Hey so i tried to figure out how to post onto CNC zone although could not figure it out, if anyone know please let me know. As far as i am concerned that site has a Way! to busy layout. Anyways...
I salvaged a stepper motor assembly/board from an brother HL 1440. Below is the diagram of the assembly. It is my assumption that the board not only includes the stepper motor but also the Stepper driver, I indicate on the diagram what i believe to be an H bridge. However i am unfamiliar with H bridges so it could be something else. Regardless, as indicated in the figure below, the board has five inputs (6 including the NC). I am confused since breakout boards sold on eBay have four outputs? So, I am trying to determine if i can hook the stepper board up to a Breakout board. If not then how would i go about attaching it to an Arduino.
However i am unfamiliar with H bridges so it could be something else.
You'll need to determine that for certain, or you risk destroying it.
Where did the pin information come from? The CW/CCW pin implies that that sets the direction that the motor rotates. The NC means Not Connected. The 24V implies that the motor needs 24 volts and a not-insignificant amount of current. The Arduino won't be able to help you there.
So, I am trying to determine if i can hook the stepper board up to a Breakout board.
Of course. Whether it is meaningful to do so depends on which breakout board you are thinking about connecting it to.
If not then how would i go about attaching it to an Arduino.
If I had any confidence in the labels next to the pins on the lower right corner, I'd connect the CW/CCW pin, the ground pin, the LOCK pin, and the OFF pin to the Arduino. Connect a 24V power supply to 24V and ground.
Then, toggle the LOCK pin and see what happens. Then, change the sketch, and toggle the OFF pin, and see what happens. One of them should cause the motor to step once, I would think. Possibly, its not a stepper, though, so toggling the pin would make it rotate continuously, instead.
I need to make a correction the off pin on the diagram is actually labeled on/off
I got the information about the pins from the board its self. Do you know of some code that i can install onto the arduino in order to test what you have suggested? i assume you would recommend using an Arduino vs. a breakout board? Although i have not had experience with ether i am leaning toward the breakout board since i won't have to mess with programming it.
i assume you would recommend using an Arduino vs. a breakout board?
That's a little like asking whether you should use a tennis racket or a piece of sports equipment to play tennis with. One is clearly defined, and well suited to the purpose. The other is not, and may or may not be appropriate. A GPS breakout board, for instance, would be next to useless for connecting the motor driver to.
Do you know of some code that i can install onto the arduino in order to test what you have suggested?
I was presuming that you were familiar with how to use pinMode() to set the mode of a pin, and digitalWrite() to set the pin HIGH or LOW.
If not, then, clearly the use of the motor/board is beyond your skills at this time. It does not have to remain so, but connecting an unknown device to the Arduino is not a beginner project.
That breakout board would be fine for connecting the stepper motor itself to. It incorporates many of the features that your board already has. So, for one stepper with controller, the breakout board is not needed. If you want to remove the stepper from the board it is on, then the breakout board would be useful.
Well, assuming you have at least one other stepper to connect to it, and the stepper's voltage and current requirements are within the limits of that breakout board.
What would you keep in mind when connecting an Arduino to an external board?
So what i don't want is... ether the board or Arduino to be lacking supply amperage or to provide to much voltage. Since the 24 and GND will be attached to a power source i do not have to worry about them. However the CW/CCW, ON/OFF, and LOCK pins which will be connected to the arduino should not exceed a supply voltage of 5 volts if they supply at all and demand more amperage then the arduino can supply (in order to prevent Arduino failure). I assume these pins are 5 volt activated. Would you happen to know the amperage rating for an Arduino Mega.
So what i don't want is... ether the board or Arduino to be lacking supply amperage or to provide to much voltage.
It is the power supply's responsibility to control voltage. The design of the breakout board limits the amount of current that if can handle. The motor determines how much current it needs, and, therefore, the amount that the board needs to handle.
However the CW/CCW, ON/OFF, and LOCK pins which will be connected to the arduino should not exceed a supply voltage of 5 volts if they supply at all and demand more amperage then the arduino can supply (in order to prevent Arduino failure). I assume these pins are 5 volt activated. Would you happen to know the amperage rating for an Arduino Mega.
The Arduino can supply 200 mA, over all the pins being used. The control pins, like CW/CCW should draw very little current.
It is my assumption that the ON/OFF and LOCK are control pins similar to the CW/CCW. When connecting an H bridge to an Arduino what are the typical connection/control types? (ie on/off...)
