What to acquire to get started with steppers

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello!

I need help selecting what hardware to acquire. I have a couple of different project ideas, but what I think would get me started on experimenting is:

  • 4 stepper motors with sufficient torque and precision to operate, for example, a small DIY CNC table.
  • Controller(s) for these 4 motors. Single multi-controller or separate ones according to your advice.
  • An Arduino board capable of connecting the controllers and still have room left to plug in one or two other controllers of some sort in the future. The board doesn't need to be programmable itself, I'll want to controll the motors with software developed and running on a separate computer with USB connection.
  • Power cables and transformers to power these motors, their controller(s) and the Arduino itself.
  • Any other stuff I'm likely to need for the setup.
  • Reasonably "newbie-level" instructions on how to put it all together.

I'm sorry if this kind question has been asked before or if you think I should be able to google it up. It's just such information overload and I'm excited to get started. I'm a software guy and eager to learn this stuff!

Best regards,
Erik Gustavsson

2
  • 4 stepper motors with sufficient torque and precision to operate, for example, a small DIY CNC table.

You really need to design the table and carriages, first, then measure the torque required. Or, look at similar projects and use the same size motors.

  • Controller(s) for these 4 motors. Single multi-controller or separate ones according to your advice.

I prefer to let the magic smoke out of one controller, rather than blow the whole multimotor controller. Your mileage may vary.

The type of controller really depends on the current requirements (and voltage, to a lesser extent) of the chosen stepper motors.

  • An Arduino board capable of connecting the controllers and still have room left to plug in one or two other controllers of some sort in the future.

Typically, each controller requires just two pins - one for direction and one to cause stepping. 4 motors == 8 pins. Any Arduino will work.

The board doesn't need to be programmable itself

It certainly does. Otherwise, how will you tell it to read serial data and step the motors?

I'll want to controll the motors with software developed and running on a separate computer with USB connection.

You still have to tell the stepper motor controller about the need to step - how many and which direction.

  • Power cables and transformers to power these motors, their controller(s) and the Arduino itself.

Depends on the motors and drivers.

  • Any other stuff I'm likely to need for the setup.

If you are asking these questions, a lot more experience.

  • Reasonably "newbie-level" instructions on how to put it all together.

I'm sorry. A CNC controller machine is not a newbie project.

3

Thanks for your reply!

So, basically, rather than suggesting any hardware, you're saying "it depends" and you're discouraging me from pursuing my new found interest? :slight_smile:

As I said, I'm eager to learn this stuff and gain experience, I just need some sort of advice on getting started. A full-on CNC table is not likely to be the first thing I try.

Kindly,
Erik Gustavsson

4

and you're discouraging me from pursuing my new found interest?

No, of course not. You were the one that mentioned information overload. There are plenty of resources available to learn how to accomplish your project one step at a time.

"Tell me exactly what parts to order to make my project", with no idea what your project is is not the best way to get definitive answers.

As I said, I'm eager to learn this stuff and gain experience, I just need some sort of advice on getting started.

You need to define something that you want to accomplish. Having a goal is an absolute necessity to gaining experience in any field. One does not just show up at college and say "make me a professional" without saying whether that means engineer, surgeon, writer, chef, or CEO.

Now, that is not to say that the goal doesn't change. It certainly can, if you find that the project selected is either too difficult or too easy, or if you trip over something else that appears more interesting.

I certainly do think that learning about stepper motors and controllers is an admirable task. But, like drinking from the ocean, you need to at least bring along a cup.

5

you're discouraging me from pursuing my new found interest?

It might look like that but this is an advanced project an typical beginner "biting off more than you can chew" syndrome.
You will not find:-

Reasonably "newbie-level" instructions on how to put it all together.

However you can look at my CNC project and see if you can get any information from that.
http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Hardware/CNC_Conversion.html

6

Take a look at the reprap project too - there are multiple steppers and limit switches being operated by an arduino as you'll need for CNC. Might be possible to use some of the same hardware if your planned dimensions are similar.

7

Thanks guys for those references! Will check out.

Now, I think you may have misread me initially here, let me clarify. What I thought was that if I could get an Arduino hooked up and use it to program a stepper motor via a controller, that would be a good start, and then I could just tinker on from there. Is this really such a bad approach? It's pretty much how I learned software design as a newbie (well, as a kid), and I'd recommend it to anyone who wanted to learn. I have plenty of ambitious project ideas, but going straight for any of them might be like jumping in at the deep end of the ocean, which is a bad idea for a newbie, with or without cup. :slight_smile: But assuming steppers work similarly weather weak or strong, I thought I might as well get steppers and controllers that could possibly work for a project requiring more torque. The CNC bit was just a reference to describe what level of torque I meant, even if it is one of the ideas that I have imagined as possible in the future. As for the instructions bit - I'm just talking about the basic pc-Arduino-controller-motor bit here, not CNC. Is there any such instructions at all available, or is that just basic electronics? And if so, could you please direct me toward a resource on this? I just don't want to blow a fuse first thing.

Regards,
Erik Gustavsson

8

But assuming steppers work similarly weather weak or strong,

They do, the difference being the type of driver/controller needed, and the amount of current/voltage that the power supply needs to be able to serve up.

I thought I might as well get steppers and controllers that could possibly work for a project requiring more torque.

The issue with this approach is that for small to medium size stepper motors, the controllers are not too expensive. For large steppers that could drive an industrial CNC machine, the controllers come with hefty price tags - hundreds to thousands of dollars each.

Recommending that you get a quartet of powerful stepper motors and $1000 controllers would, I assume, dampen your enthusiasm for the project.

Getting some smaller stepper motors and drivers to learn with is a good idea. Expecting them to be useable in a larger project is not.

As for the instructions bit - I'm just talking about the basic pc-Arduino-controller-motor bit here, not CNC.

That PC is the 1st C part of CNC. The serial data send from the PC to the Arduino is the N part of CNC. The controller is the 2nd C part of CNC. So, you ARE talking CNC.

Is there any such instructions at all available, or is that just basic electronics? And if so, could you please direct me toward a resource on this?

There are plenty of examples - Grumpy_Mike's is one of the better documented.

I just don't want to blow a fuse first thing.

Saving that for later? Blowing a fuse is not a bad thing. Blowing a $1000 controller, on the other hand, is.

9

Well i guess some good medium sized motors and controllers was what I was (and still is) asking for advice on, something not too flimsy but not too expensive. But I understand you recommend something cheap for learning, and I guess I'll just pick whatever is the cheapest then, but with a not too high degrees/step ratio.

Was unaware CNC had that meaning, that's funny. Still, I think you understand what I mean? What is commonly known as a CNC table or machine is something else than any setup using a PC controlling a motor, no? And the part where you control a motor with pc code through Arduino and controller must be considered basic when it comes to this stuff? Isn't it a typical thing that Arduino is meant to make more easily available? I might be wrong.

Anyway, I'll check out your reference, thanks for that.

Regards,
Erik Gustavsson

10

Hi, If you want to start with VERY low-end but workable stepper motors and drivers, take a look at these under-$5 versions: http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/SmallSteppers

Nice for quick on-the-desktop experiments...