Axis

How it is used

Used constantly with robots, CNC machines and motion control. Robot axes are numbered from the base: axis 1 (A1 or J1) up to axis 6. You move, jog and home an axis, and talk about external or additional axes such as a linear track.

Example sentences

1. Axis 4 is close to its limit, so rotate the part a little before the robot picks it.

2. We added a seventh axis, a floor track, so one robot can serve both machines.

Common collocations

• six-axis robot
• external axis
• axis limit
• jog an axis
• rotary axis

Related terms

• degrees of freedomThe number of independent ways a robot or a body can move. A typical industrial arm has six, enough to place its tool at a chosen position and orientation within its workspace.
• jointA connection between two parts of a robot arm that allows movement. A revolute joint rotates and a prismatic joint slides in a straight line; each joint is usually one axis.
• coordinate frameA set of X, Y and Z axes with a fixed origin, used to describe positions and orientations. Robots use several frames, such as world, base, tool and user frames.
• jogTo move a robot or machine axis by hand in small steps or at low speed, usually by holding keys on the teach pendant, to position it or check a movement.
• servo motorAn electric motor with a built-in position sensor, usually an encoder, so that a drive can control its position, speed and torque very precisely. Robot joints are normally moved by servo motors.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• axis · Mathematics

More terms: Motion and Kinematics

• work envelope
• tool center point
• repeatability
• accuracy
• kinematics
• trajectory
• inverse kinematics
• singularity