Is there any way I can reverse the direction of the jog pendant controller? I would like the vise to move to the left when I turn the controller knob counterclockwise.
Scott,
We don’t have a way to reverse the direction of the jog pendant, no.
Thank you,
Norman
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I finally have it in my mind that I’m moving the tool/spindle not the table. That’s the only way I can move it the right direction on the first try. 
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Yeah. It took me a while to wrap my mind around this concept when I first started too…
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OK, thanks for the reply.
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I teach the CNC machining course on a PCNC 1100 at our local MakerLabs. One of the first exercises we do is put a spring-loaded sharpie in the spindle and have students jog around a maze. Having them think in terms of “move the spindle, not the table” is a must.
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Seems like having a switch to opt for one direction or another would be pretty simple and extremely helpful for dyslexic and neuro-divergent people like myself that struggle with this. I had this on my previous CNC machine back in the 90’s.
@Scott_Dube - the more that I have kept this in mind since you posted it, the more thumbs up I want to send. you for your tip…
Excellent suggestion. If anyone is looking for a spring-loaded Sharpe holder, here is one I found that can be 3D printed…
On a related note, it is possible to configure the “step” button on the jog controller so that it progressively decreases rather than increases. By default, if PathPilot is on 0.01" stepping for example, pressing “step” changes the increment to “0.1”. I prefer it instead decrease to the next smaller amount. In this case, drop from 0.01" to 0.001".
This is the answer.
You start changing the directions on the jog wheel and someone is going to jog a carbide into your table. Of corse if you don’t make it changeable someone is going to jog a carbide into your table.
Something I teach as a habit is that when changing from continuous to step (or to a finer step value), always take the first step away from the part/vise/table. This way, if you are accidentally on a larger step than you think, the movement is away from danger.
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This guy @futnuh gets another gold star.
You have to take a written and pass a practical exam to drive a car…makes sense to have the same for a machine that can cost as much as one when dealing with novices where it also has the “c” word associated with it.
Do you have this stuff put together in a mini course or handout that you could share here?
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The Gold star will be worn with pride.
Unfortunately I don’t have anything written down. Thought of another one though last night. At our maker space, most people wanting to learn metal machining are coming from a background of using our Shopbot CNC with wood. They are used to zeroing Z using the paper method. Which is fine when you are touching off against a material with some give. Not so much when you touch off against a vise, a piece of aluminum stock, etc. For this reason I demonstrate using a 1/2" precision dowel pin or even an end mill or drill bit shank. Jog down so that the pin doesn’t roll under. Now step up until the pin does roll under. Drop down to the next lower step increment and drop the height until the pin no longer rolls under. Repeat until you are precise enough. Final step, rather than zeroing Z, enter the diameter of the pin into the Z field. I like this technique because it almost eliminates the chance of breaking a tool. (I say almost because I actually had a student bring a 1/8" end mill down right on the pin last week.) And it gets them thinking about actual offsets rather than just pressing a button.
Edit to add that I think I picked this technique up from Joe Pi’s YouTube channel. Or come to think of it, could even have been Mike Corliss from Tormach.
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