20. Project development¶
Individual Assignment¶
- Complete your final project tracking your progress
What tasks have been completed?¶
At the time of writing this, I have created the CAD models for my motor attachment piece and bottom case. I have also created the Aspire file for my turntable and am preparing to CNC it soon. In addition to this, I have also designed + milled the PCB I will be using for my A4988 motor driver and my potentiometer. Finally, I have tested spinning the motor using a Xiao RP2040 and an A4988 motor driver on a breadboard, so I will be trying this same test on the PCB board soon.
What tasks remain?¶
As for the tasks that I still have to finish, these include creating and 3D printing a case for my electronics for system integration, integrating a potentiometer into my current motor system (and writing code for it to control the speed that the motor turns at), assembling my project + testing it, and creating a video and presentation slide.
What has worked and what hasn’t?¶
So far, the 3D printed attachment piece and bottom case seem to function well, with the attachment piece successfully spinning with the motor and the bottom base keeping the motor still while it spins. However, I have encountered a multitude of issues while trying to get the motor to spin by sending signals from the Xiao RP2040. These issues have included: power supply issues, soldering issues (when testing with the PCB), and many issues which led to the motor vibrating in place but not spinning.
What questions need to be resolved?¶
- How will I secure the turntable to the motor attachment?
- What code/library will I use to control the motor’s speed using a potentiometer?
What will happen when?¶
- June 5th: CNC turntable and work on electronics
- June 6th - 8th: Test electronics using custom PCB board and integrate potentiometer
- June 9th: CAD and print electronics case
- June 10th - 11th: Create presentation slide and video, troubleshoot project if needed
What have you learned?¶
Throughout the course of creating my project, I have learned a lot about stepper motors: how they work, how to program them, how to drive them using a stepper motor driver, and more. This is because my project mostly focuses on stepper motors; other than stepper motors, though, I have also learned a lot about system integration in particular, as that is one thing that we didn’t focus too much on before starting our final projects. Finally, this project has been instrumental to helping me learn how to troubleshoot electronics better, especially when it came to figuring out why my motor wouldn’t spin.