Hi there I’m trying to make a beer vending machine for shed
I’ve never used Arduino, so just wondering it’s it possible to use Arduino for this ?
My idea is to hit a button , then a stepper motor moves a certain way for a period of time, (the it would go back to its start position)
then another ones starts for an amount of time and so on …..
I’m thinking I’ll need 5 stepper motors all up.
Once the whole scene would play out and then you could hit the button again and then it would do the whole process again.
Is this possible and what gear would I need to make it happen
I think yes
You need to learn electronics, design a circuit, make a board, also learn programming and write code. Programs and circuits rarely work right away, so it will need to be debugged and rewritten many times.
But in the end you can be proud that you did it yourself
You ned a controller having at least 10 digital outputs and an input. An UNO has that.
You need 5 stepper motor drivers and a power supply capable of supplying all current needed.
You will be working in steps, not time, as this will be the more accurate way to make sure of your position.
You will also need some limit switches so you can "Home" your steppers each time you power up, or begin the process, so you have a starting reference.
The code is the easy part. Choosing the hardware is going to take some careful engineering. Chose stepper motors first. Calculate or measure the torque required for each then add a safety margin. When you have decided the motors, choose appropriate drivers. Do not be tempted by the cheap, ancient and inefficient L293 or L298 drivers. Then the motor power supply needs to be chosen.
Thanks for the help everyone
For now I’m thinking I’ll get a arruino board and some cheap small stepper motors, drivers to get it then I’ll move up to something that can pick a beer can up
So if I’m going to make an order online
I’ll need to get