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Connecting to two Arduinos at once to drive four stepper motors

2012-07-29 Dan

I’m really starting to love Java. It’s so easy! Here I’ve taken the code for the Drawbot and modified it a little so that it will run my new project. From here I’ve got control over 4 motors and it’s no big stretch to reach for 6 or more.

The biggest challenge will be keeping the NEMA17 stepper motors from getting criss-crossed in my new application. I think I’m going to take a page out of the Burning Man city plan and name each motor 10:00, 2:00, 4:30, and 7:30. Then +X will be 3:00 and +Y will be 12:00.

Almost as important as doing the job as advertised, I’ve got to get my robots looking really slick and professional. Appearance and PR are starting to be a big concern – if I don’t market well, I don’t sell, and I need to sell if I intend to keep doing what I love.

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Drawbot and the Boston Bruins

2012-07-17 Dan

In other news, I’m going to be the unofficial distributor for OpenBeam. They had a very successful KickStarter and I believe their product is going to be very helpful to those of us trying to bring manufacturing and automation into the home.

In other other news, I’ve just paid for a new shipment of EL wire that should arrive in about a week. Time to set up a new web store and start taking orders.

I refuse to use a stupid term like pre-orders. You can’t order before you order. We miss you, George Carlin.

Edit 2: I am ashamed of how ghetto my drawbot board looks. Needs a paint job and some nice stickers.

Miscellaneous

Skycam in LEGO NXT with three motors

2012-07-13 Dan

Though Stavros calls it a back scratching robot, it’s the same thing. And really, they’re both just delta robots that use strings instead of rigid arms. Different evolutions, same result. Enough gum flapping, let’s get to the video!

Check out more on his site!

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Drawbot x2: SKYCAM!

2012-07-10 Dan

Skycam uses two Drawbots to move an object to any point in a room using a computer. With a proper attachment piece in the center it could be used for awesome timelapse animations, perform otherwise impossible camera movements indoor, or deliver inter-cubicle jellybeans.

Get all SkyCam parts and assembly instructions on thingiverse.

This is very much a work in progress that takes a back seat to all the paying customers. If someone wants to give it a try, please let me know your results. I haven’t published the source code yet, which will be a major hurdle – I’ve never tried to open a serial connection to two different arduino at once. Exciting! This robot kit also has more parts than any I’ve published before (except the crab robot), some of which are laser cut and some of which are 3D printed. This is not a project for beginners, unless you’ve got a lot of moxy.