Home designed and built 5C CNC lathe with ATC and C_Axis

Chaps, thank you very much for this! I will change that and test again.
What Niggles with all of this is how difficult it is to get to grips with HAL and what all the terms mean! I have read those docs so many times now, and done a few of the trial exercises, but have still no grasp..
I did not set hm2_7i92.0.encoder.00.counter-mode to 1 - I never touched the HAL file at all! This is all with pncconf..And find nowhere where I could have set that!

I hope I see some light soon...
Thanks again.
Regards
Joe

You probably selected "Single Input Encoder" on pncconfs spindle page
This is intended for 'A' only encoders so is setup as just a plain counter

Therein lies most of my problems.. I need to find someone who can sit me down with a solid HAL file and explain gently how the thing ties together. I cannot grasp how the signal, pins, etc integrate and till I manage that, there is no way I could read or change a HAL file without simply hacking. So far the doc's have not done it for me..and reading them again is very frustrating when the mind just does not see the sense.

PCW, you are correct. Again, its a total lack of grasp of the terminology and system functions. It's easy to say 'look in the manual' ' read the HAL doc's ', etc, but if I do not know what I should be looking for, and since what I read is not intuitive, and so does not register in relation to the issue at hand, the docs don't help. Since I did not find any reference on the subject, the 'single input encoder' I took to mean being related to how I had connected the encoder to the 7i76 - using only a SINGLE INPUT instead of the differential signals...and that I had to indicate that in the pncconf spindle page. I did click on the help file and read it - it did not help...

I know I am whining a lot here, but honestly, for someone foreign to this stuff it is insurmountably complex. I believe I have spent over 60 hours reading all the docs...The only reason I am pursuing this route is because I wish to implement a C axis and rudimentary live tooling and am told LinuxCNC is the way to go! Just to keep sane for a day, I connected a UCCNC ethernet controller to the lathe, with MACH3, and got it all running in 3 hours...Of course, no C axis or live tooling possible..
Seems a rank beginner needs to be a masochist as well!

Thanks for all the help chaps - eventually I may succeed!

pncconf could probably have some more descriptive check box names
Though not sure what you would use rather than "Single Input Encoder"
maybe a selecting box with ABZ vs AZ but that is jargon also

HALs at its base is rather simple, most of it consists of statements that
simply connect a pin or multiple pins to a signal:

net some_signal some_pin0 some_pin1 some_pin_n

Where the signal name is arbitrary and the pin names come from LinuxCNC components

NOJO

first off don't want to step on any toes here. the guys replying to you are some of the main experts on linuxcnc. where as I am only 3 years old in linuxcnc

but I was just going to document my build thread a bit on another cnc mill I am retrofitting and say your questions so am taking time to help hopefully.

it sounds like you need some one on one help. and sit down with you

first off maybe best way is just to email me, you can find me at carbidecutters.co.nz

and then I can help you directly and add you to various groups that are great for sharing ideas.

there is a facebook group that is quite active and good for these first step things where people are just trying to get to grips with linuxcnc and getting stuck on simple stuff.

and also various chat groups that are great.

the forum is awesome for hard questions but a bit harder to do video calls on lol

anyway email me if you want a hand

regards

Andrew (new zealand)

Andrew, you are very kind! Yes, I do need someone, a patient someone.., to help me over the barrier. I am not that dumb, have done some very smart stuff in my life and career, am an Electronics engineer and an Aeronautical Engineer, Designed aircraft and flight control systems, etc, etc - not to tout my own flag, but it is precisely that that frustrates me to madness! I am bright enough to easily be able to get my mind around this, and yet....
I know that this is simply an issue of not grasping the fundamentals, and therefore the rest is Greek...Sort of like, don't go do Physics if you don't grasp complex, or even basic, Math..
I will email you Andrew, thank you.

Regards
Joe

awesome

I have been in your shoes.

I am just a young guy that is completely self taught. 3 years ago I didn't know what a relay was. but its not too hard to get started once you grasp the concepts


just for anyone else following along this youtube channel is really good for learning linuxcnc. he teaches are a nice pace and its great.


and just for those that are interested I am trying to make a nice complete build thread here that people can learn from in the future
retrofitting a large 6ton high speed VMC

High speed VMC retrofit