Learn/GcodePilot/Positioning & offsets
Work Offsets & Zeroing
Updated v2.6.0At a glance
- Color-coded G54–G59 badge tracks the controller-confirmed WCS and remembers it per machine
- Programs without a G54–G59 word follow the WCS selected on the DRO
- Zero X/Y/Z split buttons: zero the axis, Set to a value, or Increment — inputs take expressions like 1/16
- Zeroing moves the rendered toolpath to where it will physically cut
The DRO shows work coordinates alongside machine coordinates, with a color-coded badge for the controller-confirmed active work offset (G54–G59). Click the badge to switch — each row previews its stored offsets — or let an explicit G54–G59 in the program select one. The badge changes only after the controller accepts the selection.
JetCad3 remembers the last confirmed selection separately for each machine. A machine with no saved selection starts on G54. Reconnecting restores the remembered selection when the controller first reports Idle; JetCad3 will not inject a delayed selection into a controller already running or held.
Programs that use the active work offset
A G-code file with no G54–G59 word inherits the work offset selected on the DRO. The preview, framing, travel checks, jump-in/resume and the actual run all use that same coordinate frame. This makes it practical to keep several sheet or fixture origins in G54–G59 and choose the one to run at machine-control time without reposting the job.
If a file contains G54–G59, those commands still take priority and run in program order. After a normal program completion, JetCad3 keeps the last work offset the program actually used. An abort, alarm, error or disconnect does not perform a hidden restoration.
Zeroing
The Zero X/Y/Z buttons are split buttons: the icon zeros the axis in the active work offset; the
caret offers Set to value… and Increment…, both accepting expressions (5/2, 1/16) in
the live display unit. Zeroing updates only the selected G54–G59 slot, and the rendered toolpath moves
to where it will physically cut — what you see is where it lands.
These six controller slots are independent origins, not an undo history. For example, they can hold different sheets, a fixture origin and a service position at the same time.
Units
Display follows the active G20/G21 modal live: run a metric program and the DRO, feeds and jog steps flip to millimeters the moment it takes effect, and back on G20. Geometry never moves — only the displayed numbers change.