arduino uses ?

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

FYI the Arduino was 'invented' in Italy I think to provide an easy way for modern artists to add flashing lights etc to their 'art'. Hence the use of the word sketch for a program to make it more acceptable to the intended target user. Then the shield is so called because the add on boards were designed to plug on top phisically like a warrior's shield. Again a term deemed preferable for the audience.
It was picked up in education circles and then hobyists and spread. There have been a dozen of more equivalent tiny controllers over the years such as the Picaxe used in UK schools and the Stamp used by radio amateurs.

If you are a complete beginner to this kind of thing I would suggest the Picaxe which is simpler but cheaper and supported with educational materials aimed at 15yr olds and many teenagers who have done the option in ICT will be able to help you. It would be able to control one stepper say for a table traverse but not gear cutting so think of it a s a disposable steppig stone to the Arduino.

Someone asked about gear cutter synchronising. I think on another forum JS mentioned he or a friend were doing this after using a hardwired logic version but had some glitches. The problem is keeping the calculation stages the same (time) length all the time. Bigger computers eg PCs are even worse at this because they go off and do other things like checking the disc drive which really messes up timing.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Sorry Jason – I didn't understand what you were getting at.

And you are correct of course Bazyle, Microsoft don't produce real-time systems – and in fact it's quite hard to get their operating systems talking to the real world. Hence my 'intelligent controller' idea. However, most people have access to a PC – so it really is a 'universal screwdriver' for software in some senses.

I like the idea of using my PC to show digital readouts, store different machining configurations, keep count of things – there are many possibilities open if I can hook it up.

Arduino isn't R/T either of course but it does potentially enable a lot of the more repetitive workload to be offloaded to a dedicated CPU, leaving the PC to do what it does best (mass storage, user interface, comms. etc)

I did see the JS gear cutter and commented on it at the time. If I get around to trying the gear synching idea on the Shaper, I think there will be plenty of time to drive any rotary movement on the return stroke of the ram though.

In 'Shaper-Time' – things are a lot more relaxed !

Regards,

IanT

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For those of us taking our first faltering steps:

The Adafruit tutorial seems a very good place to start.

MichaelG.

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Just to give an idea of what can be done with the Aduino Uno (ATMega328P CPU) my interface design for use with Yuriy's Android tablet DRO runs on an ATtiny4313 CPU which has 4K of flash and 256 bytes of ram. The ATMega328P has 8 times as much 32K of flash and 2K of ram. My interface supports data from 2 x 24 bit scales, BCD scales, BIN6 scales, iGaging scales and the Wixey type angle gauges.

Les.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

You are way in front of me Les but there's a lot here to look at and consider.

Thank you for sharing.

IanT

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

Controlling a three axis machine using an arduino and three steppers.

http://www.engineeringforless.com/efl_3_axis.html

http://youtu.be/KEmMMosC0rk

 

Edited By ronan walsh on 26/10/2014 23:22:33

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

And on the wireless front……
…http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00E9OGFLQ/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?pc_redir=1414398829&redirect=true&ref_=pe_378491_56158811_em_3p_0_0_im

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Ahh just google
433Mhz rf arduino. ..

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

There are now literally dozens of these single board microcontrollers – as ever, Wikipedia gives an overview. It's interesting to see evolution in action here, as many of them were perfectly functional but are now pretty much being left behind despite all the work that was invested in them. The Raspberry Pi is one of the current favourites which is getting a lot of exposure (and consequently support, programs, etc). I've got one of these now (B+ model), with ARM11 core, colour touch screen, multiple USB, HDMI, Ethernet etc. The size of a packet of fags and the power of a small PC. Amazing power, loads of options and low cost.

I've no idea who created the annoying name "shield" for what most of us have happily referred to as "IO" (input, output) for many years. These young upstarts have a habit or reinventing the wheel! Modern microcontrollers are pretty robust these days, so they don’t require a great deal of shielding as such. Level translation, bandwidth shaping etc may be required but that’s not really providing a “shield” function. The difference between a microcontroller and a microprocessor isn’t black and white but generally the former comes with a mixture of IO built in and ready to go, whereas the latter tends to need more peripheral devices to connect up to the outside world and do anything useful.

