Hey Seelsturm,
We have an old Hurco here at the shop. It has a SMTC and was not too difficult to get working.
We are using the HiCON Integra from Vital Systems for our motion controller but I also put a CLICK PLC from Automation Direct on the machine as well.
The PLC controls the tool change with ease.
Steve pointed me in the right direction when we got this machine going. Since tool positions are random in the carousel, Mach4 has a place in the Tool Table to keep track of this position. That way you don't have to set up some weird way to keep track of this, it can be done right in the tool table.
All we do is send a signal to our PLC to start the tool change and send a signal back to Mach4 when it is complete; Mach4 will then handle the organizing of the tool table; Set the current tool and tell the previous tool what pocket it is now in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bj_U1tUhTo