G-Code Demystified: A Beginner’s Guide to Machining

This time, Marc from G-Code Tutor continues the Back to Basics series with more information that you need to know before starting your G-Code journey.

He starts off by discussing the Cartesian coordinate system, where Marc shows us the axes of the machine and how we plot positions in the 3D environment.

Next, Marc introduced the cutter compensation system used by machines to offset the cutter. This means we can program the size of the part, and the machine calculates how much to offset the cutter so our parts come out the correct size.

Then, he covers the G90 and G91 G-Codes that change how our programs handle positional points. G90 is the absolute system that measures everything from the datum position, while the G91 incremental system moves from the last known cutter position.

We examine various G-Codes and M-Codes common across most machines, using this standard list as a starting point when programming a machine.

Finally, Marc discusses the difference between multiple repetitive cycles and canned cycles.

To learn this at a much deeper level, GCodeTutor offers a foundation course that is a great way to start your G-Code programming learning experience: https://gcodetutor.com/gcode-tutorial.html