For starters, I'm pretty new to new to arduino. I've done a small amount of programming, but nothing crazy.
What i want to do is build an automated measuring and cutting machine for things like wire, heat shrink tubing etc. What i want is a keypad input that you can type in the desired length, and how many cycles you want the machine to perform. A stepper motor would drive the machine. Somehow within the arduino I'd like to take the inputed value (would be in inches on screen) and convert that to a number of steps to drive the stepper motor. (ie 200 steps equals one ince, I want half inch pieces of wire, so the motor would be driven 100 steps. The machine would also have a solenoid output to operate a cutting mechanism. I'd like an LCD to show the inputted values for length and cycles. So basically you put in a length and number of cycles, hit start, the motor pulls the material through whatever number of steps, the solenoid operates the cutting mechanism and this repeats until the desired number of cycles are completed. Mechanically I know i can do this, electrically i know i can do this, its just that i don't know if i can do the programming and if an arduino is even capable of this. So what do you guys think?
Somehow within the arduino I'd like to take the inputed value (would be in inches on screen) and convert that to a number of steps to drive the stepper motor.
What, exactly, is the stepper motor turning? Is it driving a feed roller?
its just that i don't know if i can do the programming
Yes, the stepper will be driving a feeding roller. Attached is a quick drawing of the mechanics of the machine.
I forgot to mention earlier that i need two additional software functions. First, i need a load cycle and an unload cycle. To load material you would manual feed the material into the in-feed roller. The rollers would then pull the material past the cutting head, where it would get cut. The small end would be ejected and then now the material is right at the cutter, so when you run a cutting cycle the first piece is the desired length. The unload cycle would simply run the in-feed rollers in reverse. The second software function i didn't mention was that after the last cut in each "batch" (as in a number of cycles) The out feed rollers would need to run to eject the last piece. Because of this, i would need two steppers, one for in feed one for out feed.
So where would you recommend i begin. I've already started drawing up a model of the cutting head in sketchup, and i want to start building test cutters soon. Would it be best to build all of the hardware first and then program with arduino or start making test programs?
What material and what sort of ranges of length and diameter are you expecting this device to measure out? If they are small then everything will need to be compact and if they are long/heavy then you may get slippage when feeding material. To overcome slippage you might need to consider alternate measurement system like stop switch or beam break.
Riva:
What material and what sort of ranges of length and diameter are you expecting this device to measure out? If they are small then everything will need to be compact and if they are long/heavy then you may get slippage when feeding material. To overcome slippage you might need to consider alternate measurement system like stop switch or beam break.
for the material its going to almost always be heat shrink tubing. Maybe up to 1/2" diameter but the bulk heat shrink tube comes on 100 foot rolls flattened. And for length of the final pieces it could be anywhere from 1/4" to maybe 1". I already figured that the out-feed belt is going to need to be really close to the blade to catch the short pieces, so I'm working that into my design.
As the lengths are so short you might not need an out feed. A guillotine cutter above a hopper to catch the parts might do. I see the biggest problem is ensuring the feed does not drag. Maybe a two stage feed system so one stepper pulls material off the reel and the other feeds the required length. If you have form for of tensioner roller switch in between the feeds so if the material is tight and tripping the switch the reel feed runs to release the tension before the length feed pulls the material.
Riva:
As the lengths are so short you might not need an out feed. A guillotine cutter above a hopper to catch the parts might do. I see the biggest problem is ensuring the feed does not drag. Maybe a two stage feed system so one stepper pulls material off the reel and the other feeds the required length. If you have form for of tensioner roller switch in between the feeds so if the material is tight and tripping the switch the reel feed runs to release the tension before the length feed pulls the material.
Where I work, we have an automatic wire cutter and stripper which is basically where i got the idea from. I think wire is fed to this in a similar way to what you described. Wire spools are loaded on to a bar then the wire is fed through a feeding roller, from the feeding roller it goes through a pulley that can move up and down on a track. Then from that pulley it goes back up through a stationary pulley. From here it it is fed into the the rollers that pull the wire into the cutting and stripping mechanics. So when when wire is pulled into the cutting/ stripping part, the mobile pulley is pulled up which engages the first set of feeding rollers because the mobile pulley sits on a normally closed limit switch. So when the pulley is not sitting at the bottom of the track, the NC limit switch goes back to its normal state (closed) and engages the first feed rollers. I hope i explained that well, lol. I'll add a drawing to help explain what i mean.
Anyone have any clues on where to start programming this thing?
Command control Spares instead of computer comanding, unit should have inbuild commanding board with lcd display. it should command for length in mtr, and qty of piece. it should display total qty made in day, total qty require to make or panding.
Arduino programminng code for feeder and cuter.
with best regards,
Jignesh Dharia
I've come across this thread after trawling the Internet and various YouTube videos for hours (oh my gosh it's half 5 in the morning!!).
I read your initial post and thought "finally someone's posted the same problem to which I want to create a solution for" (albeit I want to make something for cutting fabric to specified lengths, which can, as you wanted, be specified via a keypad, including the number of iterations)...
I was so delighted to have found this thread, and then as I read through it I saw that it died a premature death
Please please tell me you saw it through to a successful and happy ending??
I'd be so very grateful for your response and even more so for anything you would care to share in your endeavours with both the step motor and the arduino coding.
Onetwentie:
I'd be so very grateful for your response and even more so for anything you would care to share in your endeavours with both the step motor and the arduino coding.
I got some hits on a site search of 'wire cutter'. Sounds very similar.
