Machine Profiles
Updated v2.4.8At a glance
- Save and load machine profiles as portable .jcm files — easy to share between installations
- Per-axis travel, velocity, and acceleration limits; units (in or mm)
- Controller comes from the selected post — LinuxCNC, Mach3, or GcodePilot (GRBL/FluidNC) targets
- AVTHC (Automatic Voltage Torch Height Control) — enable/disable and default voltage
- MCS origin corner — sets machine home position (lower-left, lower-right, upper-left, upper-right)
- Spline simplify tolerance — controls arc approximation fidelity in post output
- One profile can run more than one process — an oxyfuel torch or router head on the same table
A machine profile describes your table: envelope, origin, torch, cut charts, rules, and post
processor, all stored in one portable .jcm file. The Plasma sidebar's machine dropdown selects
the active profile, and Machine Configuration edits it. On first run JetCad3 creates a starter
profile (My 4x8 Plasma, badged Default until you rename it), and the last profile of a type can
never be deleted out from under the workspace.
General and axes
The General tab sets name, type, and units (inches or millimeters), plus the MCS Origin — click a corner on the 2×2 dot grid to tell JetCad3 where your machine homes, which orients the bed and rapids. A Simplify Tolerance controls arc-fitting fidelity for spline and SVG import and the Simplify tool (default 0.001"), and a global Max Velocity caps rapids for honest time estimates. Each axis gets travel, max velocity, and acceleration; a plasma Z is seeded homing at the top with downward travel. Both the machine config and its cut charts can be password-locked.
Cutter, torch, and post
The Cutter tab picks Manufacturer → Model → Torch Type to load factory cut recipes. The Torch tab enables Arc Voltage THC and sets the default target voltage used when a recipe doesn't supply one. The Post tab lists post processors whose type matches the machine — LinuxCNC, QtPlasmaC, Mach3/4, GRBL, FluidNC, and more — with per-machine property overrides; controller-specific sections appear based on the selected post. Rules and reusable G-code subroutines live on the profile too, so everything travels together.
More than one head on the table
A profile is not limited to one process. If your table carries an oxyfuel torch beside the plasma torch, or takes a bolt-on router spindle, add that process from General → Processes instead of building a second machine — it shares the axes, travels, connection and subroutines, and keeps its own post, torch, rules and nesting. See Multi-Process Machines.
Sharing profiles
Each profile row exports its .jcm; Export All bundles every machine on the computer into one
zip backup, and Import accepts multiple .jcm files or that zip directly. Imports always get a
fresh identity — re-importing duplicates rather than merges — and machine-local connection details
are scrubbed on the way in, so a profile from another shop drops in cleanly.