Axis names & your controller — cncfoam.com Wiki

অক্ষের নাম ও আপনার নিয়ন্ত্রক

Why hot-wire G-code uses X Y U V A, why some controllers (GRBL / FluidNC) want X Y Z B A instead, and how the cncfoam.com output-format setting relabels the axes without changing the cut.

Axis letters are just labels. The motion a cut performs is fixed by the geometry; the letters only decide which motor each instruction talks to. cncfoam.com lets you pick the letters your controller expects — the toolpath is byte-for-byte identical, only the names change.

The native foam axes: X Y U V A

A 4-axis hot-wire cutter has two towers: the left tower moves in X গভীরতা Y (height), the right tower in উ গভীরতা W (height). A rotary table adds এ. This X/Y/U/V naming is the standard RS-274 convention for a second linear pair and is what LinuxCNC, Mach3/4 and most dedicated foam controllers expect. It is the cncfoam.com default (foam-native).

Why GRBL / FluidNC needs different letters

GRBL-family firmware — ফ্লুইডএনসি, grbl-Mega-5X, grblHAL — does not implement the U/V axis words at all. It only has X Y Z A B C. So to run on one of those boards, the right tower has to be relabelled: U→Z এবং V→B, with এ staying the rotary. That is the grbl-xyzab profile.

Choosing your output format

এ Settings → Controller / G-code format pick the profile that matches your machine:

Foam-native — X Y U V A (default): LinuxCNC, Mach3/4, most foam cutters.
GRBL / FluidNC — X Y Z B A: ESP32 + FluidNC, grbl-Mega-5X and similar.
কাস্টম: type the exact output letter for each axis yourself.

The active format is shown as an … badge next to the Download / stream buttons and on top of the live G-code window — click it to change. The live viewer is WYSIWYG: it always shows exactly what will be downloaded or streamed.

Nothing is stored in a controller-specific form

Shapes in the library are always saved in the canonical X/Y/U/V/A form. When you download a library shape it is re-labelled to your active format on the way out, so the same shape serves every controller. Pick your format once and forget it.

Unsure which to choose? If you bought or built an ESP32 + FluidNC machine (the cncfoam.com kit), use GRBL / FluidNC. If you run LinuxCNC or a classic 4-wire foam controller, keep Foam-native.