Thread: Still no go on stepper

Hi Sacca51

See post #40
I described all of that yesterday

The one output of the 555 timer board would go to the PUL+ input. THe PUL- input will be connected to 0V (the GND on the driver board.
your 0V of the 55 timer should also be connected to the GND of the driver board as well as the 555 Timer puwer supply.
Note that the 555 timer power supply will have to be 5V so that it's output pulse is 5V that the driver board requires.

Would you like me to draw the circuit and all connections for you?

-----------------------------

Chris & Lappa
I was refering to thing like this.
Post #2

"I'm not familiar with what you're trying to do but a stepper motor works by moving the tiniest fraction or step for each distinct input it recieves, what this means is if you are just running your power supply into it constantly it will move 1 step and stop. To get it to spin continously you need to vary the input voltage as that tells it when to take the next step. you can potentially do this manually by just tapping your positive terminal with the wire from the battery but I don't know what your microstep driver does so I can't gaurentee this will work."

No it doesn't, changing the input voltage will not tell it to take the next step.

Post #4

"It needs to be supplied with a pulse (pulse width modulated) signal"

No, It needs a constant pulse width and varing frequency. Pulse can be positive OR negative depending on how you wire the input and as little as 5uS (depending on the driver board.) As stated, mine needs at least 5mS.
He does state that it has to go high and low, that is correct but depending on how you wire the inpusts to the driver board, you can have a high level, with a low going pulse OR a low Level with a high going pulse.

While a stepper motor does have a current rating in the data sheet, that does NOT mean that you have to run it at that current. If it does the job at a lowwer current, then run it at that.

No need to supply a chart, it is all written on the top of his driver module if you cared to look at his initial photos like i did.

The heading of this thread was that he is "still having problems getting the stepper motors" working, not DC motors, and yes, I did see that he brought the subject up only because he was no getting nowhere with help to wiring the system he showed in his pictures.

His pictures showed a
power supply (battery)
A driver board
A stepper motor.

Not in one post before mine has anybody even attempted to tell him how to wire his setup in his photos. I DID. Sorry you took offence to that.
Yes people have tried to help him, that I'm not disputing, but it I took 40 posts for some one to come up with complete answer for his solution using what he has.
Now that he has the complete setup with his 555 timer board.

Regards
Dean

Hi Sacca51,
Got a good full photo of the module now, here's what it all means.

First chart.


Across the top we have

Micro Step Puls/Rev S2 S2 S3

The chart represents how the stepper will move according to how mony pulses are given.

It we look at the first line NC Nc ON ON ON
This means that if S1 S2 ans S3 on your switch bank are all ON then no steps will happen.

Second Line
1 200 ON ON Off

This means that with S1 ON S2 ON and S3 OFF you will get one revolution of the stepper motor for every 200 pulses you give it (from the 555 Timer board)

Next two lines
Two different switch settings if you want 400 pulses per one revolution of the stepper motor.

Next Line
4 800 ON OFF OFF

This setting means with S1 ON S2 OFF S3 OFF you will need to give the module 800 pulses to get one revolution of the stepper motor.

And so on down the chat to the bottom setting where
32 6400 OFF OFF OFF
Means 6400 pulses are required for stepper one revolution

What does all this mean? well it means that the finer the steps, the higher the resolution of those steps (in degrees) of the stepper motor.
from 200 pulses per revolution where MOST (not all) steppers are 1.8 degree steps to 6400 steps where the stepper motor rotates 0.05625 degrees.


Next chart.


First line
Current (A) Peak Current S4 S5 S6

Second line
0.5 0.7 ON ON ON

0.5 this means that while sitting there stationary, doing NO steps each active phase of the stepper will draw 0.5A from the driver module. Look at this as a hold current.
0.7 when the stepper is in the active process of stepping, the stepper can draw upto 0.7 Amp from the driver module and thus the power supply which supplies the driver board. this will drop back to the 0.5 when the step is complete.

The ON ON ON means for you to have this current setting, S4, S5 ans S6 must ALL be ON

Each switch setting is a different current setting for the stepper motor while it is at idle and moving.

Some stepper driver boards have separate switches for drive and hold settings (mine has switches for 20% 50% and 100% of the drive as a hold current.)

So thats the Chart

Regards
Dean

Originally Posted by sacc51

Ok, this is what I have, hopefully it will do.

Do what?..... drive the traverse on the lathe or drive it to a specific number that you have programmed in? Two very different things. If it is just to turn a handle than a stepper motor is not the correct thing to use.

