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Jogging Controls
The jogging controls allow you to manually move your CNC machine along the X, Y, and Z axes. Understanding how to use these controls effectively is essential for machine setup, tool positioning, and work coordinate setting.
The jog controls consist of:
- XY Joystick Pad: 3x3 grid for X and Y movement
- Z Controls: Separate vertical controls for Z-axis
- Step Size Selector: Choose movement distance per jog
- Feed Rate Input: Set movement speed
- Center Stop Button: Emergency stop for all motion
Choose how far the machine moves with each jog command:
-
0.1mm: Fine positioning, detail work
- Default feed rate: 500 mm/min
- Use for: Final positioning, touching off, precision alignment
-
1mm: Medium movements
- Default feed rate: 3000 mm/min
- Use for: General positioning, moving between features
-
10mm: Rapid repositioning
- Default feed rate: 8000 mm/min
- Use for: Moving across the work area, returning to start
Note: Feed rates are customizable. Click the feed rate input field to enter a custom value.
Axis Buttons (X+, X-, Y+, Y-):
- Press and release quickly (<300ms) for a single step
- Hold (>300ms) for continuous movement (dead-man switch)
- Movement direction indicated by button label
Example:
- Click X+ → Machine moves 1mm in positive X direction (if 1mm step selected)
- Hold X+ → Machine moves continuously in positive X until you release
Corner Buttons (↖, ↗, ↙, ↘):
- Move in X and Y simultaneously
- Useful for efficient positioning across the work area
- Same short/long press behavior as single-axis
Directions:
- ↖ (Top-left): X- and Y+
- ↗ (Top-right): X+ and Y+
- ↙ (Bottom-left): X- and Y-
- ↘ (Bottom-right): X+ and Y-
Z+ and Z- Buttons:
- Located to the right of the XY pad
- Same short press/long press behavior
- Automatically uses half the feed rate for safety
- Example: If feed rate is 3000 mm/min, Z moves at 1500 mm/min
Safety: Slower Z movement helps prevent crashes into the workpiece or table.
- Red circular button in the center of the XY pad
- Always available, even when other controls are disabled
- Click to send immediate feed hold command
- Stops all motion instantly
- Critical safety feature
When to use:
- Emergency situations
- Unexpected machine behavior
- To stop continuous jogging
- To cancel any motion command
- Press and release button quickly (<300ms)
- Machine moves exactly the selected step distance
- Multiple quick presses move incrementally
Best for:
- Precise positioning
- Controlled movements
- When you know exact distance needed
- Press and hold button (>300ms)
- Machine begins continuous movement
- Continue holding to keep moving
- Release button to stop immediately
Best for:
- Large distance movements
- When exact distance is unknown
- Quickly traversing the work area
Safety Feature: This is a dead-man switch - machine stops the moment you release the button.
The feed rate input allows you to control jog speed:
- Click the feed rate field
- Enter desired speed in mm/min
- Valid range: typically 1-10000 mm/min
- Press Enter or click away to apply
Feed Rate Behavior:
- Each step size has a default feed rate
- Changing step size resets to default
- Custom feed rate persists until step size changes
- Z-axis always uses half the XY feed rate
Jogging respects your current coordinate system:
- Work Coordinates: Machine stays within work coordinate limits
- Machine Coordinates: Absolute machine positions
- After homing, jog commands are in work coordinates by default
Button States:
- Normal: Default appearance
- Hover: Border highlights in accent color
- Active/Pressed: Button lights up, accent color fill
- Disabled: Grayed out, not clickable
During Movement:
- Active jog button shows accent color
- Position updates in real-time in Status Panel
- 3D visualizer shows tool position
When Jogging is Disabled:
- During alarm state (unlock machine first)
- During active job execution
- During probing operations
- When machine is not connected
- Center stop button remains active
Soft Limits:
- If soft limits are enabled in firmware, machine won't jog beyond limits
- Attempting to jog past limit may trigger an alarm
Hard Limits:
- If hit during jogging, machine enters alarm state
- Must unlock before continuing
- Use 10mm steps to get close to desired position
- Switch to 1mm for fine positioning
- Finish with 0.1mm for precision
- Always raise Z first before XY movements
- Use continuous jog cautiously on Z-axis
- Keep fingers on the stop button when jogging Z
- Jog tool to workpiece surface or edge
- Use 0.1mm steps for final approach
- Set work zero using Control Panel buttons
- Click center stop button
- Unlock machine (if needed)
- Jog away from limit switch or problem area
ncSender supports keyboard jogging (if enabled in settings):
- Arrow keys for XY movement
- Page Up/Page Down for Z movement
- Space bar to stop
Note: Keyboard shortcuts may need to be enabled in settings.
Probing Dialog:
- Jog controls available in probe dialog
- Same behavior as main interface
- Disabled during active probing
- Use for positioning probe before probing
Macro Recording:
- Jog commands can be recorded in macros
- Useful for repetitive positioning tasks
- See Macros for details
Machine doesn't move when jogging:
- Check machine is not in alarm state
- Verify connection is active
- Ensure machine is homed (if required by firmware)
- Check step size is not zero
Movement is too slow/fast:
- Adjust feed rate in the input field
- Verify feed rate is appropriate for step size
- Check firmware max feed rate settings
Continuous jog doesn't stop:
- Release button immediately
- Click center stop button
- Send soft reset from console if needed
Jog controls are grayed out:
- Machine may be in alarm state - unlock first
- Check if job is running - stop job first
- Verify connection status
See Troubleshooting for more help.