Stepper motors are often used for positioning since they are cost-effective, easy to drive, and can be used in open-loop systems—meaning that they don’t require position feedback like servo motors.
Stepper motor linear actuators (SMLAs) combine a stepper motor, precision lead screw and nut in one compact envelope, providing a highly configurable, customizable and robust system for linear motion.
An interesting Arduino project has been published to the Instructables website showing how an Arduino CNC shield and controller has been used to create an awesome 3 axis Arduino CNC plotter. The ...