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).
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 motorshield v1.
- polargraph_server_a1_adafruit_v2.cpp.hex - Is for the new motorshield v2.
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
- Adafruit Motorshield v2
- 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.