Controlling 4 syringe pumps w/ Arduino Mega

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi guys,

I don't have a lot of experience with Arduino. I'm working on a project where I need to control four different syringe pumps. My plan is to use the RS232 port, an Arduino Mega, and RS232 Shield.

My question for you is:

  1. Is it possible to stack 4 RS232 Shield on an Arduino Mega?
  2. If it is not possible, how would you better approach this problem?
  3. Is there anyone who has done a similar project? If yes, what problems did u encounter when doing your project?

The syringe pumps i'm using is :

Thank you very much.

2

A Mega already has 4 Hardware Serial ports. Why would you need RS232 shields?

The Serial ports on the Mega produce TTL signals and if you need to interface with RS232 signals you need a level converter such as a MAX232.

...R

3

Robin2:
A Mega already has 4 Hardware Serial ports. Why would you need RS232 shields?

The Serial ports on the Mega produce TTL signals and if you need to interface with RS232 signals you need a level converter such as a MAX232.

...R

I was thinking that using RS232 shield would make the connection much simpler because then I don't have to make the connection cable between syringe pump's RS232 port to Arduino.

4

Stacking four RS232 Shield V2 - DEV-13029 - SparkFun Electronics should work since it says that you can choose which pins to use.

You don't need a Mega if you are going to do that.

5

ieee488:
Stacking four RS232 Shield V2 - DEV-13029 - SparkFun Electronics should work since it says that you can choose which pins to use.

You don't need a Mega if you are going to do that.

So I can stack 4 RS232 Shield on an UNO instead of Mega?

6

teguhsam:
So I can stack 4 RS232 Shield on an UNO instead of Mega?

If you believe the documentation.

I don't have personal experience with the shield.

If you already have the Mega, you could buy a screw shield which will give you a much more robust connection. You can buy these assembled or unassembled.

7

@ieee488: 4 software serial ports on a UNO might not work that well; depends highly on the application.

@teguhsam: in the link that you provided, daisychaining is mentioned. That would only require the use of one serial port. See page 82 of the user's guide.

Note: I don't have experience with the pumps.

8

sterretje:
@ieee488: 4 software serial ports on a UNO might not work that well; depends highly on the application.

@teguhsam: in the link that you provided, daisychaining is mentioned. That would only require the use of one serial port. See page 82 of the user's guide.

Note: I don't have experience with the pumps.

It is a test instrument, so the 4 software serial ports should not be a problem.
I have used other test instruments with RS-232 though not with the Arduino.
You simply send it sort commands or queries. Very simple actually.

There is actually no need to get any type of Arduino involved.

The OP could easily have used a USB to RS-232 converter and programmed the syringe pump in Python or VB.NET or C# or LabVIEW.

The instrument even comes with its own software, so I don't even know why the OP is trying to use the Arduino.

9

Why do u need to control 4 syringe pumps with Arduino?
You have a lot of controls on each pump controller.