Trying to use Four NEMA17 (1.8A 200 step bipolar) stepper motors, in two parallel pairs (Think Z-axis of typical Prusa printer). I foolishly bought 4x L298N drivers (I now understand better drivers are available), and I have an Arduino Uno.
I have one driver, one stepper working using the standard stepper 1 turn clockwise, one turn counterclockwise library sketch. Currently using pins 8, 9, 10, and 11 on the Arduino to the driver.
I now wish to extend to connect up all four stepper motors, in two pairs.
I suspect the steppers will draw too much current if I just pair up two stepper motors on one driver (please correct me if I am wrong) So can I connect two L298N boards to the same Arduino pins in parallel, and then to control the second pair of stepper motors, use pins 2, 3, 5 and 6?
Any suggestions for a better driver for my application welcome too.
My suggestion is to get more suitable stepper drivers. It will make everything much simpler. The DRV8825 driver should just about be suitable for a 1.8 amp motor.
Apart from anything else the DRV8825 (and similar) stepper driver takes a huge computational load off the Arduino.
Many thanks for the speedy reply, and the links - sorry to make you cover old ground - I did try and search first!
Two drivers seem to crop up - A4988 and DRV8825 - are there any obvious advantages/disadvantages of one over the other, and if I am using these, there would appear to be a mounting and wiring advantage in using a CNC Shield - the caveat is, I am using it for more a robotics application than CNC, so using other sensors than just limit switches, so would I limit myself?
The limit switch and other peripherals on the CNC shield just connect to pins on the Uno. You can use those like you would any other digital or analog pin on an Uno if you write your own code for the machine. Also note that I2C is broken out to the CNC shield so expansion is easily possible.
It is very important to adjust (or set) the coil current limits on the modern stepper drivers before you use them. Pololu has good instructions for setting up the A4988 and DRV8825 drivers.
Ditch the L298 drivers. They are crappy motor drivers by today's standards and even worse stepper drivers.
