Electronica EL400 Power Off Memory
Congratulations on the purchase of your Electronica 400 series mill kit. This article addresses how to restore
your ABS zero point if power is lost, or the mill is moved with the power off, on an EL400 display. Technically,
this function is more appropriately named “homing” but most users know it by the decidedly descriptive term of
“Power Off Memory”.
Typically the first step in machining, is to set an ABS zero point on your workpiece. As such, all subsequent
points/cuts/edges etc. are then defined as the distance from this arbitrary ABS zero point. This point may be the
front edge of a workpiece, middlepoint of the workpiece, etc. as the user desires. Normally, the EL400 display
will always track your ABS zero point. But there are a couple of instances where the display might “lose” the
ABS zero point, such as if the table is moved with the display turned off, of if the machine loses power while
machining and “coasts” to a stop after power has been suddenly interrupted. The Power Off Memory feature
allows an exact “recapture” of the users ABS zero point if the aforementioned situations were to happen.
Power Off Memory consists of three separate steps. The first step is “Homing Reference”. Magnetic scales are
manufactured with permanently coded, pre-existing reference points located along the length of the scale, called
"reference marks". The “Homing Reference” function locates these marks.
The second step is called “Setting Machine Reference”. This step “stores” a user designated ABS zero point in
the DRO memory, in reference to the permanent reference mark found in the first step.
The third step is “Recalling Machine Reference”. This allows the user to recapture a lost ABS zero point. It must
be emphasized that the third step will ONLY work if the first two steps of the power out memory function were
previously performed, before power was lost. It is worth noting that the first two must be re-accomplished
anytime a new ABS zero has been set, if power off memory is to function correctly.
Performing EL400 Power Off Memory:
The first step of performing power off memory is to discover one of the many permanent scale reference marks.
Section 7.7.1 of the manual describes this process. For this example, we’ll store our X axis ABS zero point on a
milling machine.
Step 1 - Homing Reference (EL400 Manual Section 7.7.1 Reference Point). Magnetic scales have factory
embedded, permanent reference marks along the length of the scale. To store a user designated ABS zero
point, it's necessary to locate and mark one of these permanent reference marks. As these reference marks are
not visibly marked on the scale, we must first discover which mark will be most convenient to use.
Move your table to the approximate position where you would like to establish your ABS zero point.
Press the “homing” function button.
You should see “hoME” on the X axis display window.
Press the “enter” button.
You should see “SELECt” on the X axis display window.
Press the X axis button.
The X axis display window should now be flashing "0".
Move the X axis of the mill until the X axis display begins counting normally. As soon as the X axis begins
counting, reverse the travel, and go back so that the X axis window displays “0.0000”. This indicates the exact
