As I am sure many you are aware, it is the middle of winter and that means...well..boredom. I have a friend who recently got me interested in the Arduino project, and I believe it can be my saviour from the cold. He is a much more experienced developer and even designs and sells his own PCB's. I am not looking to get this involved, but I am looking to start a little project of my own.
I am basically approaching this with no knowledge at all, but I didn't need to tell you that in order for you to know.
What I am trying to achieve is adding motor control to my IGUS slider, the mechanics side will not be an issue. But I would love to know what I will need to have for the electronics side of it. I want to be able to control the stepper motor speed with a potentiometer (slider sensor).
I basically need help know all the components I will need. (ie. Resistors, breadboards, soldering supplies, battery packs, arduino shield)
No motor yet. I guess I will need a recommendation for a stepper motor as well.
I see everything from 4V - 12V online, I am not sure as to which would fit my need. The platform is going to be fitted with a video head for my camera. All together probably need to move 4-7 pounds at varying speeds. I want to control the speed with a slider, I think this will allow me to ease in and out of the slide.
Take a look on it and you will find some useful hints for your application. Simply omit all what deals with the laser and you have a translation stage controller.
A more powerful motor driver than the EasyDriver could be the Pololu board: