Microswitch on the pen holder… here I am, trying to understand that difference between y and x and home and zero…
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Have you seen the new docs page on coordinates? It probably needs some more editing to make things more clear, and some pictures:
Haha - thanks! Don’t want to hijack this beautiful thread - but I’m starting to wrap my head around this. But then I get disappointed when cncjs doesn’t heed my command when I try to set work zero on the specific position…
I was working on a REALLY simple circuit that plugged into the controller that allowed you to issue preset G-codes upon a button press. Say 4 or 6 preset commands (Home XY, Home XYZ, Home Z, Raise Z, Reset co-ords etc).
But then I made my wireless tablet controller, so I didn’t pursue it.
Maybe I will still design it, and put it up in case anyone wants to make a simple button press on their machine.
It’s probably going to be a small 8 pin chip or something, not sure yet. So if you wired a spare pair of wires to the top of your Z rig, you could have a co-ord reset/origin button on the top.
To be honest, there are so many options… it’s never ending.
I would however recommend wiring a spare 6 or 8 core to the Z assembly. It’s been very handy having those cores available for expansion.
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Got an old 32" TV out the loft… makes a great large slave monitor for Repetier 
Also got my Joystick installed. I do like the clip mounting system on the side (same as the keyboard). I can just place it where I want.
My joystick is the same as everyone else’s I think. Usual X, Y and twist Z (took some fiddling to get the ranges correct).
You press and hold the red button to enable it (didn’t want any knocked joystick movement errors).
Just making a simple circuit to allow the top joystick button to reset origin (X=0, Y=0, Z=0). Think that will be a handy function. I think it will be press and hold for two seconds to set origin.
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The push button enable sounds like a good idea. Are you debouncing the button to avoid any toggling of the enable state?
I think everyone has the push to enable function anyway. It it take low to enable, so I am just holding it high (+5v) with a 10k resistor.
Doesn’t seem to need more than that.
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A debounce circuit or logic is really to avoid detecting multiple edges. Since you are only enabled when it is pressed, any noise would just mean being enabled or not really quickly, but it will settle faster than you can detect (humans are slow).
I like having to hold it. I would call that mechanism a “live man switch” (or a dead man switch) because you need to actively hold it to make it active.
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That makes sense. I just wasn’t sure if it would matter or not. I find it enlightening to discuss the technical aspects to make sure I understand when things are important to consider, and when they aren’t.
I also like the idea of a push to use button. The Joystick is used infrequently enough that it seems like a reasonable approach. Having it be movable and holdable also makes it usable if you need to move around the machine while adjusting position. Especially if you have a large machine like mine that covers a 3’ x 5’ dining table.
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Well, I have more than enough ways to move this thing around!
I can press the red button (LED illuminates), and drive it pretty rapidly around the worktop with proportional speed.
It’s great for lining up the start of your cut.
Then, when I add the reset origins function, I think it will be very handy.
Agreed, debounce is not really necessary, and having a momentary pushbutton is a plus for safety. The LED is maybe optional at that point (but still nice for the feedback). With a toggle switch, having an LED is critical to not accidentally leave it enabled. At least for me.
The only downside to the pushbutton is it takes two hands, so if you want to slowly lower Z while sliding a sheet of paper under the bit, that’s going to become tricky.
Well my joystick will have an 8 pin processor in it imminently (of course it will!) to issue the ‘reset origin’ command.
There are so many options for control. You could press the button to activate the joystick and it times out (latches back off) after 3 seconds if no movement is detected.
But, I don’t need that function and I have got to stop making EVERYTHING I make more complicated than it needs to be 
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FIFY