Reference System Of Milling Machines; Designation Of The Axes On Milling Machines - HEIDENHAIN TNC 128 User Manual

Fundamentals, File Management | Fundamentals

Reference system of milling machines

When using a milling machine, you orient tool movements to the
Cartesian coordinate system. The illustration on the right shows
how the Cartesian coordinate system describes the machine axes.
The figure illustrates the right-hand rule for remembering the three
axis directions: the middle finger points in the positive direction of
the tool axis from the workpiece toward the tool (the Z axis), the
thumb points in the positive X direction, and the index finger in the
positive Y direction.
The TNC 128 can control up to 4 axes optionally. The axes U, V
and W are secondary linear axes parallel to the main axes X, Y
and Z, respectively. Rotary axes are designated as A, B and C. The
illustration at lower right shows the assignment of secondary axes
and rotary axes to the principal axes.

Designation of the axes on milling machines

The X, Y and Z axes on your milling machine are also referred to as
tool axis, principal axis (1st axis) and secondary axis (2nd axis). The
assignment of the tool axis is decisive for the assignment of the
principal and secondary axes.
Tool axis Principal axis
X Y
Y Z
Z X
HEIDENHAIN | TNC 128 | Conversational Programming User's Manual | 10/2017
Secondary axis
Z
X
Y
3
109