More than 5 axis controller

I'm looking to add a few more axis' to a CNC machine. Is there an easy way to do this, such as a daugter board?
I'm using ramps 1.4, and 2 independently driven motors for each the x and y axis, with two endstops for each as well.

 

I am not driving in parrallel. Each motor is independent with it's own end stop. Two drivers and motors and end stops per the x and y. One for the z. Then I need either one more driver, which makes six, for an extruder, or two for full five axis CNC.

 

The plan is to have the z axis have an a axis, and the table will be a rotary table.
With a square machine, mounting the z axis at a 45 from the x and y axis places the motor in the extra space at the corners, when you consider a round rotory table within it. So I can maximize usable area.

 

Thanks for those. I just found this on wiki.
Adding more extruders - RepRap
So one of these boards allows 4 more drivers, but only leaves 4 io pins.
For my CNC needs, I need 1 pin for touch plate. I need one or two for spindle speed control ( hall sensor), ( assuming it needs power, ground, and differential. I assume you guys use different terminologies, but you get the picture.)
My question is now how many pins can I recover if I'm only using two of the availabile driver slots on the cnc sheild at this link.

 

PlanetCnc's board looks really good. Has everything I need. I'm thinking that the cnc shield is a better deal if I'm already running ramps 1.4. I can't be positive, but I want to say at minimum, I would regain four pins for a total of eight free pins. That would cover touch plate and speed control. I'd also have room for end stops on the extra axis'. Two are needed to properly do the rotary table, one for a axis'. Two would be even better.
I figured out how to get over 360 degrees on rotory table with endstop. The secret is using a belt with an oversized driving gear and the ends being wrapped like an archemides spiral. So really the belt is solid to the table. The belt runs the gear at it's bottom edge then ends at it's top edge. It's the cheapest way, I feel, to do it. I also have not seen another example of it .

 

I need to clarify one point. I'm not saying the table can infinitly turn, just turn a bit more than 360. I saw another belt tracking system in a robotic arm, but it tracks about 200 degrees only.

 

Belt driven systems are among the most acuaccur and efficient systems. If implemented correctly. Don't base your opinions on those cheap Chinese tables. They suffered from a bit more than tracking issues.

 

Take a 3d printer for example. I've built a few of them and the best one worked with moving the y axis motor on to the extruder assembly. The belt stays stationary and the gear and motor tracks along it like, well look at the mpcnc for an example. This system reduces belt length, and if you use a dual belt system, with each belt 180 from each other, they beat rack and pinion. Worm drives are a rack and pinion system. For weight issues I used an overhead Bowden.
This thing prints metal filament with ease due to the Bowden, and x and y accuracy beats everything else I own. I have the flash forge, davinci, ultimaker and prusa, and they all do not print like mine. I need to post in builds but my focus is on five axis CNC with dual independent driven x and y.
I thing I'm going to order the cnc sheild for ten dollars. It's cheap, it fits, it burns up alot of pins I may want. I'm just going to have to see. I may not need the LCD and sd card.
New question. Does anyone have experience with using printers and cnc without sd and screens? What routes are available without them?

 

Oh.. the change in the way I designed my 3d printer was based on a conversation with a gentleman at gates power transmission. He had his own vested interest in 3d printing and was intimate with the gt3 family of products. Or he was a good salesmen. Either way, if I had my way I'd totally suggest for large scale printers wanting to print metal using traditional code to use an active Bowden system.. that means moving the spool on a small table to keep it within 30 degrees of where the print head is.
I don't believe in long bowden tubes, so I add extra axis' independent of the others to insure accuracy, to control where the spool feeds. Printing these hard to print filament is not a problem.
People try to print them on a prusa and it snaps. ***. That is not the right system. Metal filament needs to be coddled. Plus the extra accuracy from do dual tracking is worlds of difference.
Besides that, dual Bowden kicks ***. I'm using a very small stepper on my extruder in combination be of the normal nema 17 driving gear upstream. The small motor really just finetunes the system. Dual boden kicks ***. The first drives, the second runs at .9 degrees and barely adds wieght.

 

Keep in mind my home biult printer was designed to print metal filament, but I've now made full scale cosplay iron Man suits with it. Mind u I make parts within a 2' by 2' by 8" parameters.
Iron Man, and robotic arms and random stuff. It's my best printer. Now I want the design to cut stuff equally as impressive