Warning
The current version of MillMage is a Release Candidate — a stable version of software that is nearly ready for official release, but in need of additional public testing. Please report any unexpected behavior in the MillMage Software Questions section of our forum, including screenshots and as much detail as possible. Ask hardware compatibility questions in the MillMage Hardware Compatibility section.
Users new to MillMage should follow the Getting Started guide.
Video: How to Use a Release Candidate
This video features our sister software, LightBurn. While there may be slight differences in appearance and layout, the demonstrated processes are similar in MillMage.
Warning
This documentation is in active development and in a prerelease state. These documents are not complete and may include missing pages, broken links, and placeholders. Content is being updated as feedback is reviewed. Your patience is appreciated.
Coordinates and Project Origin
MillMage displays the current tool position relative to two coordinate systems: Machine Coordinates and Workpiece Coordinates. The top of the Move Window displays the position of the tool in relation to both the machine and workspace coordinate space.
Coming from LightBurn?
See MillMage for LightBurn Users for a detailed comparison.
Tool Position Display¶
- Tool Position (M) is the position of the tool relative to the entire area of the machine. This coordinate system will be consistent regardless of the size or origin of the workpiece between projects.
- Tool Position (W) is the position of the tool relative to the workpiece defined in Project Setup and by zeroing out the axes in the Position tab. This coordinate system will vary between projects.
There are a few ways to tell MillMage where to output your project within the work area of your machine, each available in the Project Setup Wizard.
Machine vs Work Position
Absolute Coordinates¶
Absolute Coordinates is the simplest option. The grid you see in the Workspace of MillMage represents your machine's physical work area. Anything you place in the MillMage grid will be output in the corresponding location in your machine's work area.
Note
Using absolute positioning requires a CNC machine with homing switches and a fixed origin. If you have a CNC that does not have homing switches, you will need to manually home the machine. See: Machines without homing sensors / limit switches.
In the image below, the two circles placed in the middle of the MillMage grid will be cut in the middle of the machine work area. The green square in the lower left of the image represents the Job Origin, and the red square in the same place shows the Machine Origin. When using Absolute Coordinates these are always in the same place.
Current Position¶
With Current Position selected, your job outputs relative to the current position of the tool when you hit the Start button. The Job Origin options in the Project Setup window tells MillMage how to orient output relative to the tool.
In this image, we're starting from the Current Position, with the Job Origin set to the lower left:
Notice that the green Job Origin indicator has moved. This represents the position of the tool when you start the job, so the tool is going to move slightly up and to the right from wherever it is, cut the two circles, and go back to where it started.
Now imagine that you want to etch this two-circle pattern onto a coaster or a phone case. Lining it up from the lower left is not easy. If you change the Job Origin setting to center, you get this instead:
The job will be centered around the current position of the tool. If you position the tool directly over the center of the item you want to etch, the output will be centered on the item.
User Origin¶
User Origin works almost exactly the same as Current Position, except that the starting location is programmable. To set a User Origin, you must first jog your tool to the location you want your job to start from, then set the origin.
For supported systems, use Clear Origin to remove and reset a custom-set origin.
After setting the origin, you are free to jog your tool around its work area. With User Origin selected as the Start From mode, the tool will move back to that programmed location and start the project from there.
Use the Home button in the Job Control to command your tool to travel back to the origin you've set.
As with Current Position, the Job Origin setting determines how output will be oriented relative the user-defined origin.
Finish Position¶
Note
The Finish Position option is only available for GCode-based controllers. DSP controllers manage this internally.
MillMage allows you to control where you want the head of the tool to return after a job is finished. By default, it will return to 0,0, but this is not always optimal for all machines.
To change your CNC machine's Finish Position, go to the Move Window and use the arrows to position your tool wherever you would like it to return to after the job is finished, then click the Set Finish Position button. Your machine will now remember that spot for future jobs. Finish Position can be adjusted at any time by repeating the above steps for a new location.
Users with GCode-based CNC machines can also adjust or disable the Finish Position in Device Settings. Manually create and move to saved positions in the Position tab of the Move window.
For more help using MillMage, please visit our forum to talk with MillMage staff and users, or email support.