Hi all, I’ve searched the forums endlessly and couldn’t find a solid answer to my question. So I want to hook up my Nano 33 iot and drv8825 driver to the same 12v 2a barrel jack adapter to simplify the tangle of wires. I’m confused if it is okay to share the same ground GND connection between the power input, and the two grounds on the drv8825.
I attached photos of my proposed wiring and a photo of how other people wire it. Notice how my wiring shares the same gnd wire starting from the 12V barrel input whereas their wiring has gnd coming from 2 sources: the power input and Arduino output.
Thanks!
Edit: I read that the DRV8825 grounds are connected to each other and if my microcontroller and driver share the same ground then they don't need to be wired separately. Does this mean I can get away with just wiring to one GND pin on the drv8825?
For future people: can confirm if you wire your drv8825 and nano this way, it will work. It is a minimal way to power both your stepper and Arduino with the same supply.
I'd put the large electrolytic on the terminals of the DRV8825 module, that's where the high current spikes happen. And something larger than 100µF would be better if possible.
Most NEMA17 steppers dissipate about 4 to 5W, so will draw less than an amp from 12V most of the time,
except perhaps at full load at speed. DRV8825 and similar stepper drivers act as power converters, so the current they draw from the supply can be much less than the motor current.
