Rafael Hebert @rafaelhebert2002· 6 months ago· 0 viewsin General Discussion

7th axis but not a stepper motor?

I am currently working with the AR4 MK3 and have integrated a DC motor-powered linear actuator at the end effector. My goal is to manually control the robot using an Xbox controller to record positions and trajectories for later playback.

Currently, I’m using a physical toggle switch on the arm to operate the actuator through a program i wrote on the HMI, but I’m looking for a more seamless solution. Is there a way to define the DC motor as a 7th axis so it can be controlled via an xbox controller?

Comment 3

Chris Annin

April 10, 2026

Are you mainly trying to control the actuator from the Xbox controller like a button/trigger, or are you trying to actually treat it like a true 7th axis that records and plays back with the robot?

Rafael Hebert

April 10, 2026

Just to control the actuator from the xbox controller, I can add the actuator movements back in manually after recording poses.

Chris Annin

April 10, 2026

Take a look under the xbox() function, specifically where it loops through get_gamepad() events. That’s where all the button/joystick inputs are being read and mapped, so you can just add your actuator function there the same way the jog and gripper commands are triggered.

3 replies