robotproject
Resolved by Niek!
Has anyone used the Pololu maestro servo controller with their ez board? I have 25 servos and 3 stepper motors sitting on my desk waiting to be used. I was going to power the servos and steppers separately from my ez board when I came across the maestro controller while looking for stepper controllers. I'm new to robots but planed a class research project based on robots to learn about them. I wanted to use the digital I/O (ez board) to control the maestro controller but am unsure as to how I would do this. Or I2C maybe, usb possibly? The maestro can be daisy chained together and I was hoping to then connect to the ez board and then to the computer via its wireless contention.
My overall goal is to create a robot that can complete complex movements, or basically dance. I really hope to use the maestro because space and weight are a factor. Using maestro controllers the ez board can be mounted in the base, instead of on the robot making the programed movements, saving lots of weight and wires running everywhere.
I'm a design student and building it is not a problem and in fact I have most of the parts with the rest ordered. I choose the ez board because of the simplicity in getting started, however, I realized I would not need to add an adruino board if I moved some servos/steppers off of the ez board (no brown outs). At first this was a great idea, then I realized I took the simplicity of the ez board and complicated it some what. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Milford
It is possible to have the EZ-B communicate to the Maestro servo controller. However, this would be very hard if not impossible to actually interface it with ARC because you have to send it the servo timing instead of degrees.
The easiest way to get more servo's connected to ARC is to purchase a second EZ-B board. You can connect multiple boards in the software. I believe makershed still has them in stock. If you're willing to wait, you can also purchase the EZ-Mini board. It'll be a lot lighter and smaller than the current EZ-B. For controlling stepper motors using the EZ-B, this is a good tutorial to look at.
Thank you very much, that answer was really helpful. As well as the link for stepper motors that I will use. I think I will have to get a second ez board. But thank you for answering so quickly, the dead line of August 26 is comming up fast. Do you know of any problems with using servo cables that are 1 foot or 30 cm long? I am determined to not have the ex boards on the part of the robot that moves.
@robotproject if you close a thread, I can't respond
My omnibot is full of 1 to 2 foot extension wires. Have never had any problems with them.
Good luck!
Thanks again, I just ordered another ez robot kit from makershed. My robot will be attached to an arm moved by stepper motors. I plan on running the wires through the arm to my ez boards so the robot will have less weight at the end of the arm. Also I can run power lines to the arm so the servos will not be powered by the ez board. I plan on putting a computer fan near the heatsinks. Last I will power the camera off board because I read it could over heat powering it. I hope I get done in time. Busy between work and school but will post pictures when done. Thamks Milford
Melvin is also full of 12" - 24" extensions and has no problems.
I have read that the ping sensor can be a bit sensitive to what is used to connect it up but even then I have had no problem with mine on a 2 x 12" extensions (one cut and soldered to the sensor).