Slave Axis

Software axis slaving option can be used to slave X axis with A axis or the Y axis with B axis. This option allows the user to have two separate homing switches or sensors on the axis to be able to align the axis.


The user can choose between 2 methods of slaving, Hardware slaving and Software Slaving.



Hardware Slaving.


  • This is where 2 motor drives are connected to the same axis to drive 2 motors on the gantry. An example of this is a dual Y axis drive system.
  • Only one homing sensor is required for the slaved axis.
  • If you need one motor to turn in the opposite direction there are 3 methods you can use to achieve this


  1. You can wire the motor to the drive in such a way as to make it run in the opposite direction.
  2. If using common ground connection you can connect one drive to S,D & GND while the other is connected to -S,-D & GND. 
  3. If the drives are connected in differential mode then you can reverse the polarity of the S & -S and D & -D connections into the 2nd drive to run the motor in the opposite direction if needed.



Software Salving


  • This is where 2 motor drives are connected to the same axis to drive 2 motors on the gantry but each motor has a separate axis to drive it. An example of this is a dual Y axis drive system.
  • In this case the X axis can be slaved to the A axis or the Y axis can be slaved to the B axis.
  • The advantage of this is that your Machine will automatically square the slaved axis when ever the machine is homed.
  • Sensors are required on each axis when using software slaving. On a Y/B slaved axis both the Y & B axis must have sensors installed or MASSO will not home correctly as it relies on both sensors for auto squaring.
  • If one of your motors is running in the wrong direction you can reverse it by ticking or unticking the Invert Direction setting on the axis setting as required.



Axis Relationship when Slaving


  • It is important to note that the slaving relationship between axis is fixed and cannot be changed.
  • The X axis can only be slaved with the A axis.
  • The Y axis can only be slaved with the B axis.


INFORMATION: When using software slaving, a separate homing sensor/switch needs to be installed on the slave side.