Hi mmurray70,
Interesting. I'm surprised several counts of error would be noticeable. What is your resolution? But adding deadband is like adding backlash and will add error and be less stable.
I wonder if the larger dither might actually cause more wear than the higher frequency single count dither.
btw have you tried other deadband settings such as Range 2 Gain of 0.1?
Yes deadband settings can be changed on-the-fly. Keying off the spindle sounds like a good idea.
There is an AntiServoDither__ALL.c example that monitors for very small following error for a period of time and then reduces PI gains. I worry if your system really needs such small following errors (+/- 1 count) to cut well that might not be a good approach.
Another test might be all axes stopped for a long time.
Regards