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2 axis motion control with stepper motors
James [2 posts] |
16 year
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Im interested in a 2 axis stepper motor based system that can be controled using the usb or serial port on a standard PC. The motors need atleast .34Nm of holding torque. If you guys have any products you have used in the past that may be helpfull please give your recommendations
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Anonymous |
16 year
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Hi James,
Unfortunately, no, we haven't dealt with any stepper motors directly other than helping others figure out the parallel port signals needed to get their motors to step correctly (I think all of them used the Parallel port). At this point we mainly focus around PWM servo motors. Perhaps someone else reading this post can provide some better recommendations.
STeven.
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Robot Hobbyist
Anonymous |
16 year
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Hi James:
The simplest solution I could see would be to use the Evolution robotics Hardwareware. Made for the ER1 the RCM , (Robot control Module ) will drive two Stepper motors.
To communicate , you merely use a " Socket " connecttion " at port 9000
Then issue a command , similar to TELNET
The command format is " MOVE 10 I " to move 10 inches
or " MOVE 90 d " to rotate 90 degrees
etc.
The RCM connects to the PC via a USB cable.
You can buy them with an ER1 on ebay
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James [2 posts] |
16 year
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Just as an update Ive decided to use the PLC controler D0-06 from Automation direct(http://web2.automationdirect.com/adc/Home/Home)
In combination with their stepper drivers and the H0- series High speed counter.
For a full 2 axis system it looks like the cost will be in the range of 1300 USD but because you are using a PLC it will retain its value as you can use it for most other control tasks you can think of. The biggest suprise was the cost of the programming software for the PLC which in this case was 1/4 of the total cost of the system.
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Allmotion
Tom Benson [5 posts] |
16 year
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This may be too late to help, but the stepper solution I've been using is motors from Anaheimautomation.com, or from EBay for half price. Steppers are ubiquitious and cheap. I use NEMA 23, 17, 15, and 11 depending on strength needed. They have little torque but when combined with an acme screw or simple threaded screw, they can really grip.
I use controllers from allmotion.com...expensive (100-200 bucks per axis) but very cool and you can easily provide commands via RS232 to a daisy chain of many such controllers. Command set is very stable and reliable, which has been a problem in stepper world.
In general, I've decided that RC servos are cheapest and easiest to start with, but for anything big they will choke. Steppers are more powerful and expensive but still easy to use. Servo motors with encoders and gearheads are the most power but most expensive and dificult to use due to need for encoders and complex controllers.
My 2 cents.
Cheers,
Tom
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