I can't claim to have a great deal of experience with them but I used an MSP430 Launchpad a year or so ago to drive a simple stepper motor with a stream of pulses and a direction signal. Hardly a challenging task and a lot quicker and more configurable than the equivalent 555 circuit. I had a simple pot and a switch as inputs to vary the speed and direction. The 3D printer I used last year used an Atmega processor and I suspect it was directly evolved from the (open source) Arduino design. They'd basically integrated the "shield"(grr) with the Arduino on a single board, along with power supply, stepper drivers etc.

As I understand it, the "smoothstepper" type boards are actually intended for use with a PC parallel port, to interface to stepper drivers, limit switches etc ie for CNC control. I've actually bought a set of Mesa Electronics IO boards for my CNC conversion, since the parallel port based interfaces tend to be rather limited in terms of how much IO you can implement, which is fine for a desktop CNC router but perhaps not so ideal for a full size metal cutting machine. The cost wasn’t much different but the Mesa stuff is professionally developed and supported and provides considerably more capability and flexibility.

There is PLC software for single-board computers including the Raspberry Pi and Arduino but unless you are retro-fitting a complex PLC-based machine or can’t get your head around modern CNC control, it’s not obvious to me why you’d bother. If you went with LinuxCNC, there is a software PLC module for that as well.

Murray

Edited By Muzzer on 29/10/2014 13:29:20

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> I've no idea who created the annoying name "shield" for what most of us have happily referred to as "IO" (input, output) for many years.

Not as annoying as the Beaglebone version – 'cape'.

Neil

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Smoothstepper boards actually have USB or Ethernet interface rather than use the parallel port. The latter is dying on new PCs. With the Smoothstepper the step pulses are generated by a dedicated real time processor rather than relying on the PC processor, which gives better performance and more I/O.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Haine on 30/10/2014 20:42:18:

Smoothstepper boards actually have USB or Ethernet interface rather than use the parallel port. The latter is dying on new PCs. With the Smoothstepper the step pulses are generated by a dedicated real time processor rather than relying on the PC processor, which gives better performance and more I/O.

.

John [ and also Ian T ],

Thanks for the mention of Smoothstepper boards … They definitely look worth investigating.

MichaelG.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Smoothstepper boards actually have USB or Ethernet interface rather than use the parallel port. The latter is dying on new PCs. With the Smoothstepper the step pulses are generated by a dedicated real time processor rather than relying on the PC processor, which gives better performance and more I/O.

John – USB is a real issue for many reasons. Ethernet is fine.

I use products from Mesa Electronics; http://www.mesanet.com **LINK** and, although they do have Ethernet boards, I tend to use the 5i25/7i76 combo – last time I looked it came out at about 1/2 the cost, and a lot more functional. It has a parallel-port type cable connecting the 5i25 (inside your PC) and the 7i76 in your control cabinet, by the steppers, etc. (or, 7i77 and servos)

I don't know if the cost/benefit still holds true, but, I've been very impressed with the functionality, support, and reliability of these boards.

Just another option – John A. Stewart.

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Just as I thought that I was finally getting to grips with this !!

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I'm not into CNC myself yet John – but as I've mentioned, I do play around with micros and need to connect to them.

I have one (very old) desktop but four (still functioning) laptops of varying age. I have a parallel port on the desktop and the very oldest laptop but I don't really want to look backwards in technology terms. All of my PCs have USB and in terms of portability and having a 'dedicated' controller/display – the laptops are available and effectively free. So I can develop on my newest (up to date OS and relatively secure online – which my XP based machines may not be by now) but the older laptops are perfectly safe for this application because they can be used standalone (no internet connections etc)

So given that I have a number of devices already available (Laptops & Arduinos etc) a 'soft' solution is the one for me for CNC or any other control type application. I'm also (secretly) hoping that someone else will come up with the solution to this problem – I'm sure there are many others already working on it. I just need to be patient.

Of course others may want to push on now – so will have to use available solutions. But USB is clearly here to stay and all of my devices are equipped with some form of it….

Regards,

 

IanT

 

Edited By IanT on 31/10/2014 10:17:08

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

Back to my original question for a moment, as to is it feasable to control a large stepper motor via an arduino rather than a plc. I have come across a video on youtube showing just this, a large high torque stepper motor being controlled by an arduino, link below to nyc cnc's channel which is excellent. The final part of my question is can i connect three push buttons to the arduino to operate the motor for three different time periods , as would be simple enough to do on a plc ?

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

..is it feasible. .

