Good morning Ya'll (I guess ya'll can tell I'm from the South? Across the bay from Mobile, AL).
@groundFungus: Yep, now that code in post #17 works just fine, except for setting up the LCD to work with this line:
//setup LCD for I2C
int status;
status = lcd.begin(LCD_COLS, LCD_ROWS);
I don't understand at all, with the "int status" the code works, but gives error msg "variable 'status' set but not used". If that line is commented out, code won't compile.
Post #17 is pretty much what I came up with last night with the same results. Stepper runs, LCD updates, but each time the LCD updates with the line:
unsigned long interval = 500; // update display 2 times / second
There is a "bump" in the stepper, I'm guessing it stops for that moment while the LCD is being updated. I can change the 500 milli to 100 and it's a fast bump, and changing to 2,000 milli it's a bump about ever 2 seconds, and the LCD updates each two seconds.
If there was some way to make the stepper keep running while the LCD updates I'd have it made. It sounds like interrupts is what's needed, perhaps with a rotary encoder?
I think I can use the code in the power feed ok even with that 1/2 second bump. That's still smoother than I can manually feed the machine.
@bperrybap: early on your mentioned "The stepper library you are using, AccelStepper, is, IMO, not a very robust design, in terms of ensuring reliable/stable operation."
Is there different library that would be better to use?
Thank ya'll again for all the help. Thanks to ya'll I've learned a lot on this code.