20 Steppers

[Atomic_Sheep]

Hello,

I'm writing software which will have 20 or so variables that will update stepper motor positions simultaneously (or there abouts). I don't want to create my own electronics as it's not my area of expertise, what would be the best off the shelf solution for my application?

 

[cowboybob]

Hello,

I'm writing software which will have 20 or so variables that will update stepper motor positions simultaneously (or there abouts). I don't want to create my own electronics as it's not my area of expertise, what would be the best off the shelf solution for my application?

If I'm understanding your need(s) correctly, you might try an Arduino Uno solution:

As an example:

<EDIT> Actually watched the video. Might be a bit simplistic for you. Perhaps not, but I was unsure of your level of expertise.

Its a start, anyway...

Off-the-shelf stepper motor controllers are available. For example:

https://www.virtuabotix.com/product...uino-shield/?gclid=CLvFiaL1_sACFSbl7Aod0zMAYg

 

[Overclocked]

Pololu has some drivers as well

https://www.pololu.com/category/120/stepper-motor-drivers

Ive used the A4988 (chinese variant) just for experimenting. You just need two lines per Driver, so you would need 40 I/O. You could probably get away with less if they are all going in the same direction.

https://www.pololu.com/product/2981

 

[jbeng]

I would think that you would only need 21 I/O lines max, unless they all had to move independently at the same instant.
Basically, all the "direction" signals could be connected together, then send a "step" pulse to the one (or more) that you wish to move. The motors will move far slower than you can clock the drivers, so for all practical purposes, they would likely appear to all move at the same time.

 

[Pars Druddle]

Dead thread response:

All depends on how you collect the data to generate the variables, how complex the variable rtns are, and what sort of motion effects you want from the steppers - synched-steps, rampy, constant dance, but...

Arduinos. One master, multiple slaves on the I2C bus. Each slave (uno, nano, mini, micro, etc) could drive 1 - 7 (?) steppers with 'effects' if needed. Do the big calcs on the master, send out the new postions, let the slaves do the drudge work of spinning the steppers and maybe acknowledging they rcvd and executed. 9 bucks for an Uno, under $4 each for nanos, minis, $2 ~$5 per driver

You could also use just 1 DUE (54 dig i/o), but it's a 3.3v board...