Motion controller : anything out there ?

[free_electron]

I am looking for a motion controller that can drive stepper motors , either directly, or with a direction/enable/step signal. 3 axis would be nice.

I want a simple serial port interface with a command set that is human readable.
For example. X1000 moves x 1000 step to right
X-150 moves x 150 steps left

X100y100. Moves the stage diagonally x to right y to up

Or something similar.

Anything out there ?

[H.O]

Hobby stuff, or industrial class?
What voltage and current are do you need?

If "hobby stuff" is good enough then take a look at the various 3D-printer controller boards. I'm not into the 3D-printer scene myself but it's my understanding they usually run a G-code interpreter so commands are human readable. (G1 X100 Y100 F500, that type of thing)

Trinamic is a manufacturer of motion control stuff that springs to mind, perhaps their TMCM-3110 is worth a look. I'm not sure about the protocol though, you'll need to investigate that.

[Richard Crowley]

There seems to be a whole new generation of CNC components (both hardware and software) out there.  There are open-source, or otherwise free software apps for driving the axes, and a ever-growing number of integrated boards including the controller and axis motor drivers at ever smaller physical size and smaller prices as well.

[rich]

Yeah there are lots and lots out there thanks to the reprap legacy.

G-code works in real world units, so  G0 X100 Y100 would move the 'stage' to 100,100, or you could move relative to the current position. You'd could configure a 1:1 ratio in the config file if you really wanted coordinates expressed in raw steps.

18 months ago, I searched for a board to retro fit a 3-axis CNC machine and ended up with a smoothieboard  3 to 5 axis onboard stepper drivers, end stops, ethernet and USB (not sure about rs232 control), ARM core. The landscape will have changed since, but I'm very happy with my choice. I discarded a bunch of smaller 8bit motion controllers at the time, as I think they were beginning to push the limits of their MCU for my needs, but they may suit yours.

[awallin]

linuxcnc on an embedded board

this is a fork of linuxcnc afaik: http://www.machinekit.io/
runs on beaglebone

[free_electron]

ah, yes. i didn't think of that. of coure, those things would work.

rs232 is not necessary, serial emulation over usb would work fine. g code is easy enough the create as it is human ascii..

i do need turn control though. but that can be done using number translation ( my steppers use micrometer thread... this is a tiny x-y stage with a precision of about 1 micrometer per step . total travel is 1 inch end to end )

i want something simple. no GUI's. i want to write a macro in excel that open a serial port( or serial over usb , ftdi like) send some commands to move the stage, then send other commands to a second system to take some readings. put that in a loop. make some plots , st dev and so on. ideal job for excel ( don't bother suggesting python or programming languages or matlab , i'm not listening to any of that. too complicated, don't know that, don't wanna learn. path of least effort on my side works, even if it costs money. this is a fire and forget thing where time to result is important.)

[Mechatrommer]

A4988 chip or ready-module-in-ebay.... one module per axis... just 2 or 3 line... programming or serial comm is not in dictionary, just plain on and off. 1 line dir, 1 line step, 1 line enable (hold torque). i think putting it army suit will make it industrial you didnt mention the spec, A4988 is around ~2A current though...

[janoc]

If hobby level stuff is enough (driving NEMA  17 motors), then look for the RAMPS boards and the "Stepstick" modules. The former is an Arduino compatible controller with 3 channels and a built-in G-code interpreter that you control via serial port (USB). The Stepstick modules are  the actual stepper drivers with A4988 that the RAMPS uses.

There are also some boards that use an ARM micro instead of the AVR, but the idea is the same.

This is probably the cheapest solution and easiest to adapt - the firmware is open and well documented, with many variants existing for the different machine types (delta, carthesian, multi extruder, etc.)

[free_electron]

A4988 chip or ready-module-in-ebay.... one module per axis... just 2 or 3 line... programming or serial comm is not in dictionary, just plain on and off. 1 line dir, 1 line step, 1 line enable (hold torque). i think putting it army suit will make it industrial you didnt mention the spec, A4988 is around ~2A current though...

Not what i am looking for. I have steppers and stepper controllers. I need the box that takes commands over a sereial port and jiggles the lines of the stepper driver or the stepper motor itself.

[langwadt]

A4988 chip or ready-module-in-ebay.... one module per axis... just 2 or 3 line... programming or serial comm is not in dictionary, just plain on and off. 1 line dir, 1 line step, 1 line enable (hold torque). i think putting it army suit will make it industrial you didnt mention the spec, A4988 is around ~2A current though...

Not what i am looking for. I have steppers and stepper controllers. I need the box that takes commands over a sereial port and jiggles the lines of the stepper driver or the stepper motor itself.

arduino and https://github.com/grbl/grbl/

[janoc]

A4988 chip or ready-module-in-ebay.... one module per axis... just 2 or 3 line... programming or serial comm is not in dictionary, just plain on and off. 1 line dir, 1 line step, 1 line enable (hold torque). i think putting it army suit will make it industrial you didnt mention the spec, A4988 is around ~2A current though...

Not what i am looking for. I have steppers and stepper controllers. I need the box that takes commands over a sereial port and jiggles the lines of the stepper driver or the stepper motor itself.

Get a kit like this and you are good to go (assuming you are OK with the max current from those stepper drivers):
http://www.amazon.com/OSOYOO-Printer-Controller-Stepper-Heatsink/dp/B0111ZSRTS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451751761&sr=8-1&keywords=RAMPS+board

There are tons of variants of these around, just search for RAMPS. That will give you the complete, ready-to-go controller for a 3-5 motor machine that works with things like Proterface, Linux CNC or your own code.

[poorchava]

As much as I don't like the Arduino the GRBL motion controller works really well. It does hit the boundaries of what an AVR can do, but it works.

Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk.

[Stigaard]

SGS Thomson has an now obsolete module which sounds like what you are looking for called the GS-C200, even though it is obsolete it does sound a lot like what you are looking for http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/SGSThomsonMicroelectronics/mXusvx.pdf it is old but still seem to be on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Used-MPN-GS-C200S-Manufacturer-ST-Encapsulation-MODULE-/181865462194
It may however be a bit better documented than newer offerings from the open source community so it may be worth some consideration even though it is long obsolete.

[Galenbo]

Not what i am looking for. I have steppers and stepper controllers. I need the box that takes commands over a sereial port and jiggles the lines of the stepper driver or the stepper motor itself.

Looks like you want a DNC controller. (where DNC stands for some CNC-language)
I worked with Omron controllers some years ago, you could send protocol, input and PLC-link.
At the moment, I have an old gravure machine from ISEL, It's built out of modules where you can clearly see the DNC-serial- to-stepperdriver converter.

[Kohanbash]

Galil Motion control makes some nice multi axis controllers that you can talk to via serial or ethernet.

It is generally around a 1week lead for most items I have used.

http://www.galil.com/motion-controllers/multi-axis/dmc-41x3