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Hello LinuxCNC community,We are a group of engineering students working on our semester project – building a CNC plasma cutter using LinuxCNC as the control system.Since we are developing the machine from scratch and learning LinuxCNC at the same time, we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss and receive guidance from experienced users. We are particularly interested in understanding potential challenges, key considerations, and best practices for setting up LinuxCNC for our machine.Brief Overview of Our Machine:

• CNC plasma cutter with X, Y, and Z axes
• Z-axis with a ball screw and linear guides
• Floating head with a proximity sensor as a probe input
• Plasma cutter with a voltage divider and THC (Torch Height Control)
• LinuxCNC control, likely using Mesa hardware
• Torch Height Control (THC) integration via Mesa THCAD-2
• Voltage divider (50:1) for plasma voltage feedback
• Probing system for automatic height sensing before cutting

We have already explored various existing solutions, but we would love to hear from those with practical experience in setting up and running a CNC plasma cutter with LinuxCNC.Some key topics we would like input on:

• Choosing the right hardware (drivers, Mesa cards, sensors)
• Configuring LinuxCNC (HAL, INI, probe input, THC integration)
• Common challenges and pitfalls when setting up a plasma cutter
• Best practices for calibration and fine-tuning

If anyone is willing to share their expertise or discuss this with us in more detail, we would greatly appreciate it. A virtual meeting would also be very valuable for us.Thank you in advance for your time and help.Best regards,
Ibrahim Al-N and the 4.semster students at Absalon Kalundborg (Denmark) 

Hello, I'm currently trying to create a handwheel with the Arduino. Now I'm having a problem with the HAL.

I added in my CNC.hal : 

loadusr arduino-connector
net zJog => axis.z.jog-counts <= arduino.counter.0
axis.z.jog-enable = 1
axis.z.jog-scale = 0.1

When I start my CNC I get the error "Pin 'arduino.counter.0' does not exist". When I try this commands in "Halshow" it works fine.

Can someone help me with this?

ok so when i set this all up it was foreign until it wasn't and know its foreign again. I look at the step conf wizard and input the info the best I remembered . I have 3:1 on rack n pinion stepping at 16 motors are 1.8 so input 200 this returns something like 9600 which is way off from what im actually running 2793 on step scale. ran some testing until i had it dialed in to 2778 step scale and now its back to hitting 36" and 72" give or take 1/16 or best a tape measurer can provide. Im guessing in the step conf wizard im entering bad info since the step scale is so far off from my real world example. still not sure why I would be hitting spot on for over a year and than all of a sudden need to make a minor step scale change.