Hi I'm looking at doing an art installation built around LED-lamps that can gange color and intensity while being lowered or pulled up by their connecting cords.
The NeoPixels are chainable so I only need one digital pin to controll them but I need 4 digital pins for every ULN2003 Controller if I understand it correctly.
I am looking at using Arduino MEGA with a Arduino MEGA Shield – RAMPS but that only lets me controll 5-6 stepper motors per MEGA. And then run these Arduino MEGA as klients to another Arduino os other computer that gives the information on where the lamps should be in space and also direct the light fron the LEDs.
I will also put a dedicated powersupply on everu module to handle the prower requirements from the motors and LEDs.
Is there a better way to controll the stepper motors or to build this in general. I'm new to arduinos and hardware hacking but I did study engineering back in the 90s.
Could You create a kind of block diagram giving us some overview? Schematics for a "standard" module You tell about...
Hopefully this will attract helpers.
Wordsallad is not the best way to describe projects.
Search the forum for kinetic sculpture.
A couple of members have worked out something similar.
At least as far as the steppers raising and lowering goes.
There most certainly is!
Please do not buy the ULN2003 boards. The IC is obsolete, and performs poorly in this application.
There is some work involved, however you implement it. The IC you need to control these particular steppers, is a TPIC6B595 which is a shift register combined with eight logic level FET drivers. Each TPIC will therefore control two of these steppers with only three control pins and you "chain" them so that the same three pins control many such chips. You therefore do not need anything more than an Arduino Nano (avoid UNOs or MEGA 2560s as they are very inconvenient to wire up).
However if you propose to use multiple such devices with a common controller, you need to consider how these will be coordinated. Your choices are to use wired serial communications between the Nanos, or WiFi using ESP8266 modules instead.
Both Wawa and Crossroads have worked out the raise and lowering bits.
If i knew how to link to a post in a thread, i would link both attempts.
Both take advantage of shift Registers so 4 pins for 24 motors.
Crossroads seems to chosen the MEGA and 16 motors, lots of code to help you get started.
The spool with conductors that slip and don't wear....interesting
project.