two Simultaneous Stepper Motor

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello,
My aim is to use two stepper motor at the same time, but the total steps for both motors will differ during the experiment phase.
Arduino: Mega2560
Motor: 48steps/rev, 6v Rated Voltage, 250mA Current per winding, 7.5deg/step
I tried two ways:

  1. Adafruit Motor Shield V2
    2)A4988 Motor driver(similar to polulu)

The problem with the first approach with shield is, for max steps of 1200(one requirement) both motors take 8/9sec to turn.

#include <Wire.h>
#include <AccelStepper.h>
#include <Adafruit_MotorShield.h>

Adafruit_MotorShield AFMS(0x60); // Default address, no jumpers

// Connect two steppers with 200 steps per revolution (1.8 degree)
// to the top shield
Adafruit_StepperMotor *myStepper1 = AFMS.getStepper(48, 1);
Adafruit_StepperMotor *myStepper2 = AFMS.getStepper(48, 2);

// wrappers for the first motor!
void forwardstep1() {
myStepper1->onestep(FORWARD, SINGLE);
}
void backwardstep1() {
myStepper1->onestep(BACKWARD, SINGLE);
}
// wrappers for the second motor!
void forwardstep2() {
myStepper2->onestep(FORWARD, SINGLE);
}
void backwardstep2() {
myStepper2->onestep(BACKWARD, SINGLE);
}

// Now we'll wrap the 2 steppers in an AccelStepper object
AccelStepper stepper1(forwardstep1, backwardstep1);
AccelStepper stepper2(forwardstep2, backwardstep2);

{
AFMS.begin(); // Start the top shield

stepper1.setMaxSpeed(1000.0);
stepper1.setAcceleration(300.0);
//stepper1.setSpeed(300);
stepper1.moveTo(1200);

stepper2.setMaxSpeed(1000.0);
stepper2.setAcceleration(300.0);
//stepper2.setSpeed(300);
stepper2.moveTo(600);

}

void loop()
{
if ((stepper1.distanceToGo() != 0)||(stepper2.distanceToGo() != 0))
{
stepper1.run();
stepper2.run();
}
else
{
stepper1.stop();
stepper2.stop();
}
}
}

The problem with the second approach with driver is, I could not find out the way for sopping the motors after certain steps. Say after 1000 steps stop the motor perform experiments and again turn a few steps. // Define pin connections & motor's steps per revolution

//with driver

const int dirPin1 = 36;
const int stepPin1 = 2;
const int dirPin2 = 37;
const int stepPin2 = 3;
const int enPin1 = 38; //enable pin of driver1
const int enPin2 = 39; //enable pin of driver2
const int stepsMotor1 = 1200;
const int stepsMotor2 = 900;

void setup()
{
// Declare pins as Outputs
pinMode(stepPin1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(dirPin1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(stepPin2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(dirPin2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(enPin1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(enPin2, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
// Set motor direction clockwise/Anticlockwise

digitalWrite(enPin1, LOW); //enable the driver
digitalWrite(enPin2, LOW);
digitalWrite(dirPin1, HIGH);
digitalWrite(dirPin1, LOW);

for(int x=0; x<stepsMotor1; x++)
{
digitalWrite(stepPin1, HIGH);
digitalWrite(stepPin2, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(1200);
digitalWrite(stepPin1, LOW);
digitalWrite(stepPin2, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(1200);
}
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(enPin1, HIGH); //disable the driver
digitalWrite(enPin2, HIGH);
}

2

You have posted code without using code tags. The code tags make the code look

like this

when posting source code files. It makes it easier to read, and can be copied with a single mouse click. Also, if you don't do it, some of the character sequences in the code can be misinterpred by the forum code as italics or funny emoticons. The "Code: [Select]" feature allows someone to select the entire sketch so it can be easily copied and pasted into the IDE for testing.
If you have already posted without using code tags, open your message and select "modify" from the pull down menu labelled, "More", at the lower left corner of the message. Highlight your code by selecting it (it turns blue), and then click on the "</>" icon at the upper left hand corner. Click on the "Save" button. Code tags can also be inserted manually in the forum text using the code and /code metatags.

3

Are you saying you want the movements of the two motors to last the same amount of time, or can one stop before the other?

4

Your second code would drive a 48 step per rev motor at 520 RPM, what speed do you want?