Control View (Machine Control)

Overview

Control View is where you operate the CNC plasma cutter. Here you jog the machine, set work coordinates, run G-code programs, and monitor cutting in real time.

Switch to Control View by pressing Tab from CAM View.

The DRO (Digital Readout) Pane

The DRO displays the current machine position across three axes: X, Y, and Z.

Coordinate Display

Each axis shows two numbers:

Large number -- Work Coordinate (WCS): Position relative to your work zero. This is the coordinate system you set with Zero X / Zero Y.
Small number -- Machine Coordinate (MCS): Absolute position relative to the machine home. This never changes unless you re-home.

Status Line

Below the coordinates, four readouts show real-time cutting data:

Readout	Description
FEED	Current feed rate (mm/min or in/min)
ARC	Current arc voltage reading from the plasma cutter
SET	THC voltage setpoint (the target voltage for torch height control)
RUN	Elapsed run time for the current program

Visual Indicators

The DRO background turns red when the torch is firing.
The ARC readout changes color to indicate arc_ok status (whether the plasma arc has transferred to the workpiece).

Below the DRO is a row of 6 buttons for adjusting the torch height in real time during cutting.

How It Works

The buttons apply a voltage offset to the THC target:

Button	Offset
-4	Decrease target by 4V
-1.5	Decrease target by 1.5V
-0.5	Decrease target by 0.5V
Center	Displays current offset (e.g., "+2.0")
+0.5	Increase target by 0.5V
+1.5	Increase target by 1.5V
+4	Increase target by 4V

Offset range: -12V to +12V
Effective voltage = base THC target + offset (clamped to 0--250V)
Adjustments only take effect while the torch is firing.

Use this to fine-tune cut height during a job if you notice the torch is too high or too low.

The HMI (Control Buttons) Pane

The HMI pane provides direct machine control buttons:

Button	Description
Zero X	Sets the X work coordinate to zero at the current position
Zero Y	Sets the Y work coordinate to zero at the current position
Touch	Probes the material surface height (dry run, no torch fire). Performs a touch-off cycle to establish Z zero.
Retract	Raises the torch to Z=0
Fit	Zooms the viewport to show all loaded G-code
Clean	Clears highlight paths from the view (e.g., arc-not-ok highlights)
Wpos	Rapid move to the work position origin (X0 Y0)
Park	Returns the machine to home position (machine coordinates)
Home	Initiates the homing cycle (finds limit switches)
Test Run	Runs the loaded G-code as a dry run -- probes the surface but does not fire the torch. Use this to verify the path before cutting.
Run	Executes the loaded G-code with the torch firing
Abort	Stops the current operation immediately

Machine Plane Display

The main viewport shows a top-down view of the machine working area:

Blue rectangle -- Full machine working area (defined by machine extents).
Green rectangle -- Safe cutting zone (cuttable extents). Programs that extend outside this area will be rejected.
Torch pointer -- A circle that follows the real-time machine position.

View Controls

Control	Action
Right-click drag	Pan the view
Scroll wheel	Zoom in/out
Fit button	Zoom to show all G-code

Click anywhere on the machine plane to navigate the torch to that position. A confirmation dialog will appear before the machine moves.

Jump-In Feature

Ctrl+left-click on a G-code contour to start the program from that specific contour. All contours before the clicked one are skipped. This is useful when:

A cut failed partway through a job and you want to resume from a specific part.
You only need to re-cut certain contours.

Reverse Path

Ctrl+right-click on a contour to reverse its cutting direction. This is useful when a cut fails mid-contour and you want to restart from the other end.

Loading G-code

Load a G-code file via File > Open, or receive it directly from CAM View using Send to Controller.