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1 Hardware and Its Working: Arduino

The document discusses several hardware components used in electronics projects: - Arduino, an open-source microcontroller board that can be programmed to build electronics projects using a simplified version of C++. - Stepper motors, which move in precise steps and are useful for applications requiring position or speed control like 3D printers. - The A4988 stepper motor driver, which provides an easy interface to control stepper motors in different step modes and current levels. - 16x2 LCD displays, which can display text and are controlled using a small number of pins in either 4-bit or 8-bit mode. - The assembly of a stepper motor setup using rails and motors from DVD drives to provide

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Rakesh Chaurasia
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31 views10 pages

1 Hardware and Its Working: Arduino

The document discusses several hardware components used in electronics projects: - Arduino, an open-source microcontroller board that can be programmed to build electronics projects using a simplified version of C++. - Stepper motors, which move in precise steps and are useful for applications requiring position or speed control like 3D printers. - The A4988 stepper motor driver, which provides an easy interface to control stepper motors in different step modes and current levels. - 16x2 LCD displays, which can display text and are controlled using a small number of pins in either 4-bit or 8-bit mode. - The assembly of a stepper motor setup using rails and motors from DVD drives to provide

Uploaded by

Rakesh Chaurasia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1 Hardware and its Working

Arduino

Arduino is an open-source platform used for building


electronics projects. Arduino consists of both a physical
programmable circuit board (often referred to as
a microcontroller) and a piece of software, or IDE
(Integrated Development Environment) that runs on your
computer, used to write and upload computer code to
the physical board.
The Arduino platform has become quite popular with
people just starting out with electronics, and for good
reason. Unlike most previous programmable circuit
boards, the Arduino does not need a separate piece of
hardware (called a programmer) in order to load new
code onto the board – you can simply use a USB cable.
Additionally, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version
of C++, making it easier to learn to program. Finally,
Arduino provides a standard form factor that breaks out
the functions of the micro-controller into a more
accessible package.

Stepper Motors
Stepper motors are DC motors that move in discrete
steps. They have multiple coils that are organized in
groups called "phases". By energizing each phase in
sequence, the motor will rotate, one step at a time.

With a computer controlled stepping you can achieve very


precise positioning and/or speed control. For this reason,
stepper motors are the motor of choice for many
precision motion control applications. 

Stepper motors come in many different sizes and styles


and electrical characteristics. This guide details what you
need to know to pick the right motor for the job.

What are stepper motors good for?


• Positioning – Since steppers move in precise
repeatable steps, they excel in applications requiring
precise positioning such as 3D printers, CNC,
Camera platforms and X,Y Plotters. Some disk drives
also use stepper motors to position the read/write
head.

• Speed Control – Precise increments of movement


also allow for excellent control of rotational speed
for process automation and robotics.

• Low Speed Torque - Normal DC motors don't have


very much torque at low speeds. A Stepper motor
has maximum torque at low speeds, so they are a
good choice for applications requiring low speed
with high precision.

Stepper motor
Driver
The A4988 is a complete microstepping motor driver with
built-in translator for easy operation. It is designed to operate
bipolar stepper motors in full-, half-, quarter-, eighth-, and
sixteenth-step modes, with an output drive capacity of up to
35 V and ±2 A. The A4988 includes a fixed off-time current
regulator which has the ability to operate in Slow or Mixed
decay modes. The translator is the key to the easy
implementation of the A4988. Simply inputting one pulse on
the STEP input drives the motor one microstep. There are no
phase sequence tables, high frequency controllines,or complex
interfaces to program. The A4988 interface is an ideal fit for
applications where a complex microprocessor is unavailable
or is overburdened. During stepping operation, the chopping
control in the A4988 automatically selects the current decay
mode, Slow or Mixed. In Mixed decay mode, the device is set
initially to a fast decay for a proportion of the fixed off-time,
then to a slow decay for the remainder of the off-time. Mixed
decay current control results in reduced audible motor noise,
increased step accuracy, and reduced power dissipation.

• Simple step and direction control interface


• Five different step resolutions: full-step, half-step,
quarter-step, eighth-step, and sixteenth-step
• Adjustable current control lets you set the maximum
current output with a potentiometer, which lets you
use voltages above your stepper motor’s rated
voltage to achieve higher step rates
• Intelligent chopping control that automatically
selects the correct current decay mode (fast decay
or slow decay)
• Over-temperature thermal shutdown, under-voltage
lockout, and crossover-current protection
• Short-to-ground and shorted-load protection
16x2LCD

The Hitachi-compatible LCDs can be controlled in


two modes: 4-bit or 8-bit. The 4-bit mode
requires seven I/O pins from the Arduino, while
the 8-bit mode requires 11 pins. For displaying
text on the screen, you can do most everything in
4-bit mode, so example shows how to control a
2x16 LCD in 4-bit mode.

In 16x2 LCD there are 16 pins over all if there is a back


light, if there is no back light there will be 14 pins. One
can power or leave the back light pins. Now in the 14
pins there are 8 data pins (7-14 or D0-D7), 2 power
supply pins (1&2 or VSS&VDD or GND&+5v), 3rd pin for
contrast control (VEE-controls how thick the characters
should be shown), and 3 control pins (RS&RW&E).
 
In the circuit, you can observe I have only took two
control pins, this gives the flexibility. The contrast bit and
READ/WRITE are not often used so they can be shorted
to ground. This puts LCD in highest contrast and read
mode. We just need to control ENABLE and RS pins to
send characters and data accordingly.

Stepper Motor Assembly


Setup for X and Y axis

For the X and Y axes we will use two stepper motors


and rails from dvd/cd drives and for the Z axis we will
use a small servo motor that moves the pen up and
down. For the mounting base we will use a small piece
of plexiglass.

For the mounting base:


• One piece of plexiglass 20x16 cm (thickness 5mm)
(for X axis)
• Two pieces of plexiglass 14x4 cm (thickness 5mm) (for
Y axis)
• A few nut screws, nuts and shims (~20)
• A few spacers
• Four supporting angles (preferably plastic)
Instead of plexiglass you can also use wood, metal or parts
from dissasembly cd/dvd drives

Spare parts for Rotor Part

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