Background

When using the physical touchoff switch for material height sensing, there's a certain amount of lost motion in the Z-axis between when the torch head touches the material and when the micro-switch in the torch lifter triggers. It's important to set an accurate value for the distance between torch touch and touch switch triggering so that the initial pierce height can be correctly computed.

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Step 1

Power on the machine and reference all axes.

Step 2

From the PathPilot interface, on the Settings tab, disabled Ohmic Touchoff.

Step 3

Put a piece of material on the machine table and position the torch above it.

Step 4

Using a slow jog speed (around 5IPM), jog the torch down until it’s just contacting the material.

Step 5

Zero your Z-axis at this position.

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Step 6

Switch to the Status tab and watch the Touch Switch LED. Very slowly, jog downwards until the LED comes on.

Step 7

Note the value in the Z DRO field. This is your Torch Touch Trigger Depth. Covert this value to a positive number and enter it on the Settings tab.

Step 8

Re-enable Ohmic Touchoff on the Settings page.