control stepper motor with microcontroller

meenusaini over 7 years ago

hello everyone

i have to draw circle pattern with two stepper motor with microcontroller. can anybody have any idea..

thank you

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DAB over 7 years ago +10

Build an X-Y stage with a stepper motor driving each axis. Put a pen suspended above the center with a solenoid for up or down movement. Put a piece of paper on the X-Y stage. Set up your MCU to drive…
14rhb over 7 years ago +8

Hi Meenakshi, I'm sure someone on E14 will be an expert at steppers and microcontrollers, however, a little more detail from you will help get those answers quickly... Tell us a little bit about why you…
genebren over 7 years ago +6

There are many ways to do this. DAB has offered some great suggestions. To offer a little more help, depending on how much engineering your project requires and the depth of your skill set, I could offer…

14rhb over 7 years ago

Hi Meenakshi,

I'm sure someone on E14 will be an expert at steppers and microcontrollers, however, a little more detail from you will help get those answers quickly...

Tell us a little bit about why you want to draw the circle, using a pen, drawing onto what material, approximate size, do you have any components already, how much money are you going to spend, have you programmed a microcontroller before and if so, which one? If you do that we will be able to better understand your question and hopefully work out a solution.

regards,

Rod
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DAB over 7 years ago

Build an X-Y stage with a stepper motor driving each axis.
Put a pen suspended above the center with a solenoid for up or down movement.
Put a piece of paper on the X-Y stage.
Set up your MCU to drive the stage using g-code.
Use Open SCAD to create you g-code.
Load g-code into the MCU.
Execute the g-code.

Circle drawn.

DAB
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genebren over 7 years ago

There are many ways to do this. DAB has offered some great suggestions. To offer a little more help, depending on how much engineering your project requires and the depth of your skill set, I could offer the following advice:

1) simple, off the shelf approach (or almost off the shelf):
https://www.ebay.com/p/Arduino-CNC-Kit-W-UNO-Shield-Stepper-Motors-Drv8825-Endstop-A4988-GRBL/6019092945?iid=32201145640…
https://store.makeblock.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=6689
https://store.makeblock.com/mbot-makeblock-roboter-robot-kit-kits-toys

2) worked solutions for inspiration:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Mini-CNC-Plotter-Arduino-Based/
https://www.hackster.io/Yogeshmodi/sketch-it-cnc-plotter-95019d

3) more advanced
Here is where DAB advice fits in. He has outlined the steps that engineer might take. Search around, fill in the blanks, experiment and build, and you might be able to make something really cool!

Good Luck,
Gene
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Fred27 over 7 years ago in reply to DAB
@DAB You shouldn't need g-code - just some trigonometry and knowledge of on in-built timers on your microcontroller. Of course - this is if you will only ever want to do circles.

There is of course the question as to why the OP want to draw circles using a microcontroller and stepper motor in the first place.
If you just need to draw circles, then there are certainly easier and better ways - for instance, a geared motor and a pen on an arm
If it's because this is a student assignment, then I'd suggest you start from your coursework and ask if you're stuck on something specific.
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jc2048 over 7 years ago

Is this the right answer?
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gadget.iom over 7 years ago in reply to jc2048

Elegant solution!
Simple and reliable, with very low running costs.
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