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Yes, the 7I97/7I97T have 8 dedicated MPG pins on the isolated inputs  (inputs 0 ..7)

The four MPG counter names are:

hm2_7i97.0.inmux.00.enc0-count
hm2_7i97.0.inmux.00.enc1-count
hm2_7i97.0.inmux.00.enc2-count
hm2_7i97.0.inmux.00.enc3-count

One advantage of the MPG encoders over the normal high speed encoders
is that the MPG encoders support the 1X mode, which means you get one increment
per click on standard 100 PPR MPG dials.

There is also a good MPG example in the docs except in Mesa land, you don't use the encoder component
linuxcnc.org/docs/stable/html/examples/mpg.html
Not sure on the 7i97 but there are some dedicated MPG pins on the Mesa 7i76e (and for the 7i96 if you use the right bit file and give up some pins.

I use LinuxCNC 2.9.8, and trying to use versatool to do manual tool change with a tool length sensor and a touch probe.

I do this sequence.

1. Defined tool 99, and load it: M6 T99,
2. Get a pop up window about manual tool change, install the probe in the spindle and press OK,
3. Go to the TLS by pressing the first button in the first row (Go to Tool Setter),
4. Measure the probe height by pressing the second button in the first row (Probe Tool Setter Z Height),
5. Jog above my stock (aluminum), and measure its height by pressing the button in the middle row (Probe Z Height of material),
6. Load a tool: M6 T3,
7. Get the pop up, install the tool and pressed OK

I can see the PROBE HT and BLOCK HT variables set, as seen in the screen shot below.

 

I would then expect to measure the tool height by pressing the first button in the bottom row (Probe Height of the current tool). But I can't, it is not active.

What else do I have to do to be able to measure the tool height?

 

Wouldn't the proper way to invert a PWM be to use a negative value for the PWM scale? (setp pwmgen.N.scale = negative value)

Finally got back to this project last week. So it seems the big difficulty is the unique hydraulic configuration. The left and right side (axis Y1 and Y2) are servo valves tee'd from the pump. The flow divider is fully emulated electronically. In this case directly in LinuxCNC hal. I seem to have improved control at this point. More testing...

Thanks for your help on this.
Cheers,
Mark

One more little gray text on a gray background...
No, thank you.

Hey,

I’ve been building a new GUI for LinuxCNC called lcncgui (mainly for my own use) and figured I’d throw it out here. It's a browser based, more "modern" looking UI.

Why browser?

Qt and the classic GUI stuff work fine, but design-wise a browser UI just gives you a lot more room — layouts, touch stuff, dialogs, etc. feel way less constrained (and I'm also not really proficient with qt).

On older PCs this might be an issue, but anyone something somewhat modern like a raspberry pi will be fine.

How it works

Python backend talks to LinuxCNC, frontend talks to the backend over WebSockets. Same role as gmoccapy — set `DISPLAY = lcncgui` and you’re good.

Because it’s network-based, you could also open and control it on another device, e.g. an iPad on the same network.

Control

It’s mainly meant for external buttons / hotkeys (and HAL panel inputs). Softkeys, keyboard, and physical buttons all do the same things.

If you don’t have a panel, there’s a virtual button sidebar so you can still run everything from the screen.

Things that are different from the classic linuxcnc GUI

- Macros — stack operations in a queue (drill, helical bore, face mill, patterns, …), hit go, gets turned into real G-code and opened in the program editor
- G/M-code tooltips — hover/click a code and you get a short explanation instead of digging through the manual
- Tool table — more info than the usual `.tbl` stuff, plus cut presets (RPM, feeds, etc.) so you can set cutting data quickly
- Shutdown — close the GUI, or close it and shut down the PC cleanly afterward

Plus the usual jog/home, DRO, program editor, MDI, overrides, etc.

Still WIP

Some things are missing or half-done (no machine visualization yet, not every macro tile actually generates G-code yet, etc.). Expect rough edges. Also coding was assisted a lot by AI.

Looking for feedback — what feels useful, what’s annoying, what’s missing for real use.

Repo: github.com/salomom/lcncgui  
Install via release tarball + `install.sh`, no Node needed on the machine.
If you're running on an older machine, consider installing chromium as your default browser, as it's a bit more performative.

Happy to answer questions.

Cheers,  
Tim

saxa wrote:

Now recently I have visited some exhibition and I saw today most of industrial things are on EtherCAT.

Yes, it does seem so...

saxa wrote:

My plan is to make linuxcnc act as an master node, and send signals to the motion controller which will then through some adapters transform the signal to pulse/dir and send to the drives.

That would be redundant as LinuxCNC is the motion controller.
In short:
-buy a Mesa 7i96S and a THCAD
-a used Entrprise PC
-A network cable
-Wire, install LinuxCNC, start wiring drives and motors
-those drives will have to be set in position mode, hence 7i96S
-yeah, wiring, you will need very good quality shielded cables for everything as cables that long will collect a lot of interference, not very important for oxy cutting, but a mist for plasma cutting.
-....well, that is it.

