Howdy, I am entirely new to Arduino and DIY projects and this post seems to be the only post that gets close enough to what I have planned. I thought to ask my question here because I think you can help me here.
I am a visualization student (No electronics experience besides physics from years ago) and I need to be able to control 4 stepper motors using 4 potentiometers for speed (one of the motors needs to be really slow while drawing) and a two-way switch for direction (CW and CCW).
I am trying to build a drawing machine. The dc motors I got originally were too fast for my drawing plane as I needed the plane to move slowly while the other motors create the drawing. When I succeed in making the dc motor slow, it was jerking so when I found out that I could use stepper motors for the project for better movement, I got the NEMA 23, 4.2A motor which I now think I can't drive based on the things I have been reading about using Arduino shield with respect to the driver capabilities.
I was considering using the Arduino mega (I assume I need a lot of pins for the connections), and the Arduino mega shield with TMC2009 drivers(considering returning the DM542T I bought earlier due to the size of the drivers). Will this setup work? How do I enable the code for the potentiometers and the direction switches? I have seen how I can connect the motors to the TMC drivers but I have not found any tutorial that explains how I can connect the potentiometers and the switch for the 4 motors.
Links to the data sheets were helpful in answering your questions (motors and drivers). As is you have to answer one question yourself: will the 2A driver be strong enough for your 4.2A motor?
Also only a very vague answer can be given about the project feasibility. Of course it's possible to drive 4 motors by 4 pots and direction switches, somehow. But this may not fit your mechanical construction. It may be easier to control the motors by analog joy sticks with pots indicating both positive (cw) or negative (ccw) movement - see RC model control.
The DM542T drivers are a better match for your steppers. The TMC2209 drivers are only good for, maximum, 2A coil current. Less than half of your stepper coil current. And, I think that for 2A reliably, you will need a head sink and a fan to cool the TMC2209 parts.
Controlling the speed with a pot is not difficult, but setting direction is a bit problematic. What is controlling the position of the motors? That would dictate the direction. I mean if the motor is to go CW to absolute position 100 from 0 then to go back to absolute 0 the motor would have to turn CCW.
Are you using a controller firmware like grbl or Marlin?
Of not, what stepper library are you using if any?
Howdy, I am entirely new to Arduino and DIY projects and this post seems to be the only post that gets close enough to what I have planned. I thought to ask my question here because I think you can help me here.
I am a visualization student (No electronics experience besides physics from years ago) and I need to be able to control 4 stepper motors using 4 potentiometers for speed (one of the motors needs to be really slow while drawing) and a two-way switch for direction (CW and CCW).
I am trying to build a drawing machine. The dc motors I got originally were too fast for my drawing plane as I needed the plane to move slowly while the other motors create the drawing. When I succeed in making the dc motor slow, it was jerking so when I found out that I could use stepper motors for the project for better movement, I got the NEMA 23, 4.2A motor which I now think I can't drive based on the things I have been reading about using Arduino shield with respect to the driver capabilities.
I was considering using the Arduino mega (I assume I need a lot of pins for the connections), the mega shield with TMC2009 drivers. Will this setup work? How do I enable the code for the potentiometers and the direction switches?
Thank you for your response. I am completely new to the forum I will investigate how to move this to another thread.
I am planning to return the 4.2A stepper motors as I want the compactness of the TNCset up as against using the bigger drivers. I am unable to find any compact motor driver that can drive a 4A motor.
Bt mega shield, I meant the shield that fits into the Arduino mega
@samuelfalade,
Please do not hijack other people's topics and do not create duplicate topics. Both these activities run the risk of a temporary or permanent ban. Please read the forum instructions before posting anything else: How to get the best out of this forum
You contact the moderators by clicking the flag thing at the bottom right of every post.
Thank you for your response.
This is my first time doing any project like this. I chose the 4A motors because the dc motors I got originally was not driving my board well.”, felt as though they lack the power to drive the plywood and the pen on them.
My plan is to return the stepper motors and replace them with a 2A motor. I am making a mechanical drawing machine which I will program by setting the speed of the motors and direction of each motor. I tried dc motors but I could not lower the speed enough for my project.
As for the code, I am Still researching how to go about the code,
Thank you for your response. A joystick would not work since I need the motors to continue their motion without my interference once I set the directions and speed. I may even have to switch one off based on what I want at the moment
I was considering a shield because of space. I feel it would help with making the setup compact enough. I have a small portion on the setup where o can install the components. I am changing the motors I currently have to motors that require less current.
As long as the lower current steppers will provide the required torque I see nothing wrong with your plan. If you do need a bit more torque you can increase the stepper motor supply voltage (up to the max allowed by the drivers, 29V for the TMC2209. The DRV8825 stepper drivers can handle 1.5A with no heat sink and 2.2A with fan cooling and heat sink, The DRV8825 motor supply voltage can go as high as 45V.
For either of the above drivers, it is imperative that the coil current limit be properly set before the motors are connected.
The shield is convenient as it has places for the stepper drivers and limit switch connections along with connections and drivers for other peripherals. I like them and have used the CNC shield V4 with Unos and the Ramps 1.4 shield for Mega.
If you can post a picture of your setup so we can see the size and what masses are involved in your project we could write an estimation what size of motor would deliver enough torque.
steppermotors are mostly used for precise positioning. If you just need continious rotation clockwise / counterclockwise without exact stops at a certain degree small wormgear-motors will deliver enough torque and slow speed.
best regards Stefan