Hello All- I need Help!!- Ok, here's my project- I have a project similar to an old school drafting table (the movable arm ) which would have 2 quadrature encoders on the arm to track Triangulated position. The arm would be moved to a position on the table, then I would push a "save position " button, and the arduino would save the encoders positions as "number 1 position. I would then move the arm to a different spot, press "save" and the arduino would save these encoder positions as "number 2 Position" ect ect. when I want to go back to position 1, I would press "find 1" and the arduino would operate 2 blinking LED's corresponding to each encoder, and as the arm would get nearer and nearer to position 1, the LEDS would blink faster and faster until I reached position of the saved values at which time 2 LEDS would go "green". My questions are: Is the arduino capable of supporting 2 quad encoders at once?? If so, can the rest of my app (storage, retrieval of locations, blinking LEDS ect) be possible?? I only know PLC programming, so if this is possible, Is this code hard to learn for this application?? One week, one Month, one Year?? Is it possible to get help from, other hobbyists?? Lots of questions- Appreciate the answers- Bill
The input/output part is pretty straight forward. I would imagine you would want a mega or a board with at least 4 interrupt pins for the best accuracy (this really depends on how fast you plan on moving your arm and how many pulses/rev your encoders are).
There are several libraries out there for handling rotary encoders that will make it pretty simple for you.