle speed. | |
$31 | Minimum spindle speed | RPM | decimal | 6000.000 | The lowest spindle speed. | |
$340 | Spindle at speed tolerance | percent | decimal | 5.0 | Motion after M3/M4 waits until the spindle speed is within this many percent of the programmed one (0: no wait). | |
$394 | Spindle on delay | s | decimal | 0.5–60 | 15.0 | Time the spindle gets to come up to speed after M3/M4 (with $340: the longest wait before an alarm). |
$539 | Spindle off delay | s | decimal | 0.5–60 | 0.0 | Time the spindle gets to stop after M5. |
Tool change
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$341 | Tool change mode | choice | 3 | What M6 does. Choices: 0 Normal, 1 Manual touch off, 2 Manual touch off @ G59.3, 3 Automatic touch off @ G59.3, 4 Ignore M6 | ||
$342 | Tool change probing distance | mm | decimal | 70.0 | How far the tool setter is searched for. | |
$343 | Tool change locate feed rate | mm/min | decimal | 25.0 | The slow rate that locates the tool setter exactly. | |
$344 | Tool change search seek rate | mm/min | decimal | 200.0 | The fast rate that searches for the tool setter. | |
$345 | Tool change probe pull-off rate | mm/min | decimal | 200.0 | The rate that moves off the tool setter. | |
$346 | Tool change options | bit field | 0 | Options of the tool change. Bits: 0 Restore position after M6, 1 Change tool at G30, 2 Fast probe pull off | ||
$485 | Keep tool number over reboot | boolean | 0 | The number of the tool in the spindle is kept over a power cycle. |
Homing
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$22 | Homing cycle | bit field | 541 | The homing cycle and its options. Bits: 0 Enable, 1 Enable single axis commands, 2 Homing on startup required, 3 Set machine origin to 0, 4 Two switches shares one input, 5 Allow manual, 6 Override locks, 9 Per axis feedrates, 10 Run startup scripts only on homing completed (bit 0 enables the rest) | ||
$23 | Homing direction invert | axis mask | 0 | Axes that home towards their negative end. | ||
$26 | Homing switch debounce delay | milliseconds | integer | 250 | Time to wait after a switch triggered before the next homing move. | |
$27 | Homing switch pull-off distance | mm | decimal | 2.000 | How far homing moves back off the switch. | |
$43 | Homing passes | integer | 1–128 | 1 | How many times the switch point is located. | |
$44 | Axes homing, first phase | axis mask | 4 | Axes homed first. | ||
$45 | Axes homing, second phase | axis mask | 3 | Axes homed second. | ||
$46 | Axes homing, third phase | axis mask | 0 | Axes homed third. |
Probing
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$6 | Invert probe inputs | bit field | 1 | Inverts the probe input, e.g. for a normally-closed tool setter. Bits: 0 Probe | ||
$19 | Pullup disable probe inputs | bit field | 0 | The probe input without the internal pull-up resistor. Bits: 0 Probe | ||
$65 | Probing options | bit field | 0 | How probing motion is handled. Bits: 0 Allow feed override, 1 Apply soft limits |
Parking/Safety door
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$41 | Parking cycle | bit field | 0 | Retract the spindle when the safety door opens. Bits: 0 Enable, 1 Deactivate upon init, 2 Enable parking override control (bit 0 enables the rest) | ||
$42 | Parking axis | choice | 2 | The axis that parks. Choices: 0 X, 1 Y, 2 Z | ||
$56 | Parking pull-out distance | mm | decimal | 5.0 | How far the tool is first pulled out slowly. | |
$57 | Parking pull-out rate | mm/min | decimal | 100.0 | The rate of that pull-out. | |
$58 | Parking target | mm | decimal | ≥ -100000 | -5.0 | Where the parking axis goes, in machine coordinates. |
$59 | Parking fast rate | mm/min | decimal | 500.0 | The rate of the rest of the parking move. | |
$61 | Safety door options | bit field | 0 | What stays on while the safety door is open. Bits: 1 Keep coolant state on door open | ||
$392 | Spindle on delay | s | decimal | 0.5–60 | 4.0 | Time the spindle gets to come up to speed when the door closes again. |
$393 | Coolant on delay | s | decimal | 0.5–20 | 1.0 | Time the coolant gets to start when the door closes again. |
Jogging
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$40 | Limit jog commands | boolean | 0 | Jogs stop at the soft limits instead of being refused. |
ModBus
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$374 | ModBus baud rate | choice | 3 | Baud rate of the Modbus line (the VFD's must match). Choices: 0 2400, 1 4800, 2 9600, 3 19200, 4 38400, 5 115200 | ||
$375 | ModBus RX timeout | milliseconds | integer | 50–250 | 50 | How long to wait for a Modbus answer. |
$681 | ModBus serial format | choice | 0 | Parity of the Modbus line (the VFD's must match). Choices: 0 8-bit no parity, 1 8-bit even parity, 2 8-bit odd parity |
Stepper
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$0 | Step pulse time | microseconds | decimal | ≥ 2.0 | 5.0 | Length of the step pulses, in microseconds. The drives need a minimum (see their manual; MC-1's closed-loop drives need 2.5). |
$1 | Step idle delay | milliseconds | integer | ≤ 65535 | 255 | How long the drives stay enabled after motion stops, so the axes settle before the current is switched off. 255 keeps them enabled. |
