Hey guys first post on here and i have yet to recieve my arduino board but i thought i might aswell start asking questions!
my goal for this project is to be able control 2 600 oz/in servo or stepper motors via a potentiometer or a spin type control to move the selected motor CW or CCW.
i want to make the motor thats being driven selectable by a toggle switch and then i would like have the potentiometer move the selected motor back and forth along a linear rail via a rack and pinion setup, the end result of this motion control is to be able to move the backguage fingers on my pressbrake from left to right so i dont have to go around the back to position them where they need to be!
if you can offer some advice before i go down this road that would be great.
As stated in my first post i will be using linear rails with a rack and pinion setup so lead screw is not on the list of options for this, i have my whole design figured out and i know what i want to use to make it work. i basiclly need help with the electronic side of things i.e. the programming of the arduino and if i should us a stepper or servor for ease of making this work.
on a side note I would like to use servo motors because the brake already has 2 AC servos running the X and R axis on the back guage and i have a dream of integrating my motion system into the existing OEM controller on the pressbrake.
Great i am excited to get started with this whole project!
the controller for the brake is an industrial PC running winXP embedded with software made by the OEM, the OEM is called robosoft and developed a program called HACOBEND which is used to controll all the axis of the brake!
i am not to concerned about interfacing with the existing controller at this point i would first like to get up and running with the wiring and setup of the arduino board to run the 2 motors i intend to add to the backguage.
I will get some partnumbers for the servos i intend to use once i get to the shop tomorrow.
i have my whole design figured out and i know what i want to use to make it work. i basiclly need help with the electronic side of things i.e. the programming of the arduino and if i should us a stepper or servor for ease of making this work.
Your choise of servo or stepper motor is up to you as you should already have all that part figured out. You need to give the operating details of the servo/stepper motor you select for code suggestions. A forum search for stepper and servo (if the servo operates like a "hobby" servo) should get you started.
i am not using hobby servo motors haha i am using larger industrial motors u would find on CNC equiptment, sorry if i was unclear on that :) roughly a 600 oz/in to a 1000 oz/in ac brushless servo motor.
Here are a couple pictures of the design i have come up with
as you can see i have everything modeled for the function of the it, the motors i have modeled are Rockwell Automation TL-A2530P servos.
The only thing left out is the cable guides but that can be modeled down the road once i know how long everything needs to be!
i hope this helps you guys understand what i am doing now.
i dont want to worry about interfacing with the existing controller right now, i would like to just get the motors moving with a potentiometer/spin type know so that when i spin the knob the motor moves in the according direction that i spin the knob.