Very strange, Do the GPIO inputs work?
 (GPIO0..GPIO10 match INM0..INM10 on a 7I96S)

Hello,

I have a 7I96S that has developed a specific fault: the 11 isolated field inputs (TB3-01…11, the InM module) stopped updating during operation. They read the correct state once when the hostmot2 driver loads, and then freeze — actuating a switch or the E-stop no longer changes the value in software. The card's own input status LEDs do still follow the switches correctly.

Everything else on the card works normally: Ethernet comms are solid (no packet errors, no watchdog trips), all 5 stepgens drive motors correctly, PWM works.

Setup
- 7I96S, Smart Serial Firmware Version 43, BoardName MESA7I96 per mesaflash --readhmid
- LinuxCNC 2.9.10 (uspace), hostmot2 0.15, hm2_eth 0.2
- Raspberry Pi CM5, Debian 12, PREEMPT_RT kernel; card on a dedicated NIC at 192.168.1.121
- Standard 24 V field sensors; input common (TB3-12) tied to field 0 V

What I have established by testing
1. It worked, then stopped. Early on, inputs updated live (two limit inputs flipped TRUE→FALSE on halmeter when actuated). Later in the same session they froze and have not recovered.
2. Not comms/packet loss. With a stepgen commanded to move, stepgen.NN.position-fb updates live in the same read cycle that the InM inputs stay frozen. A lost/stale read packet would freeze position feedback too — it doesn't.
3. Not debounce. raw-input-NN (undebounced) is frozen as well, so the scan itself is not advancing (scan_rate/fast_scans/slow_scans at defaults).
4. Survives full cold power cycles. The card powers down completely with the Pi; it was fully powered off several times after the freeze and stayed frozen.
5. Firmware config intact. mesaflash --readhmid reads a complete, correct HostMot2 cM module (base 8500).
6. Adding hm2_7i96s.0.read-request to the servo thread did not change the behaviour.

Possible cause on my end: a contactor in the machine failed (fried) shortly before the inputs froze. Its coil ran on the 24V field power. I suspect a transient may have coupled into the input section via a shared ground.

My question: given the inputs read correctly at load but never update live, while thunctional and the firmware reads back intact — does this look like a damaged inputsection that needs repair/replacement, or is there something else I can test first?

Thank you,
Andreas

I corrected and tested it. A few words of explanation:
The 7i92 inputs are controlled by a short to ground. If none of the axis selection inputs is shorted to ground, then none of the axis moves, if one or several, the selected axes move.
I added the line "setp mux4.0.in3 0"
If both coefficient selection signals are shorted to ground, the axis will move, but at zero speed, so the effect will be the same as if no axis was selected. (You can change it to "setp mux4.0.in0 0", then there will be no movement when no selection input is shorted to ground).
I did this to have a wider selection of supported switches. It is possible that someone will have, for example, four axes and a four-position switch, then they would not be able to select the "no axis" option, which is necessary.
It is also worth mentioning how to control two inputs with a single-section switch.
You need to use diodes (anode for the input of the mesa, cathode for the switch). Then, a short circuit to ground of one input does not affect the status of the other inputs. I won't describe it in detail, if someone needs it, they will find it.

I went for the skookum SMPS on my Deckel FP2NC. 240VAC input, 160VDC 5KW output to match the existing Siemens servos. I found this item as cheap surplus, and bought two for insurance.

For the spindle I used a no-name import 220V-to-380V inverting VFD. Name-brand examples from ATO below:

www.ato.com/220v-to-380v-vfd

"-not" works for inputs, but not outputs
(without some fairly micky-mouse logic)

Hello all, I am rebuilding an old gantry type machine which I plan to use for cutting mostly with oxyfuel and eventually for thinner plates with the plasma source.  The machine is 10m long on Y (longitudinal axis) and about 5m wide on X (transversal axis).
I would like to use linuxcnc and I have bought many years ago the servo motors and drives from DMM Tech, more precisely the DYN4 
series. I have 2 motors for the Y axis which I plan to use in parallel (1kW each motor) and a smaller motor to move the torches on the X
axis (a 750W one). All motors have a single turn absolute encoder.

Now recently I have visited some exhibition and I saw today most of industrial things are on EtherCAT. I saw that LinuxCNC supports it 
in the latest versions, but since I have no experience with EtherCAT I would like to ask if I have to pay some special attention to certain things or there are no troubles at all with the compatibility ?

My plan is to make linuxcnc act as an master node, and send signals to the motion controller which will then through some adapters transform the signal to pulse/dir and send to the drives.

This is the general idea on how this should be working. 

Can I hear some comments from you guys , anybody have a similar setup , should I go some other way around the thing ?
Thanks for the time.