$2 | Step pulse invert | axis mask | 0 | Step outputs that are active low. | ||
$3 | Step direction invert | axis mask | 5 | Axes whose direction output is inverted (the axis runs the wrong way otherwise). | ||
$4 | Invert stepper enable output(s) | axis mask | 7 | Drive enable outputs that are active low (most drives). With one shared enable signal only X counts. | ||
$29 | Pulse delay | microseconds | decimal | ≤ 20 | 5.0 | Time between setting the direction outputs and the step pulse. |
$37 | Steppers to keep enabled | axis mask | 7 | Drives that stay enabled when the machine is idle or in an alarm. | ||
$680 | Stepper enable delay | ms | integer | ≤ 500 | 0 | Time between enabling the drives and the first step. |
VFD
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$460 | VFD spindle ModBus address | integer | ≤ 255 | 1 | The Modbus address of the VFD. |
X-axis
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$100 | X-axis travel resolution | step/mm | decimal | 800.00000 | Steps per millimetre of the axis: steps per motor turn times microsteps, divided by the screw lead. | |
$110 | X-axis maximum rate | mm/min | decimal | 3000.000 | The highest speed of the axis, also for rapids. | |
$120 | X-axis acceleration | mm/sec^2 | decimal | 300.000 | The acceleration of the axis. | |
$130 | X-axis maximum travel | mm | decimal | 202.000 | The travel of the axis from its home position, for the soft limits. | |
$180 | X-axis homing locate feed rate | mm/min | decimal | 50.0 | The slow rate that locates the switch point of the axis exactly. | |
$190 | X-axis homing search seek rate | mm/min | decimal | 1200.0 | The fast rate that searches for the switch of the axis. | |
$1000 | X-axis input shaper | choice | 0 | Shapes the axis' motion so that it does not excite a resonance of the machine at the frequency below: ZV is exact at it, the others take out a wider band less exactly. The motion comes to rest up to 1.5 periods later. Choices: 0 None, 1 ZV, 2 ZVD, 3 MZV, 4 EI, 5 2HUMP_EI | ||
$1010 | X-axis input shaper frequency | Hz | decimal | 15–500 | 100.0 | The resonance the axis' input shaper takes out. |
$1020 | X-axis input shaper damping ratio | decimal | ≤ 0.5 | 0.100 | The damping ratio of that resonance. |
Y-axis
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$101 | Y-axis travel resolution | step/mm | decimal | 800.00000 | Steps per millimetre of the axis: steps per motor turn times microsteps, divided by the screw lead. | |
$111 | Y-axis maximum rate | mm/min | decimal | 3000.000 | The highest speed of the axis, also for rapids. | |
$121 | Y-axis acceleration | mm/sec^2 | decimal | 300.000 | The acceleration of the axis. | |
$131 | Y-axis maximum travel | mm | decimal | 152.000 | The travel of the axis from its home position, for the soft limits. | |
$181 | Y-axis homing locate feed rate | mm/min | decimal | 50.0 | The slow rate that locates the switch point of the axis exactly. | |
$191 | Y-axis homing search seek rate | mm/min | decimal | 1200.0 | The fast rate that searches for the switch of the axis. | |
$1001 | Y-axis input shaper | choice | 0 | Shapes the axis' motion so that it does not excite a resonance of the machine at the frequency below: ZV is exact at it, the others take out a wider band less exactly. The motion comes to rest up to 1.5 periods later. Choices: 0 None, 1 ZV, 2 ZVD, 3 MZV, 4 EI, 5 2HUMP_EI | ||
$1011 | Y-axis input shaper frequency | Hz | decimal | 15–500 | 100.0 | The resonance the axis' input shaper takes out. |
$1021 | Y-axis input shaper damping ratio | decimal | ≤ 0.5 | 0.100 | The damping ratio of that resonance. |
Z-axis
| Setting | Name | Unit | Type | Range | MC-1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$102 | Z-axis travel resolution | step/mm | decimal | 800.00000 | Steps per millimetre of the axis: steps per motor turn times microsteps, divided by the screw lead. | |
$112 | Z-axis maximum rate | mm/min | decimal | 1500.000 | The highest speed of the axis, also for rapids. | |
$122 | Z-axis acceleration | mm/sec^2 | decimal | 200.000 | The acceleration of the axis. | |
$132 | Z-axis maximum travel | mm | decimal | 82.000 | The travel of the axis from its home position, for the soft limits. | |
$182 | Z-axis homing locate feed rate | mm/min | decimal | 50.0 | The slow rate that locates the switch point of the axis exactly. | |
$192 | Z-axis homing search seek rate | mm/min | decimal | 600.0 | The fast rate that searches for the switch of the axis. | |
$1002 | Z-axis input shaper | choice | 0 | Shapes the axis' motion so that it does not excite a resonance of the machine at the frequency below: ZV is exact at it, the others take out a wider band less exactly. The motion comes to rest up to 1.5 periods later. Choices: 0 None, 1 ZV, 2 ZVD, 3 MZV, 4 EI, 5 2HUMP_EI | ||
$1012 | Z-axis input shaper frequency | Hz | decimal | 15–500 | 100.0 | The resonance the axis' input shaper takes out. |
$1022 | Z-axis input shaper damping ratio | decimal | ≤ 0.5 | 0.100 | The damping ratio of that resonance. |