DRV8834 DRIVER PROBLEM; STEPPER MOTOR ONLY BUZZES...

Other Hardware Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
1

Hello, I am a beginner and I need some help.

I have an Arduino Micro hooked up to a low voltage driver (DRV8834) and a stepper motor (ROB-10846) powered by 9V. I believe I have everything wired up correctly on my bread board, I followed the instructions that came with my driver:

I am trying to do a simple test of my set up... but all that comes out of my stepper motor is a buzzing sound/vibrating.

The test sketch I am using is this:

void setup() {
pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(8, LOW);
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
}

void loop() {
digitalWrite(9, HIGH);
delay(1);
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
delay(1);
}

I have not been able to get the motor to move, only buzz and make noise.
Here's what I've tried:

  1. I've checked and rechecked my wiring, everything is in the right place.
  2. The voltage I am using is well within the recommended range for both the driver and motor
  3. I have tried changing the delay in the sketch to 10, 100, 1000 and it still does not turn the motor, just leaves gaps between very tiny buzzing sounds. When it is set to 1 it has a long buzz sound and the motor vibrates but does not turn.

I would really like to get this working and figure out what I did wrong. It would be really nice to get my motor turning.

2

When you mention 9v I immediately think of a PP3 pv battery. They are hopelessly inadequate for powering a motor - they can't produce enough current.

If that's not what you are using please tell us the source of your motor power.

...R

3

FYI, you would probably get more responses if you changed your post title to something more relevant; like:
"DRV8834 DRIVER PROBLEM; STEPPER MOTOR ONLY BUZZES...

4

Robin2:
When you mention 9v I immediately think of a PP3 pv battery. They are hopelessly inadequate for powering a motor - they can't produce enough current.

If that's not what you are using please tell us the source of your motor power.

...R

Yes, I am using a standard 9V battery. I am currently using a stepper that runs on 1.8 amps I believe. I am not sure how much current is coming off of the battery but I just assumed it would be more than enough.

5

I hate to be the one to break the bad news but what you are doing is considered "rediculous" in electronics , (no offense intended) because the battery cannot source the current required; (Internal resistance too high) .If you put a meter across the battery when you try to run the motor you will see the voltage go to zero. It's ohm's law. It would take longer to explain it than it would for you to replace the battery but your only option right now is get a 9V walwart that can supply at least 2A.

6

raschemmel:
I hate to be the one to break the bad news but what you are doing is considered "rediculous" in electronics , (no offense intended) because the battery cannot source the current required; (Internal resistance too high) .If you put a meter across the battery when you try to run the motor you will see the voltage go to zero. It's ohm's law. It would take longer to explain it than it would for you to replace the battery but your only option right now is get a 9V walwart that can supply at least 2A.

OK I thought a 9V battery would be capable of providing 1.8A of current, I should have checked to be sure.

7

This one is rated for 2.2Amp hours and is capable of supplying 25A continuous or 35A burst (10 secs)
2.2Ahr/25A=5.28 minutes
2.2A/1.8A=1 hr, 13 min.
It is a 12V battery, not 9V and requires a LiPo charger.
FYI , if you short the leads it will burst into flames instantly. (safety tip)
Additionally , you will need to learn the basics of Lipo usage; like if you discharge this battery below 10V you will damage it.

8

raschemmel:
Radio Control Planes, Drones, Cars, FPV, Quadcopters and more - Hobbyking

This one is rated for 2.2Amp hours and is capable of supplying 25A continuous or 35A burst (10 secs)
2.2Ahr/25A=5.28 minutes
2.2A/1.8A=1 hr, 13 min.
It is a 12V battery, not 9V and requires a LiPo charger.
FYI , if you short the leads it will burst into flames instantly. (safety tip)
Additionally , you will need to learn the basics of Lipo usage; like if you discharge this battery below 10V you will damage it.

Well, I've tried using C and D batteries and I don't think that's the problem... It just lowers the pitch of the sound it makes and makes it vibrate more, but the axle still does not turn, or barely turns. Hardly the smooth back and forth movement it's supposed to do with these test sketches.

I am using the test sketches for the easy driver even though like I mentioned that is not the driver board I am using. From what I can tell that shouldn't be the problem.

The problem is the motor sounds like it's fighting itself. Something is just not right. Sometimes it will turn a little bit, but most of the time it just vibrates internally and does not turn the axle.

Here is the sketch I am currently testing it with:

int Distance = 0; // Record the number of steps we've taken

void setup() {
pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(8, LOW);
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
}

void loop() {
digitalWrite(9, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(1000);
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(1000);
Distance = Distance + 1; // record this step

// Check to see if we are at the end of our move
if (Distance == 3600)
{
// We are! Reverse direction (invert DIR signal)
if (digitalRead(8) == LOW)
{
digitalWrite(8, HIGH);
}
else
{
digitalWrite(8, LOW);
}
// Reset our distance back to zero since we're
// starting a new move
Distance = 0;
// Now pause for half a second
delay(5000);
}
}

9

C & D batteries have the same problem. How many C or D batteries did you use?
Let me put it bluntly: The fact that you considered using a standard smoke alarm battery for more than a u second indicates that you are not familiar with Ohm's Law or the current sourcing capabilities of any batteries. We can't begin to troubleshoot your software as long as you you continue to talk about rediculous thongs like running a 2A stepper motor on C or D batteries. You're wasting our time.
Come bavk with something realistic and ee can talk. If you're software is anything like your hardware we are in for a long haul.

