[SwampDonkey]

Hello to all!

Sorry if this is a silly question, but I have a small lathe I would like to be able to control with steppers as sort of a precision power feed. Can I do this with a cheap driver and some kind of step/dir pulse generator? Im not even sure what to look for or what would work together.

Thanks!

[Al_The_Man]

There was a project here a while ago that did just that, also a 555 IC circuit can be put together for a simple stepper.
Al.

[SwampDonkey]

There was a project here a while ago that did just that, also a 555 IC circuit can be put together for a simple stepper.
Al.

That would be great but I have no electronics background. Im afraid I wouldnt know how to wire the chip up. Is there a board schematic out there? What would it be called?

[Al_The_Man]

Here is the link, but I think there is some assembly required.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/open-s...e-indexer.html
Al.

[beernuts]

Hi Swamp Donkey,

I have been looking for a similar solution and built myself the following. It works great, am very happy with it.

Build a controller based on the Planet CNC MK2 board (google Planet CNC) and get the MK2 board, the software, the module for the card reader as well as the jogging keypad.

This has the following advantages:

Run the machine with full computer control
Run programs without computer from a SD card
Run the lathe with the keypad

You can build the keypad yourself, very easy to do.
Later add an Atom computer which is real good value and does the job perfectly. This computer is very powerful and with the SSD hard drive also very quick and capable
Wholesale Product Snapshot Product name is 2013 Thin Client Computer, Mini PC, Intel Atom N2800 1.86Ghz Dual Core, 2GB RAM, 32GB SSD, WiFi, 1080P HDMI, Windows 7 OS
This computer is very small and fan less, ideal for a workshop environment.
Be careful buying stepper drives from ebay, there are some very questionable ones around. Buy them from a CNC supplier in your country and you have the valuable backup for free. I usually buy from CNC4PC or from Soigeneris, have never been disappointed.

Planet CNC will provide you with the manuals, the forum to ask the silly questions and the support you need to make the project a success.

Check out the Planet CNC forum, plenty of info about threading too. This is not hard to do, do not be scared...

[SwampDonkey]

Beernuts,

That sounds great and all but far more than im looking for. The idea was just to turn a knob and have the stepper turn as well. The very simplest MPG possible for use as a powerfeed with variable speed and the ability for very fine movement.

[signweld]

I think I know just what you are looking for. I bought a $10.00 free shipping pulse generator. It as completly wired and ready to go. Search ebay for stepper pulse generator. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stepper-moto...peed-Regulator. Mine just came yesterday and I didnt try it yet. It is a pulse generator only, so you will need a stepper driver.
The ones from China / Hong cong take 3 or 4 weeks to get here. The same thing shipped from US look to be the same, ship faster, but cost 3 times as much.
Mine has 2 push buttons for dir & enable, and a knob to adjust the pulse frequency. It also has a jumper to change the freq. range. I just wanted it to "play" with the motors on the bench, but also thought about using for a simple "feed" motor. I dont believe it will "ramp" up to speed, if you dont turn the speed knob too fast the stepper should get up to speed ok.

[TEK73]

Hi
If all you want to do is to start, stop and control the speed of the stepper motor, I think signwelds suggestion is a very good one.

To run a stepper motor you basically need the motor itself, a stepper motor controller and something to tell the controller how toncontrol the motor. Some controllers have buildt in speed regulators that may be used.
You may also get yourself a simle controller and use a aurdino to control the controller.

I have sucsessfully tried out the following combination:
Arduino nano Nano V3 0 ATMEGA328P Module Board Free Mini USB Cable for Arduino Compatible | eBay
H-bridge controller Dual H Bridge DC Stepper Motor Drive Controller Board Module Arduino L298N New | eBay
Hybrid 4 wire stepper motor 04A 2 Phase 2600G cm 34mm 4 LEAD1 8 Degreecnc Nema17 DC12V Hybrid Stepper Motor | eBay

You will also need a power source of 12V 0,6A for this motor. The arduino can be powered from the usb or from a separate power source. The controller has a 5V output that you might use that to power the arduino - but I have not tested so I cant tell for sure.