I must have said this a dozen times so far and still everyone seems confused as to what I want the stepper to do. So,lets go back to the beginning: I want a motor to drive the cross feed of a lathe. I turned to a stepper because they supposedly have superior torque at low speed than a DC motor and also because I can't find a DC motor that has enough power, I could buy an electric seat motor, or a windscreen wiper motor, or a treadmill motor or a thousand other motors but I'm being realistic, I don't have bottomless pockets and the stepper seems the best choice due to it's superior torque, size, mounting possibilities and so on.

HI Sacc51,

You are right, steppers do have huge torque down at low speed, but please understand this, Chris has pointed out that if you just want the lathe to transverse from right to left (or left to right) WHILE you hold a button down, the a DC motor (geared down is your best option). But you state that you've tried heaps of DC motors and they either are too big or too weak.
Chris also pointed out that if you want to transverse a specific distance, eg you want to move 30mm and 30mm only, then a Stepper is the way to go as they can move to within fractions of a mm, but this requires inputting numbers and is getting towards CNC control, something you also don't want.

There is another way to use a stepper using push buttons, power supplies, driver modules and pulse generators which you also said is getting too complicated.

Now you post that you have all this equipment ," how do I connect it" ? and nobody understands. I think everybody does perfectly well
but I detailed it all yesterday. in post #40 in a fair bit of detail. What the chart is, setting the pulses per rev of the stepper motor and setting the current. (The switches you are asking about today) and how to connect up the driver box even with a 555 timer board which you didn't have when I posted.

I offer to draw you a connection diagram if you want. Do you want?

Dean

Sacc51

Here, from the info you've given, this is all I can come up with. Bit rough I know, well al lot rough actually.
Note: This will only do one axis of your lathe, all of it needs to be duplicated if you want to move another axis. The 5V Jaycar converter and the the 555 timer can remain common to another axis.
This 12V supply @2A will only supply one stepper.

Set
S1 On
S2 Off
S3 Off

This will give you 200 pulses from the 555 timer to do One revolution of the stepper motor.

Try
S4 ON
S5 Off
S6 Off

That sets the current for 1.5Amps Hold current and 1.7Amps Pulse current.

Pressing the push button should rotate the stepper motor in one direction. Switching the toggle switch will rotate the stepper in the opposite direction.

Regards
Dean

On the Ne555 driver board he bought and on the Arduino, the output signal is classified as a Pulse Width Modulated signal as you can vary the duty cycle on both as well as the frequency. It was explained earlier the need to change the frequency and it was called a pulse generator, but in later lists the signal was called what it actually is.

The TB6600 driver board came into the discussion later on after a lot of other options had been exhausted, and when my unit arrived, I supplied a wiring diagram using the pulse generator (Post 42) but you can do it again if you feel the need.

All I can say is I tried to help, supplied videos and diagrams. I even said he could PM me and I would help all I could. I have a number of different driver boards and they all work as designed. I use them to drive a number of automotive actuators.

Heres a video showing my TB6600 being driven with a NE555 wired as in my diagram I posted.
https://youtu.be/IWs3mMUEzwU

I’ll step out of this thread now.

A diagram would be good. This is what I tried this afternoon, didn' work!

Originally Posted by BobL

Hummm . . . ..... Not sure if that is what he is after.
My understanding is he just wants to flip a switch to go forward and reverse.

But that is only the start and I would bet that it won't stop there. There are plenty of vids on Youtube showing how to make steppers move with a switch, pot , digital encoder or joystick. Arduino Uno's cost less that 10 bucks and are good fun to learn and play with. Here is a vid that perhaps might be of interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYIL5gxRogM

Here is the same but with more info.

https://brainy-bits.com/blogs/tutori...-potentiometer

Hi Sacca51,
I really should apologize to people on this forum that I've upset with my comments they are all only trying to help.
I've had a talk to one of the other members Mr Pensmore, and he informed me of your situation. I have sent you a Private Message with my phone number and my invitation to come around your place and set it up for you and explain it in detail.
I never knew you lived only aproximately 6ks from me at Maslin beach. So the offer still stands.
Like I said to Mr Pensmore, I always assume the person that you are communicating with is on the other side of the world or continent, not down the street.

Anyhow, call me and we'll arrange a time and I'll come around and have a chin wag.
Regards Dean

Try this tony
This uses all the stuff you have already.
I posted this yesterday, but it never came up for some reason. Never mind, here it is.
Connections.jpg