Testing the prototype 4th axis for my desktop 3080 3-axis CNC. I attempted to make a 4th axis for the machine so I could do more complicated milling operations on sections of tubing and wooden dowels. This worked conceptually, however 2 major problems arose. First, the Arduino shield I was using to control the 4-pin stepper motor did not have sufficient power out put to drive it properly, and second, I could not find a practical way to integrate the stepper motor into the controller that was running the G-code files, since the off the shelf control board was designed for 3 axes only.
