Polargraph Server for Arduino UNO and MEGA compatible boards using Adafruit motorshields, serial stepper drivers (eg Easy Drivers, stepsticks etc) or signal amplifiers (eg ULN2003s).
This doesn't seem to compile in Arduino IDE v1.8.6! Why? I don't know! It works fine in 1.8.5. It also doesn't work in the online web Arduino IDE. I'm on it.
It is called _a1 because it is the version for the first arduino (ie Uno, or Duemilanove).
Bit obtuse that, I know.
For convenience, I have pre-compiled and included two hex files:
- polargraph_server_a1_adafruit_v1.cpp.hex - Is for Adafruit motorshield v1 looks like this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/81.
- polargraph_server_a1_adafruit_v2.cpp.hex - Is for the Adafruit motorshield v2 looks like this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1438.
This firmware works for:
- Adafruit Motorshield v1 that uses AFMotor as it's software driver
- Adafruit Motorshield v2 that uses Adafruit_MotorShield as it's software driver
- Generic serial stepper drivers, eg Stepsticks or Easy Drivers
- Four-wire signal amplifier, eg UNL2003
To switch between the different drivers, and to configure a few other bits and pieces, comment out some lines near the beginning of polargraph_server_a1.ino.
There are five config sections:
- Specify what kind of controller board you are using
- Add some libraries if you have a MEGA
- Specify what kind of motor driver you are using:
- Adafruit Motorshield v1 (https://www.adafruit.com/product/81)
- Adafruit Motorshield v2 (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1438)
- Discrete stepper drivers (eg EasyDriver, stepstick, Pololu gear).*
- Signal amplifier like a UNL2003*
- Turn on some debugging code
- Disable program features if you need to free up space
- For motor drivers iii and iv, you will need to change the values in configuration.ino to set the exact pins the drivers are wired up to.
The program has a core part that consists of the following files that are common to all Polargraph Server versions:
- comms.ino
- configuration.ino
- eeprom.ino
- exec.ino
- penlift.ino
- pixel.ino
- util.ino
and
- polargraph_server_a1.ino
which is named for the project.
Polargraph is the name of the project, and is a portmanteau word invented by the writer solely for this purpose. Any machine that runs the Polargraph software is technically a polargraph machine. I usually reserve the big-P "Polargraph" for things made by The Polargraph Company, including the Polargraph software and PolargraphSD machine.
Other hanging-v plotters are probably compatible with Polargraph software, but unless they run it, they are not even polargraphs with a small P.
Project and software written by Sandy Noble.
Released under GNU License version 3.
