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1 stepper, 2 controllers

[email protected]

1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 22, 2017 08:59AM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 10

Is there anyway to control a single stepper motor with 2 different controllers? I have an idea that I want to work on but requires access to the steppers without damaging the main controller. The two controllers would communicate so they don't try to over ride each other. I don't think I could just split the wires to the steppers to two controllers though

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dc42

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 22, 2017 10:49AM

Registered: 12 years ago
Posts: 14,691

You could use one stepper motor driver fed with command signals from two controllers gated together.

Is there a reason you don't want to implement both of the functions you want to perform in a single controller?

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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[email protected]

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 22, 2017 11:23AM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 10

I don't have enough pins to do the job. I need another 4 stepper drivers to do everything. So splitting the wires into the motor is fine?

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o_lampe

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 22, 2017 01:12PM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 5,232

If I understood dc42 correctly, it is one driver fed by both controllers. Connecting two drivers on one stepper would end up in smoke.

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[email protected]

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 22, 2017 04:09PM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 10

No, 2 controllers, 2 drivers, 1 stepper. Or however I need to do it. Maybe a board between the controllers and drivers to isolate the two signals.

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dc42

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 23, 2017 03:44AM

Registered: 12 years ago
Posts: 14,691

Quote
[email protected]
I don't have enough pins to do the job. I need another 4 stepper drivers to do everything. So splitting the wires into the motor is fine?

Why not use a board or boards that provide enough pins? For example, Duet WiFi + DueX5 gives you 10 stepper drivers.

Driving a motor from two different stepper drivers is not practical.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2017 03:45AM by dc42.

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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leadinglights

Re: 1 stepper, 2 controllers
January 23, 2017 05:26AM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 1,473

Perhaps if zggtf211@gmail.com would give us a little more of a hint of what he is trying to do then one of us may be able to help.
Theoretically it is possible to connect two drivers to one motor if each drive has an unsophisticated H bridge for each phase. All that is necessary is for the unused H bridges to have all 4 FETs in the off state. In the real world almost any glitch ***WILL*** result in white smoke

Mike