Ok.
At the least to drive high power steppers you will need some sort of driver..from its simplest ..with a four coil unipolar motor (…4 transistors)…to a stepper driver module providing current regulation and micro stepping…
So it really depends on the motor…
In any case..using an audrino to read your push buttons and then wiggle some pins ( connected to whatever is required for your motors)..to say execute so many steps on push button..is readily achived…
Maybe think of the audrino as a plc “out of its shell”..
No handy screw terminals or din rail mounting. .but a high level programming language. .and 40mA 5Vooutputs. ..add your own relays or photo Darlington. .and off you go..
Google audrino plc..there is even a project to emulate a plc and ladder programming. .

Edited By jason udall on 31/10/2014 17:11:29

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 24/10/2014 22:29:28:.

These boards are available from many ebay sellers.

I've ordered mine from that seller because he's selling in fives … Fingers crossed, they are likely to be five from the same batch.

Note that the complete board, from China, is about half the price of buying just the chip from a UK supplier.

… Funny Old World.

.

It's a Funny Old World indeed:

The driver boards arrived this morning; very well packed in a small box, and apparently shipped Airmail from [or via] Belgium.

Hopefully, I can start experimenting next week.

MichaelG.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Well the price is right Michael – cheap enough to just play with for learning & experimental uses.

I've other 'job' priorities at the moment but I would be most interested to hear what you think of them (and what steppers you match them to as well).

Regards,

IanT

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

Inspired by this thread, I've taken a dive.

As the Aduino is open source it is a good opportunity for 'cheap chinese knock-offs'. You can get a UNO compatible board and a huge amount of experimental bits for not much more than the price of a single UNO from Maplins. I got a pack from 'Sinton' via Amazon Prime next day delivery. Comes with stepper controller, stepper, and servo so great for dipping your toe (although probably not appropriate for our typical machine tool control). And I can confirm the board works in as much as you can control flashing lights on it.

[Sintron] UNO R3 Upgrade Kit with Motor LCD Servo Module for Arduino AVR Starter

[Engine BuilderParticipant @enginebuilder]

I too have been inspired. I have bought an Arduino UNO clone from Amazon, £8.39 including post. Works fine.

I am working my way though a free on line coarse from http://opensourcehardwaregroup.com.

Arduino coarse for absolute beginners. I think it is excellent. Very clearly explained with text and videos.

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Thanks for that link, eng builder. I've just signed up, still feels like the deep end tho'. Once I realised that arduino is really just a concept, and that all the jargon can be ignored (so far) it looks do-able.

[Iain CampbellParticipant @iaincampbell84581]

An interesting thread, this.

I've never used an Arduino but when I've looked at using one, I frequently find myself saying "But I can do that with a PIC**F**…" If PIC's aren't meaty enough for the job, then it would be a Raspberry Pi. So far, I haven't yet justified splashing out on Arduinos when I have PIC's and Raspberry Pi's around me, you know? That said, I've been using things like PIC's for years and maybe a little set in my ways (the wife would definitely say that!).

I also suspect that things like Arduino and PICAxe can suffer a little from software bloat. The micro on it's own can be used as a real time control (within limits of it's computational speeds, of course) as they can be told to do something and nothing else. Can you do the same for Arduino or PICAxe? Having never used them, I don't know.

Saying all this, however, I like Arduinos and PICAxes. If it can make life easier to get something working, then it can't be a bad thing especially if you don't need a lot of experience to do it. And I've seen both Arduinos and PICAxes used in the flight controllers of Quadcopters – so they're definitely not to be sniffed at if they can keep track of 4 rotors and a Gyro.

As for the original posts – yeah, Arduino can do that (though I doubt FFT can be done if the chip is on a par with PIC's). The problem you may have with using an Arduino is one of spec creep – will you be just satisfied with what you say in your post? Or will the inner geek in you start to show a bit and make you think "Wouldn't it be good if it could…?" in which case, I doubt it would be long before an Arduino isn't good enough! C'mon, who doesn't do this???

That's usually my problem – hence why I'm re-learning Python to programme a Raspberry Pi to do something I originally had a PIC18F doing in assembly!! I had this idea that it would be good if it could process G-Code as well as control steppers… and then, if it could do that, how about converting from DXF first… over a network… and USB… and a touchscreen showing predicted tool path… and spindle speed control… and… and… and…

Anyone know a good place to get Cray supercomputers cheap??? I think I may need one!

Iain

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

My new toy -arduino copy has arrived. Showed the wife, what does it do? she said , makes a little light go on and off I said. Not impressed.Looking forward to a wet day so I can have a play.

[Author]

Posts