Some friends and I have been planning to work on a Project together.
We want to connect an ESP32 to a Raspberry PI 4 that contains an Application I made.
Using that application, we can communicate and send Serial Commands to the ESP32 and thereby control the ESP32.
Now the thing is, we'd like create a small automated storing system that is powered by the mentioned Hardware and Stepper Motors
The problem is, we have no idea where to look for guides or how to proceed in some parts.
I'm not sure how i could steer 3-4 Stepper motors using one Esp32 Microcontroller. I tried getting a CNC Shield to work but had no success.
Now there could be the question of, why specifically an ESP32 and not an Arduino Uno or so, to which i say, we dont really know.
Hardware or Budget aren't the Problem here, we just want to find a way to get things working with the ESP32 and see if it actually is possible to achieve it
If anyone has any Sources, Guides, Ideas or Recommendations, we're open to hear and discuss it
Thank you!
That statement concerns me. Was it meant of some other thread? Did you forget to put a period in the right place. The idea of a storing system powered by stepper motors somehow just escapes my imagination.
The thing is, we're working for a work project
We're a group of 3 people that are together in the same apprentice and class
We're really early into developing our idea and wanted to test around with prototypes and ideas of how we could turn our prototype into a product
What i meant with a Storing system and the Stepper Motors is:
Imagine a Box with many storage units (or boxes inside)
Next to the device is a screen. On the screen, you see a list of products/objects you can chose (those can be self configured) and then once you choose something, it will get fetched for you
There are many ways to go about this but we want to try and make it work with motors
A small platform moves to a certain point in the box, and fetches said storage unit containing the items you selected
And basically spits them out
It seems like a weird looking or sounding idea and i am definitely not someone who's good at explaining
Something similar you can think of or us as reference is the "Autostore" by Swisslog
Works completely different but has the same purpose
We're trying to make a smaller version of it basically with a different perspective and approach
I hope this is a bit more clear
But our main issue really is just lack of knowledge on how we could control multiple Stepper Motors using one Esp32
That is a little better explanation. BUT! Without the physical stuff being built and functional you will NEVER be able to choose and power any motors because you have no clue as to the torque or speed requirements. Do not start projects from the conclusion and work backwards toward the beginning!
I agree even though we do not have something to work with yet, we're really trying to just see is we can make it work with the current chosen hardware
We're currently 3D printing a little Housing and getting other materials ready
control the steppers. Write a Function which brings your "3-4" steppers to the desired position. I assume you will need some limit / homeing switches to get a well defined starting position. You can find some ideas with CNC routers/lasers. In the end your function should provide an API for other functions in your sketch.
parse incoming data from serial: read this tutorial Serial Input Basics - updated
afterwards you have to specify a protocol so you can write your PC software accordingly.
You can start with a simple
Tag=Value[LineFeed]
for the beginning.
In principle a CNC shield should work, but there are several different types of CNC shields. Some boards might assume the presence of 5V, but may still work with 3.3V.
I would spend some more time trying to get a CNC shield to work. Once you understand the principles, you should be able to apply them generally.
There are CNC some boards designed around ESP32 e.g
but I don't know if there are any commercially available.