4 Stepper Motors, 2 Servo Motors and 4 LEDs wuth Arduino Uno

Using Arduino Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
1

Hi Arduino-User,

I am new in the arduino-forum to get help for my next project. Therefore I would control 4 stepper motors, 2 servo motors and 4 LEDs. If it is possible I would use therefore my arduino uno, of course with a shield.
But here is my problem, I do not have a lot of experiences with that.

For example I found this shield:
Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit - v2.3 - [u]https://www.adafruit.com/product/1438[/u]

Does this work ?

I hope someone can help me.
If you need more information do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you in advance.

2

You should read the first of these links before you spend any money
Stepper Motor Basics
Simple Stepper Code

You need to post a link to the datasheet for your stepper motors.

It is unlikely that the shield you have linked to is ideal for driving stepper motors.

For 4 stepper motors a CNC shield or GRBL shield may be more suitable.

...R

3

Hi Robin2,

First of all, thank you very much for replying to my post.
The links were very usefull.

The motors I have to use you can find in the following link:

The technical datas you will need are sum up her:

Configuration: Bipolar
Current/Phase: 1.68A
Resistance/Phase: 1.65 Ohms
Voltage: 2.772 V
Holding Torque: 3.6 kg-cm
Step Angle: 1.8 Degrees
(200steps/rev)

Looking forward for an answer.
Knomax

4

Those are low-impedance motors and really need a specialized stepper driver to work properly. The motor requires 1.68 amps which is too much for an A4988 stepper driver but will probably work OK with a Pololu DRV8825 driver as it can provide a bit more current.

...R

5

Thanks.

So I will first go with on motor and one drive to "play" with it.

A quick question:
I have two motors who have to run the same amount of steps and also the same speed all the time, but only in different directions ( if motor A run clockwise for 200 steps, at the same time motor B has two run counter-clockwise for 200 steps).
Can I control this two motor with the same pins, only changing the wires of the coil ? And also with the same stepper driver ? (to save money and output-pins on the Arduino)

Thanks for your help.
knomax

6

knomax:
Can I control this two motor with the same pins, only changing the wires of the coil ? And also with the same stepper driver ? (to save money and output-pins on the Arduino)

In general each motor needs its own stepper driver.

I believe it is possible to run 2 motors from one driver if the motors are connected in series - that is electrically one after the other rather than side by side. I don't know whether it is possible to make the motors go in opposite directions when wired like that, but I suspect it should be.

You can certainly connect two stepper drivers to the same Arduino I/O pins.

...R

7

Hello,

yes it is..

hope this site can help :slight_smile:

Acces :
Tutorial (1)
Tutorial (2)
Tutorial (3)

8

Thanks Robin2.
First, I will go with a stepper driver per motor. And for the question about the opposite directions, I will try.

Also, thanks nielay for your post.
But as I understand with this motor shield I can only run two stepper motors and two servo motors per shield. But I have no other possibility to run other stuff like LEDs or switches. Maybe I am wrong ?

Cheers.
knomax

9

knomax:
But I have no other possibility to run other stuff like LEDs or switches. Maybe I am wrong ?

I don't have one of those shields but I suspect you are wrong. I imagine that there will be several I/O pins that are not used for either the stepper motors or the servos and would be available for LEDs and switches.

I suspect Adafruit publishes a schematic for the shield which you can study.

...R

10

Yes, I do not have a lot of experiences with it, at least not yet.

The schematic is here:

2295×1545 38.4 KB

Could you help me with finding at least one free I/O pin?
Than you in advance.
knomax

11

I am by no means certain but it looks as if I/O pins 0 to 7 are not used by the shield. Pins 0 and 1 are used for Serial which leaves you free to use Pins 2 to 7 - if I am correct.

Maybe Adafruit has a help Forum?

...R

12

Thanks.

I will look there.

13

Last question:

If I use a shield like this:

Are there still some pins left to at some servo motors or other stuff?
Or does the shield need all the pins of the arduino UNO ?

Thank you in advance, and sorry about this basic questions.
knomax

14

knomax:
Last question:

If I use a shield like this:

I don't know. I don't have one of those. Again, you will need to study the schematic.

...R

15

Someone else who can help :slight_smile: