# "Z axis work envelope exceeded" **URL:** \ **Category:** General Chat\ **Created:** [April 7, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998 "2026-04-07T21:40:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smokingtimber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Smokingtimber](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Smokingtimber)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/1 "2026-04-07T21:40:22Z")
I get the “Z axis work envelope exceeded” when a job will drill into spoil board. Info: machine - avid 4x8 solutions I’ve tried: everything i can find lol. - disabled spoil board protection in wizard and confirmed that it is 12in height - checked graph and made sure tool path stayed in bounds - made sure bit will physically go past point i’m trying to drill When making the spoil board it did not have this issue so I question if it is a vcarve issue but I have checked everything and all looks good. Completely stumped. New to this so i’m sure i’ve got something Abackwards ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/2 "2026-04-07T23:13:28Z")
> [@Smokingtimber](#): > > disabled spoil board protection in wizard and confirmed that it is 12in height Did you also set the dig-in value to zero? Try that if you didn’t Also, are you seeing this error when the job loads? If you are it’s because the tool is not yet measured. The software is telling you it might exceed the travel, but won’t know until the tool is measured. Also, are you sure your G code is actually correct? (do you have your Z zero set right both in the CAM software and on your machine?) ---
**Author:** ![Smokingtimber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Smokingtimber](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Smokingtimber)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/3 "2026-04-08T16:15:14Z")
I’ll try the dig in value. the work around I found yesterday was to edit gcode and take out the m6 line. i did the mtc before running tool path so I think tool is measured. It gets to the point where it says spindle is about to start, hit run to continue. I hit run and it gives error. taking out M6 line in gcode allowed me to run tool path and it ran correctly. I feel like i’m doing something wrong though for me to have to use this work around. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/4 "2026-04-08T17:04:17Z")
> [@Smokingtimber](#): > > take out the m6 line. Do not do this. You can cause yourself all kinds of other issues if you’re not understanding the implications of this. > [@Eric](#): > > Did you also set the dig-in value to zero? Try that if you didn’t ---
**Author:** ![Smokingtimber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Smokingtimber](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Smokingtimber)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/5 "2026-04-08T17:12:53Z")
Ai gives such stellar advice lol. let me finish this spoon and i’ll try that and report back. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/6 "2026-04-08T17:26:09Z")
> [@Smokingtimber](#): > > Ai gives such stellar advice lol. yeah… not for this stuff. It’s too esoteric 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smokingtimber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Smokingtimber](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Smokingtimber)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/7 "2026-04-08T18:14:00Z")
3d modeling isn’t esoteric, you should see the blender scripts it throws out 😆 I think it’s just dumb. Anyhow that worked, thank you! should have got on here earlier that caused so much pain last few weeks ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/8 "2026-04-08T18:21:27Z")
I ran into this same issue with the spoilboard protection turned off when cutting dog holes in my spoilboard recently.I ended up just turning it on and setting the amount it is allowed to dig in to more than the depth of the spoilboard and it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Smokingtimber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Smokingtimber](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Smokingtimber)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/9 "2026-04-08T18:45:57Z")
setting the value to 0 as he said works as well. your approach makes much more sense than the rabbit hole i went down. ---
**Author:** ![Heiko77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/67e7ee/32.png) [@Heiko77](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Heiko77)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/10 "2026-04-08T18:55:27Z")
Same here. The work envelope issue (and the inability to use a touch screen) have been the biggest annoyances for me since switching to an avid. I had to tinker a lot to turn the spoil board protection and related checks completely off and finally get jobs running to the end without stopping in the middle with this error. And of course they never harmed the spoil board. 🤣 But other than that - I am very happy with the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 7:35pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/11 "2026-04-08T19:35:53Z")
This bug has already been fixed in our next release which will be out in the coming months ---
**Author:** ![kglasnapp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dfb087/32.png) [@kglasnapp](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/kglasnapp)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 9:35am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/12 "2026-07-14T09:35:19Z")
When will the next release be available? If it has been released can you provide a link to the download? ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/13 "2026-07-14T12:42:57Z")
We have a beta listed now. I would wait for the real release probably next week. ---
**Author:** ![berrianmtn](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/berrianmtn/32/4852_2.png) [@berrianmtn](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/berrianmtn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/14 "2026-07-15T03:18:12Z")
An “Avid next week” … > [@How to cut into spoilboard for fixtures](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/how-to-cut-into-spoilboard-for-fixtures/4850/48): > > Not sure that is quite true, at least in 5.24. P703 (#9703) is the enable/disable flag as used in the wizard and scripts. P753 (#9753) is the configured value for spoil board dig in. M6 macro will set and enable the work envelope using G22 if the configured value in #9753 is greater than zero, otherwise disable it using G23: If #9753 GT 0 THEN G22 K[#10000 + [#9753 \* -1]] ELSE G23 ;If we have spoilboard anti dig in enabled set work envelope for z axis, else do nothing. M3 macro will issue G22… ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/15 "2026-07-15T11:39:55Z")
> [@berrianmtn](#): > > An “Avid next week” … Well the fix is already out in the beta that we posted. The general release will be next week ---
**Author:** ![berrianmtn](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/berrianmtn/32/4852_2.png) [@berrianmtn](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/berrianmtn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/16 "2026-07-17T00:44:01Z")
The point, if it wasn’t clear, is that Avid does not fix bugs in their own code until a new product dictates a software update. This was just an example; a year old example. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/17 "2026-07-17T02:48:12Z")
We do patch software updates when needed, not just on new products. This particular bug only required a simple workaround: Set it to zero and flip the switch off. That didn’t warrant a full software update. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-axis-work-envelope-exceeded/5998/18 "2026-07-17T02:50:56Z")