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Setting Home

Homing sends the machine to a known position (home) using limit switches or similar sensors. Use it to establish machine coordinates before setting work zero or running a job, when your workflow requires it.

What you’ll do​

  • Run Home All (or per-axis home if your firmware supports it)
  • Let the machine move to the home position
  • Use that reference for work zero and limits

When to use it​

  • At the start of a session, if your workflow uses machine coordinates
  • After a power cycle or reset, when the controller has lost position
  • Before setting work zero, when you always home first

Not all machines support homing. If yours doesn’t have limit switches, skip homing and use only work zero.

Steps​

  1. Enable homing (Grbl) — Grbl requires homing to be enabled. Send $22=1 (or set it in Grbl config). If you skip this, Home All can report an error.
  2. Ensure clear travel — The machine must be able to move to the limit switches. Clear obstructions and ensure the work area is safe.
  3. Home — In the Setup screen (or wherever Home All is shown), click Home All. The machine moves to the home position; each axis typically moves until its limit is triggered.
  4. Confirm — When homing completes, the controller reports the home position (often 0,0,0 or the configured home offsets). The UI may show “Homed” or similar.

After homing​

  • Machine coordinates are established. You can set work zero (G54 or similar) from a known reference.
  • Go to Zero (work zero) and other moves use this reference when applicable.

Grbl: $22=1​

For Grbl, $22=1 enables the homing cycle. Without it, Home All may fail with “Setting disabled” or similar. Use the console or a macro to send $22=1 if needed.

Troubleshooting​

  • Homing disabled — Enable homing in firmware (e.g. $22=1 for Grbl).
  • Axis doesn’t move or keeps moving — Check limit switch wiring and configuration. Ensure the homing direction and feedrate are correct in firmware.
  • False triggers — Noisy wiring or incorrect switch setup can cause bad homing. Check connections and grounding.

Next steps​