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Week 2: Stepper Motor

  • Writer: Zijun Wei
    Zijun Wei
  • Feb 11, 2020
  • 2 min read

Updated: Mar 6, 2020

Group Meeting


In the second meeting of our group, the following points have been discussed:


  • Firstly we summary what we have done in week 1 and give some advice to each other.

  • Then we discussed what our next target for the project should be.

  • Discuss the IR receiver problem.

  • How to confirm the original point.

  • The coding of the stepper motor.

  • How to drive the wheel with the stepper motor.


Supervisor meeting


  • Showed how to compile the code with the web compiler (For KL46Z).

  • Gave some advice on how to drive the motor.



Lab Day

IR system


  • We construct the IR circuit base on the bread broad and try to drive the circuit with the power of KL46Z.

  • Check the datasheet of the new component, the IR phototransistor.

  • The group struggled of this microcontroller, KL46Z, some code function and the C++ need to be familiar and as well as the circuit structure of this microcontroller.

  • Do some coding with the web compiler.


Stepper Motor drive


  • We decided to change the microcontroller broad, KL46Z, into the Raspberry Pi.

  • To drive the stepper motor with the code running in the Raspberry Pi, the WiringPi library was decided to be applied with the help of the compiler Vim.

  • To code with WiringPi, its functions were familiar especially those are relative with the stepper motor.

  • After finishing the coding, the stepper can operate smoothly and silently under the 16 micro-step resolution with the help of A4988 drive broad. At the same time, we also familiar with the circuit layout of A4988 drive broad.







  • After that, the buckled wheel is combined with a single chain ring connecting with stepper motor with a chain. In this way, the stepper motor can drive the wheel smoothly.




  • The 3D modelling needs to be done to print a stand which will support the stepper motor and IR system.








Problems, Issues and Concerns


  • The IR system circuit would be shorted sometime.

  • The phototransistor sometime cannot receive the signal from the IR LED.

  • Coding program was not able to run on the bread broad.


Plan for next week


  • Redraw the circuit and work out the value of each resistor to make the circuit work.

  • Combine the motor and IR transfer system.

 
 
 

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