10
  • Try a more substantial power supply as recommended already.
  • What happens to the battery voltage humming? Measure it with a voltmeter.
  • At first glance try to increase the delay times to see what happens.
    delayMicroseconds(1000); // maybe try 10000 or 50000
  • Are the motor wires connected correctly?
  • Try reversing one of the coils.
11

You should check out the AccelStepper library - trying to hit a stepper motor
with 500 steps/second from stationary is likely to be too sudden and cause
mis-stepping. AccelStepper ramps up the speed gradually with an acceleration
value you can configure, much more likely to work.

That driver chip cannot handle 1.8A without liquid cooling, you'll probably
have to compromise at about 0.8A to start with and add a heatsink and little
fan, then try upping the preset current.

No single-chip stepper driver can handle 2A despite what the datasheet says,
unless you provide very efficient heatsinking.

12

Any answers on this one? I'm waiting for my driver to be delivered and I'm making a circuit board to place my stepper and a pcb with the arduino and the DRV8834. Now I have the kicad version of the A4998 driver from pololu. And the pinouts on the driver in fritzing (with no image) give a slightly other configuration than the DRV8834. So I based my fritzing skecht on the schematic of pololu also the one in this post. Can anybody conform if my sketch and thus my pcb board will be correct.

(the 9v batteries will be replaced by Vlab station's) (need more arduino's more motors, so a series powered benchlab would be more convenient).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-ByZ4T7tWflNkNleUwtQ1l4RUk/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-ByZ4T7tWflSnEwV2o0MUs5RVE/edit?usp=sharing

cheers!

13

Why are you posting a dead link (requires access) instead of attaching the photo or file ?

14

raschemmel:
Why are you posting a dead link (requires access) instead of attaching the photo or file ?


I've remade the driver carrier of pololu to fit the one I have. I can't fix the image in fritzing though...

15

It's ok to post a photo of a hand drawn schematic if need be.

16

beyondal:
Any answers on this one? I'm waiting for my driver to be delivered and I'm making a circuit board to place my stepper and a pcb with the arduino and the DRV8834. Now I have the kicad version of the A4998 driver from pololu. And the pinouts on the driver in fritzing (with no image) give a slightly other configuration than the DRV8834. So I based my fritzing skecht on the schematic of pololu also the one in this post. Can anybody conform if my sketch and thus my pcb board will be correct.

(the 9v batteries will be replaced by Vlab station's) (need more arduino's more motors, so a series powered benchlab would be more convenient)

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound unkind, but I can't undertstand this at all.

As far as I can see there is a very clear diagram about how to connect a DRV8834 at the start of this Thread. So what is the problem?

...R

17

Robin2:

beyondal:
Any answers on this one? I'm waiting for my driver to be delivered and I'm making a circuit board to place my stepper and a pcb with the arduino and the DRV8834. Now I have the kicad version of the A4998 driver from pololu. And the pinouts on the driver in fritzing (with no image) give a slightly other configuration than the DRV8834. So I based my fritzing skecht on the schematic of pololu also the one in this post. Can anybody conform if my sketch and thus my pcb board will be correct.

(the 9v batteries will be replaced by Vlab station's) (need more arduino's more motors, so a series powered benchlab would be more convenient)

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound unkind, but I can't undertstand this at all.

As far as I can see there is a very clear diagram about how to connect a DRV8834 at the start of this Thread. So what is the problem?

...R

I know, this is just for verification before I start making my pcb's!

And the actual question simply is how the sketch would look like... And if the ports i'm using on the drawing are the correct ones from the arduino.

Kind regards,

18

beyondal:
I know, this is just for verification before I start making my pcb's!

And the actual question simply is how the sketch would look like... And if the ports i'm using on the drawing are the correct ones from the arduino.

I know nothing about making PCBs but I wouldn't start until I had a fully functioning breadboard project.

What I like best about the Arduino is the simplicity of trying things out to see what happens.

...R

19

What I like best about the Arduino is the simplicity of trying things out to see what happens.

It never fails to amaze me how no matter how simple it is , we still get stupid questions every day.

20

raschemmel:

What I like best about the Arduino is the simplicity of trying things out to see what happens.

It never fails to amaze me how no matter how simple it is , we still get stupid questions every day.

Please, if you find this stupid, then you're not encouraging people to start new thing, and if you can only post things off topic. Than don't post at all, I never asked you in general for answers, and nobody has, as I suppose, told you that you must answer mine. Answer on topics and question that you do want to answer on. If you want off topic conversation, you can always join those groups where they debate over things except of the problems that are before you or are questioned.. what are they called again.. oyeah politics. So please save me the trouble and this forum the trouble of going in to other things than arduino, like I did just now. I will not do anymore in the future.

To answer the other persons post, yes I'm going to make first on a breadboard seems more logical indeed.
If I have a sketch that works I'll post the DRV8834 fritzing file plus sketch en wiring (and maybe eventually the pcb.)