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Not sure 'cutting edge' is the right term, but I understand if you're not interested in something slightly experimental.  You can always have a go at caxis.comp later.

As far as creating a second configuration goes, there are (at least) a couple ways.

First, you can simply make a copy of your current config and then hand-edit the INI and HAL files.  But you mentioned that HAL isn't clicking for you, so that may be a bit of a stretch.

Second method would be to use Mesact to create a new configuration from scratch, but this time you tell Mesact that your spindle is a step & direction type.  I think you've got the 4th axis connected to stepgen.04 and are using a 6:1 belt ratio, yes?  Include those values in the new config via Mesact, along with an appropriate max speed and estimated max accel for the 4th axis.

Leave out the 'real' spindle settings, and put everything else (axes & IO) the same as your existing config and then see what Mesact comes up with.

That should give you new INI and HAL files which you can use to create a merged/blended configuration that has both spindles and no 4th axis.

I find that using VSCode makes things easy to read/edit (there's a LCNC/HAL file plugin).  I'd set up all three HAL files across two monitors and look at the differences.  Things to look out for:

• Dont forget to comment out or delete the A-axis/joint 3 section
• The new spindle needs all pins to be named 'spindle.1.nnn', and the signal names need to be 'spindle1-vel-cmd-nnn' (or similar).

INI file must be edited, too, especially these:
[DISPLAY]
GEOMETRY = xyz

[KINS]
KINEMATICS = trivkins coordinates=XYZ
JOINTS = 3

[TRAJ]
COORDINATES = XYZ
SPINDLES=2

[AXIS_A] - remove this entire section
[JOINT_3] - remove this entire section

[SPINDLE_1]
(put the 4th axis spindle stuff here)

Have a go and see what you come up with.  Assuming it doesn't work - these things are rarely perfect the first time - and you get an error trying to start LCNC, make sure to screen capture the error and report back here.

Thanks for your reply.
The XYZ servo drives seem to use +/- 10V analog signal to control the DC motors.
The resolvers are the default Fadal resolvers.
For the VFD I don't know as I'm looking for a new VFD to replace the current Baldor VFD. I did see people succesfully replacing the Baldor either by Yaskawa GA500, Yaskawa V1000 or Hitachi WJ200 VFD.

Can the 7i97T output +/-10V signals and take the input of the resolvers?

Oh and a generic question: can someone share the Fadal Model 914 / VMC15 (1994) wiring diagrams / electrical schemetics?

I think you identified to problem By trade I'm a power electronics engineer... so my programming skills are... well they can only be improved

There isn't really a 'dev-team'. The vismach feature was added years ago by interested users. The documentation was written up some years later by somebody else who was not involved in creating the feature.
If you have the knowledge to prepare a pull request for what you have in mind then I'm sure there would be a fair bit of interest but if you hope for somebody else to do the programming then the chances are fairly slim.

Hello Aciera,

yeah that was basically the problem. I could figure it out with your suggestion with the frequent halcompile way, but this was the culprit. Now it works and i started working on vismach.

I figured out how vismach works and started to modify an existing configuration. But in general its a bit of a pain.

I wonder if its possible to give feedback to the dev-Team in terms of new ideas?

I think it could be done easier, more comfortable and more accurate if it would be possible to export the already animated and set up machine out of Freecad and then just implement it into LCNC. Which would result in a proper machine simulation just as the big boys do it (siemens/fanuc etc.)

It is nice to import .obj and .stl but fitting them together is somehow a bit painful.

Even the documentation has a nice little note:

But anyway, thank you so far for the great support!

please refer to....linuxcnc.org/docs/stable/html/config/ini...ml#_immediate_homing

I am hobbing without any special UI for a while now. I change invert.0.in pin manually. There are some other parameters that I would have to change manually, when using "additional" rotation for Pfauter method. But I barely touched this, mainly because of mechanical setup issues.
I really would (should) give it another try, but my patience was not high enough. I am interested in improving the situation on my machine.

@boogie, please keep us update how it is going. , maybe I can finally get there.

As I understand it the UI that Andy made runs as "sub window" in the Axis UI and provides the special inputs and some features.

Greetings Timo