Hello,
Hope this is the correct place to post this.
I'm Using the Arduino Uno (well eventually the Mega2560) along with the Arduino Motor Shield R3 to power a Unipolar Stepper motor.
I'll be running the stepper motor as a Bipolar stepper hooked up to the MS with the corresponding B (+, -) & A (+, -), Vin and GND connections.
The Stepper is 200 steps/rev, 1/8° step angle, 5.4V, 1.5A.
It works well, but I would like to keep it powered seperately. I'm powering the Arduino with 9VDC (Power jack).
I tried looking up information on the Arduino motor shield, but just found specs and overview.
I have both center taps from the 2 coils on the stepper motor hooked together and connected to Vin on the blue screw terminal bar.
The info on the motor shield mentions a jumper on the back of the shield you can cut to supply external power.
Would this be a possible solution by cutting the jumper and powering the center taps from the 2 coils to an external source instead of hooking it up to the Vin on the blue screw terminal block?
**Update:
After a bit of searching, I found a few articles & posts on this.
I have my Arduino Mega 2560 powered by 9V (through the jack), using a dedicated 9V, 1A voltage regulator.
I cut the Vin jumper on the Arduino Motor shield r3 and powering the MS with 9V into the Vin screw terminal.
And powering the stepper motor on a dedicated 6V, 1.5A voltage regulator.
I'm writing down all current draw from every component (and adding them up) on my robot and components I may add in the future.
I was having some major current draw which ended up being the servo for the head tilt (up/down). Not sure what it's called...the servo 'buzz'?, where the servo is constantly trying to keep it's position (probably due to the weight of the head). I did get a higher torque servo (107oz.in), but it still buzzes. May have to install a counter weight on the other side...
