Work Offset is an integer value that indicates the identifying number of the registers in the controller that will store the X, Y, and Z work offset values.
The work offset values are the X, Y, and Z distances between the machine zero position and the part zero position. The machine zero position is set by the manufacturer.
The part zero is an easily locatable point somewhere in the machine’s work area. When the stock is secured in the work area, the part zero position will often be a location on the stock or on a fixture that holds the stock. The part zero position represents or corresponds to the origin in the SURFCAM design of the part. The part zero position is located by the operator using the machine.
The X, Y, and Z values of the offset of this location from the machine zero are then loaded into the controller’s work offset registers. In some machines the work offset registers are restricted to a range of values, for example, 54 to 59.