Gear Talk > What the Nerds Do

Do we have any 'Stepper Motor Control' expertise who might be able to guide me.

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Seapy:
I want to motorise my PB4 bellows, not the bellows itself, but the lower slide.

I  have devised a method of a worm and gear, driven by either a solenoid and pawl, or better, a stepper motor, which could provide fine incremental movement of the PB4 unit relative to the subject.

The mechanics and engineering are relatively easy, the control of the motor, while I do understand the principles, in practical terms is way beyond me.

I understand I may need a small computer like a Raspberry Pi and to do a little programming, given the widespread use and plentiful supply of affordable motors I feel it's worth learning the tech.  I just need pointing in the right direction...

I would like to control the start point, the step length, the number of steps and have a timed delay before closing the shutter release circuit to allow any vibrations from the movement to decay after each step movement.  Also the ability to return the platform to zero under power.

There must be a ton of info about this but I can't seem to find anything helpful.

Birna Rørslett:
Unfortunately not my field either. However, why not contact the nearest LUG (Linux User Group) in your area? Linux magazines are filled with info in the Raspberry Pi sector and some of this might have rubbed off?

Jack Dahlgren:
The Arduino platform is an easier way to get into simple motor control like this. There are many kits available for it which perform the sort of control you want. Here is a good example
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1438?gclid=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfGdV5_V5uvobLaI0GTX2zJ-3rejMcsAh7RmCPrj3g8qx6bAQSqI06xoCe2oQAvD_BwE

There are also many code examples.

I’d recommend it over raspberry pi if you are just needing a microcontroller - which is what this sort of project needs.

Seapy:
Thank you Jack,  just the sort of guidance I need.

I thought of Raspberry Pi because CPC is just down the road and they were involved with it's development I believe. I mainly get my electronics bits from CPC.

I will explore your link with enthusiasm.

Seapy:
I am merrily stripping CD/DVD drives and examining the stepper motors.

CPC-Farnell, my 'local' electronics supplier has the Arduino controllers and probably most everything else I need.

Am really warming to this project, it doesn't seem as daunting, now I know a little more about it.

One slight dilemma I have is whether to remove the lower carriage knob from it's shaft and with a gear directly to the shaft or to make the gear fit onto the knob.  The knob is secured by a tiny grub screw and a 2mm roll pin, the grub screw should be easy enough to remove but the roll pin might be tight.  Removing it without causing damage might be a challenge.  Need to make a small press pin to push it out.

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