mechaduino deconstructed...

Cristian Nicola

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Oct 30, 2016, 2:25:00 PM10/30/16

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having failed to get my mechaduino(s) board to work and considering the purpose of this exercise for me was to learn about how it all works, i am now starting to deconstruct the mechaduino board into the "components".

if anybody is interested on any parts i can share the OSHPark links. so far i have:
- A4954 module
- 5v to 3v level shifter
- AS5047 nema holder
- zero board (UC with headers for the other boards, switch button, usb, vreg)

Chris

Jeno Bozoki

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Oct 31, 2016, 1:38:35 PM10/31/16

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Hi Nicola, I did the same. Instead of the zero board I ordered the tau board from rabitprototypes. I also created the as5047 nema compatible breakout. For the motor driver i ordered a 5 pack of dual H bridge from aliexpress, also the level converters. I plan to create a functional modular equivalent of mechaduino, with the options to replace either the decoder with a linear one or the motor driver with a stronger one. I already have 42A dual H bridge modules for heavy lifting. Tuning the software for a different, pwm based motor driver is the main question for me now.

Cristian Nicola

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Oct 31, 2016, 2:03:22 PM10/31/16

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I am also looking to replace as5047 with an as5311 for some tests :)

i did asked Kai if we can use his repository to put the eagle files, otherwise i will create a new one.

Chris

Cristian Nicola

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Oct 31, 2016, 2:13:34 PM10/31/16

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the boards:

- zero (micro) : https://644db4de3505c40a0444-327723bce298e3ff5813fb42baeefbaa.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/3525e9a124d6f177911fcfdd86f5b3fc.png

- as5047 encoder: https://644db4de3505c40a0444-327723bce298e3ff5813fb42baeefbaa.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/0cffe1f2f1996a1ac5931e1681f62355.png

- a4954 https://644db4de3505c40a0444-327723bce298e3ff5813fb42baeefbaa.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/fcdd04952348ffc41c64b8d6f5f71cf0.png

- level shifter https://644db4de3505c40a0444-327723bce298e3ff5813fb42baeefbaa.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/afe882d3536a8cc5909f9d842acb6f62.png

Trampas Stern

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Nov 13, 2016, 11:58:14 AM11/13/16

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Cristian, if you want bare boards please let me know I have a stack of my Mechaduino clone PCBs, see Nano Zero Stepper at www.misfittech.net. I also have some populated boards in stock, I expect to have a larger stock of boards next week.

Trampas

Cristian Nicola

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Nov 13, 2016, 4:14:24 PM11/13/16

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I would love some but i fear the shipping would be more than the boards themselves. I have ordered some of the boards from OSHPark where i have split mechaduino in modules - a motor driver, an encoder, a zero board and a level shifter. They have now been shipped and i should be able to use them soon. Also i hope to replace the A5047 with an A5311 or something similar for linear measurements, tho i am thinking about having an interface for the encoder which would be separate of the zero board - kind of like what Kai suggested the other day with a smaller micro just continous reading and averaging the encoder thus making the value more precise.

Unfortunatelly my time is very limited on this project ...

Trampas Stern

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Nov 14, 2016, 7:47:27 AM11/14/16

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Yeap I was looking at making a linear encoder using a string and the AS5047, see pictures here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/mechaduino/A0VR1HhEY5E

I have looked at the AS5311 in the past, but the magnetic strip/tape that is needed is expensive and hard to come by. I even got a evaluation board to test as I heard that common magnetic strip tape would work, which was false.

As far as the Zero goes, I was needing a Zero that was small for some audio device, so I created one with the same footprint as the Arduino Nano, http://misfittech.net/product/nano-zero/. If I could get volumes of sales high enough I could significantly lower the price.