Hello,


This is a very broad question and I hope I am in the right place.


I am making my 2nd CNC from scratch, because I am a glutton for punishment, on a budget to make parts for my projects. I am building this machine to be much stiffer than my last one and also have a rotary 4th axis. The goal is accuracy and ease of use so I can focus on building my skills.


The problem(s):


On a budget and familiar with the electronics in my last CNC I decided I would again use an Arduino UNO with a CNC Shield to run my Nema 17 motors. I have GRBL that is 4 axis (as well as the 5/6 axis version) and the CNC shield worked out where it should be able to perform in 4 axis (CNC Shield instructions say the 4th axis runs on spindle outputs on the Arduino due to memory issues). I am also running CNCJS as contoller software.


The problem is I am getting errors in my controller software when I try to run the 4th axis. There is an A axis I activated in the jog console but no A axis in the programming console. So no travel resolution, max rate, acceleration etc. I have been trying to find where to activate the 4th axis within the program and I am stuck. Can CNCJS support a 4th axis? I also have UGS and I am getting the same issues.


Can the Arduino UNO support 4th axis?


Can my software support 4th axis? Is there something out there that can without switching to parallel port? I have no parallel port on my laptop!


Am I trying too hard to make the Arduino work? Is there another controller/driver setup I should be looking at? I might want to switch to Nema 23's on some axis later. But I am a high school shop teacher so to my budget is limited (otherwise I would have a HAAS). Also I REALLY struggle with computer stuff. Programing and general computer setup causes hair loss! So I need something as simple as possible to achieve because I don't have a lot of hair left.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUMdmNOUsNs

Video of the CNC coming to life a few weeks ago. The 3d printed parts will mostly be replaced by aluminum later. You can see the temporary setup and wiring for testing. I also have a 1.5kw motor with VFD going in the CNC that I will contol independantly (at this point).

Thanks