Hi,
I have a closed loop Nema 17 stepper motor that can be found here: Closed Loop Nema 17 Frank Hu Motors
I am using it to rotate a larger pulley using a T2.5 belt. Using an EasyDriver board and a U-shaped Sensor, I am able to control the rotation of the larger toothed pulley and use the sensor as a reference when going to other positions by just specifying a certain number of steps, and always starting from the position where the flag on the pulley breaks the sensor.
I also have T42 Closed Loop Stepper Servo Driver. I have attached the datasheet, which is sparse on detail, and unfortunately as I am from a predominantly mechanical background, this would be my first time integrating a piece of hardware like this. I would like to specify the position I need the stepper to rotate to, and know for sure that it got there. From the limited information on this driver, does it look possible to get the pulse count from the encoder and use this to check against the steps sent out from the Arduino? I would like to the experience of getting a closed loop motor operating, but not at the risk of total overkill for this application.
I have just the one U-sensor, and 3 positions I need the motor to turn to - 1) Home position where flag breaks the U-Sensor, 2) 2 CCW rotations of the stepper motor from home position and 3) 2 CW rotations of stepper motor from home position. The motor has enough torque to overcome friction in the system, but as the larger pulley rotates, it encounters variable friction. I am worried this could lead to a loss in the steps but I could be mistaken. It will always start from the home position, or finish at the home position. I will need it to run for a few thousand cycles without missing these positions (+/-5 deg is still okay for positions 2 & 3). More so, I need to be able to detect an error if didn't manage to get to these positions due to unexpected friction/mechanical failure. Are there other ways of doing this through microstepping etc?
Would really appreciate any advice on this. As I have some hardware for closed loop control, it certainly seems like an opportunity to learn, but I would still prefer to avoid some hair loss if the closed loop stepper motor driver I have is unsuitable for integration with Arduino.
Thanks you!
StepperDriverSchematic.pdf (1.15 MB)