The 28YBJ-48 is a little too big and heavy for my application. But I tried those small 10mm 2 phase 4 wire steppers and they are too hard to work (fragile wires) and weak. Not to mention no universal common models.
The 28YBJ-48 is decent. But I wonder if there is any common, inexpensive steppers that are just a tad bit smaller and widely available?
I got a bunch of hits when searching e.g. for "stepper motor 20mm". Dunno what you consider "common", you better ask your dealer or motor manufacturer.
Hi,
The reason the 28YBJ-48 is so low cost is that it is used in many many applications, such as the flapper vanes in almost every room air conditioner, some ventilation duct vane controls etc. So there are millions made per year in China. And the typical cute driver board is very useful for other things too. Info HERE:
yeah I bought a 28YBJ-48 off Ebay and it comes with a controller chip. I connected it to the Arduino Uno and got it working the way I want.
But what if I want to potentially commercialize my design? What would be a cheap microcontroller to use in place of the Arduino? Also, is there an easy way to integrate the controller chip (that comes with the 28YBJ-48) with whatever microcontroller I want to use so I have a single board?
paulwece:
yeah I bought a 28YBJ-48 off Ebay and it comes with a controller chip. I connected it to the Arduino Uno and got it working the way I want.
But what if I want to potentially commercialize my design? What would be a cheap microcontroller to use in place of the Arduino? Also, is there an easy way to integrate the controller chip (that comes with the 28YBJ-48) with whatever microcontroller I want to use so I have a single board?
How do they do it in the industry?
Thanks
Take a quartz clock apart. They contain a single-coil stepper motor that you can use if you need a very low torque motor. Look on page 105 of this book for instructions on how to dig it out. Then find a supplier and buy those.
You can easily use a Tiny 85 to run this little motor. They can be bought for as little as $0.85 in bulk from China, or for about $3 each from American suppliers.
Thanks, I decided to just use the 28YBJ-48. Can someone tell me what other microcontroller I can use for, say, making a small batch, now that I've prototyped with the Arduino...
ILN2004 should work just fine, including turning the motor in both directions. Look at the example from the IDE, Motor Knob. Use a programmer (such as this), or you can use an Arduino Uno as a programmer.
Google around, there is LOTS of information available.
ChrisTenone:
ILN2004 should work just fine, including turning the motor in both directions. Look at the example from the IDE, Motor Knob. Use a programmer (such as this), or you can use an Arduino Uno as a programmer.
Google around, there is LOTS of information available.
Since I already have an Arduino Uno, I guess all I need now is the actual Tiny85. I have the darlington array and the motor. Anything else I should order? Would hate to order the Tiny85 and realize I need something else.
Does I need to connect power to both the Tiny85 and the darlington array when running the motor? Will a 9V battery work? I've been using the 9v to power the controller board that came with the stepper.
Get a power supply for the tiny85, and another for the motor.
Put a 0.1uf capacitors on the power pins of the tiny and the darlington chip.
If you want a reset switch, you'll need a 10K or so resistor and a momentary switch.
Think about using a solder-less breadboard to experiment before committing to a design.
You might also want to look at small ATTiny85 breakout boards that program through a USB interface. They double or so the cost of the processor, but do not require a programmer. Look at Adafruit's robust yet micro-sized Trinket and the digispark, a diminutive Tiny85 board that doesn't even need a usb - it plugs right into the port.
The motor Larry pointed to above looks pretty sweet, if a bit pricey.
Read Grumpy Mike's tutorials on Power and Motors.
Then go build your board.
Or buy a motor driver board that may be better in every way except learning about the process.
ChrisTenone:
Get a power supply for the tiny85, and another for the motor.
Put a 0.1uf capacitors on the power pins of the tiny and the darlington chip.
This might sound like a dumb question, but what do you mean by "power supply" for the tiny85? Currently, I'm powering the control board (that came with the stepper) with a 9V battery, and I powering the Arduino using the USB cable plugged into my laptop.
I understand I can use a 9V battery to power the Arduino too if I want to do away with the cord.
Can the tiny85 be powered by a 9V battery? Or does it require a specialized power supply at a certain voltage?
Does your control board have a hookup for external power? If so, hook up 5 or 6 volts to it. Supply no more than 5 volts to the tiny85. Your Arduino has a voltage regulator on it that converts up to 12 volts from the barrel jack into 5 volts for the microprossor. If you 'underclock' it, you can run a tiny85 from much less voltage. I like to use 3 volts, as there are many battery choices.
On the otherhand, a stepper (especially the 28byj48) wants 5 full volts, and appreciates 6 or more. So give the motor more volts. Look at the data sheet for your driver chip (uln2003 or whatever you use) to determine the optimal operating voltage (I think 3 to 6 volts will work, but check me on that.) Be sure that you have a common ground between all of the components.
So if I use Arduino Uno as a programmer, does it mean I can use whatever sketch I have for the Arduino on the Tiny85? As in, I don't have to rewrite the code in assembly language or something?
The Arduino libraries eliminate many (not all!) differences between various controllers. This is mostly done with conditional compilation (#ifdef...), to activate just the assembly code for the target controller.
If you address controller registers directly, in assembly or C code, you'll have to modify that code whenever the target controller changes.
The programmer type does not influence the code, the IDE only must know which protocol to use for addressing that programmer. For the target controller it doesn't matter whether the code is uploaded using USB, ISP, FTDI or some wireless connection - this difference must be handled by the bootloader of the target controller.