High-voltage, high-current Darlington transistor array designed to control the current flow from a supply voltage through the motor coil by activating one of its seven high-power Darlington output stages
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Stepper 3 Click is based on the ULN2003A, a high-voltage, high-current Darlington transistor array from Texas Instruments. Motor step progression is performed by alternating the active driver, which sinks the current through the coil connected to the respective driver. The MCU performs the alteration cycle, which controls the driver inputs: a HIGH logic level on the input pin will set the corresponding driver to a LOW logic level, allowing it to sink current. Besides driving a unipolar stepper motor as the primary function, this Click board™ can also be used for driving relays and brushed DC motors
or as the logic buffer for various applications. Combining more than one driver makes it possible to sink more than 500mA. Stepper 3 Click uses four GPIOs to allow the host MCU to control the stepper motor or other mentioned device. Those pins are labeled as INA, INB, INC, and IND. Four output channels from the ULN2203A and a motor power supply are routed to the unpopulated 5-pin header. The motor can be powered over the 5V rail of the mikroBUSTM socket or the external power supply terminal with voltages of 5 – 30V. The selection can be made over the MOTOR PWR jumper. In
addition, the ULN2003As output channels are also routed to the four output LEDs (outA, outB, outC, and outD) for a visual presentation. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 5V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.
Features overview
Development board
Arduino Mega 2560 is a robust microcontroller platform built around the ATmega 2560 chip. It has extensive capabilities and boasts 54 digital input/output pins, including 15 PWM outputs, 16 analog inputs, and 4 UARTs. With a 16MHz crystal
oscillator ensuring precise timing, it offers seamless connectivity via USB, a convenient power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. This all-inclusive board simplifies microcontroller projects; connect it to your computer via USB or power it up
using an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. Notably, the Mega 2560 maintains compatibility with a wide range of shields crafted for the Uno, Duemilanove, or Diecimila boards, ensuring versatility and ease of integration.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
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Architecture
AVR
MCU Memory (KB)
256
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
100
RAM (Bytes)
8192
You complete me!
Accessories
Click Shield for Arduino Mega comes equipped with four mikroBUS™ sockets, with two in the form of a Shuttle connector, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the Arduino Mega board with no effort. Featuring an AVR 8-bit microcontroller with advanced RISC architecture, 54 digital I/O pins, and Arduino™ compatibility, the Arduino Mega board offers limitless possibilities for prototyping and creating diverse applications. This board is controlled and powered conveniently through a USB connection to program and debug the Arduino Mega board efficiently out of the box, with an additional USB cable connected to the USB B port on the board. Simplify your project development with the integrated ATmega16U2 programmer and unleash creativity using the extensive I/O options and expansion capabilities. There are eight switches, which you can use as inputs, and eight LEDs, which can be used as outputs of the MEGA2560. In addition, the shield features the MCP1501, a high-precision buffered voltage reference from Microchip. This reference is selected by default over the EXT REF jumper at the bottom of the board. You can choose an external one, as you would usually do with an Arduino Mega board. There is also a GND hook for testing purposes. Four additional LEDs are PWR, LED (standard pin D13), RX, and TX LEDs connected to UART1 (mikroBUS™ 1 socket). This Click Shield also has several switches that perform functions such as selecting the logic levels of analog signals on mikroBUS™ sockets and selecting logic voltage levels of the mikroBUS™ sockets themselves. Besides, the user is offered the possibility of using any Click board™ with the help of existing bidirectional level-shifting voltage translators, regardless of whether the Click board™ operates at a 3.3V or 5V logic voltage level. Once you connect the Arduino Mega board with Click Shield for Arduino Mega, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.
The 28BYJ-48 is an adaptable 5VDC stepper motor with a compact design, ideal for various applications. It features four phases, a speed variation ratio of 1/64, and a stride angle of 5.625°/64 steps, allowing precise control. The motor operates at a frequency of 100Hz and has a DC resistance of 50Ω ±7% at 25°C. It boasts an idle in-traction frequency greater than 600Hz and an idle out-traction frequency exceeding 1000Hz, ensuring reliability in different scenarios. With a self-positioning torque and in-traction torque both exceeding 34.3mN.m at 120Hz, the 28BYJ-48 offers robust performance. Its friction torque ranges from 600 to 1200 gf.cm, while the pull-in torque is 300 gf.cm. This motor makes a reliable and efficient choice for your stepper motor needs.
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
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Step by step
Project assembly
Track your results in real time
Application Output
1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.
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2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.
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3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.
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Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for Stepper 3 Click driver.
Key functions:
stepper3_set_step_mode
- This function sets the step mode resolution settings in ctx->step_modestepper3_set_direction
- This function sets the motor direction to clockwise or counter-clockwise in ctx->directionstepper3_drive_motor
- This function drives the motor for the specific number of steps at the selected speed
Open Source
Code example
The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.
/*!
* @file main.c
* @brief Stepper 3 Click Example.
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of the Stepper 3 click board by driving the
* motor in both directions for a desired number of steps.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and logger.
*
* ## Application Task
* Drives the motor clockwise for 64 full steps and then counter-clockiwse for 128 half
* steps with 2 seconds delay before changing the direction. All data is being logged on
* the USB UART where you can track the program flow.
*
* @note
* Step Motor 5v [MIKROE-1530] is a fully compatible stepper motor for this click board:
* https://www.mikroe.com/step-motor-5v
*
* @author Stefan Filipovic
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "stepper3.h"
static stepper3_t stepper3; /**< Stepper 3 Click driver object. */
static log_t logger; /**< Logger object. */
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
stepper3_cfg_t stepper3_cfg; /**< Click config object. */
/**
* Logger initialization.
* Default baud rate: 115200
* Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
* @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX
* are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will
* need to define them manually for log to work.
* See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
*/
LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );
// Click initialization.
stepper3_cfg_setup( &stepper3_cfg );
STEPPER3_MAP_MIKROBUS( stepper3_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
if ( DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN == stepper3_init( &stepper3, &stepper3_cfg ) )
{
log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
for ( ; ; );
}
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
log_printf ( &logger, " Move 64 full steps clockwise \r\n\n" );
stepper3_set_step_mode ( &stepper3, STEPPER3_MODE_FULL_STEP );
stepper3_set_direction ( &stepper3, STEPPER3_DIR_CW );
stepper3_drive_motor ( &stepper3, 64, STEPPER3_SPEED_FAST );
Delay_ms ( 2000 );
log_printf ( &logger, " Move 128 half steps counter-clockwise \r\n\n" );
stepper3_set_step_mode ( &stepper3, STEPPER3_MODE_HALF_STEP );
stepper3_set_direction ( &stepper3, STEPPER3_DIR_CCW );
stepper3_drive_motor ( &stepper3, 128, STEPPER3_SPEED_VERY_FAST );
Delay_ms ( 2000 );
}
int main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
return 0;
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END