Stepper motor help needed

[carl25]

Hi all, basically I am a mechanical engineer and I can build anything mechanical and most arduino stuff but when I get some project in my head that goes past my knowledge Arduino base I am stumped
I have a CNC 3 axis I built that works great and makes lovely things, but I have a project I want to build with 5 stepper motors, this is for a moving archery targets I so want to get right
I have a few normal V3 stepper boards several Uno and Mega boards and several drivers from DRV8825 and TB6600 drivers and loads of kit including power supplies
but I can't find any way of controlling 5 stepper motors from 1 computer with a pre programmed schedule of motor movements
Maybe if I explain what I am attempting to do, imagine 5 items that I want to reveal and hide in turn, so that these can happen exactly the same every time, and when a set of movements have happened, the same range of movements and timing will be exactly the same every time it is run, hence my wish to use stepper motors for accuracy and speed control
Anyone help me ? I don't mind buying some new kit or shields if needed
Thanks everyone, stay safe & healthy

 

[camerart]

Hi all, basically I am a mechanical engineer and I can build anything mechanical and most arduino stuff but when I get some project in my head that goes past my knowledge Arduino base I am stumped
I have a CNC 3 axis I built that works great and makes lovely things, but I have a project I want to build with 5 stepper motors, this is for a moving archery targets I so want to get right
I have a few normal V3 stepper boards several Uno and Mega boards and several drivers from DRV8825 and TB6600 drivers and loads of kit including power supplies
but I can't find any way of controlling 5 stepper motors from 1 computer with a pre programmed schedule of motor movements
Maybe if I explain what I am attempting to do, imagine 5 items that I want to reveal and hide in turn, so that these can happen exactly the same every time, and when a set of movements have happened, the same range of movements and timing will be exactly the same every time it is run, hence my wish to use stepper motors for accuracy and speed control
Anyone help me ? I don't mind buying some new kit or shields if needed
Thanks everyone, stay safe & healthy

Hi C,
I have also been a mechanical engineer, and can build anything, and electronics and programming are my week points.
Instead of the Arduino route, which has libraries, I chose the hard way using PICs and writing my own 'libraries' within my programs.

When I started with stepper motors, I bought some and found there are different types and precision. I simply played with the leads with a suitable battery and watched what happens when different leads are connected. Then I learnt how a transistor can switch between leads, noticing that some combinations cause smoke. Then I learnt about 'H' bridges, where 4x transistors are switch by enable and ON and OFF. I found this really interesting and made robots, all with much help from forums like this.

The Arduino route is much faster and there's plenty of examples and help, and using drivers is also easier. I'm still glad I chose the PIC route though, as I learnt more I think.

Let us know which route you prefer, I may be able to help you with th PIC choice.
Cheers, C.

 

[Wp100]

There are lots of Arduino to Stepper motor tutorials out there, the one below using a common driver module which will be similar / compatible to ones you probably have.

If you build up a single driver as shown in the tutorial then think you will soon work out that you can program up the code to control the 5 you want for both speed and timing intervals.

https://howtomechatronics.com/tutorials/arduino/stepper-motors-and-arduino-the-ultimate-guide/