Ethersweep

An Open Source Ethernet controllable stepper motor. Easy interfacing with JSON and UDP from any device on the network in any language you choose.

As there is quite some interest in buying a controller, please contact me via [email protected]. But you can, of course, order the parts on your own and build the controller yourself! (please see https://hackaday.io/project/187187/components)

More media/press material: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qrk8QeEkzJ8hkr-H0x3y7xxhLTKhMb_F?usp=share_link

NEWS NOTE: Ethersweep is a project that is still in development. If you plan to order boards for yourself, you can do so, but expect it to take some work to get everything running! If you have any questions, please write me on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/rerCyqAcrw or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neumi/ If you need custom assemblies, code or have a special use case in mind, reach out to me. The latest running version is in the production directory. It is still an Atmega328 and TMC2208 stepper driver. The project shifts from Atmega328 to STM32. Therfore there are a lot of changes going on. Check out the latest development and development code version! The boards are functional and the old code was adapted to run on STM32! Therefore I will start writing new features on the new STM32 + TMC2209 platform only.

What it does

Ethersweep offers easy interfacing from computers/machines/backends to motion control. Every UDP supporting language is able to communicate with it and is able to control as many motors (on your network) as you like.

It gets an IP address from a DHCP server and shows data like IP, operating voltage, button and operation states on the OLED display.

What it needs

Every motor has to be connected to an Ethernet network (optimally with DHCP) and a power supply between 5.5...30V.

How to control

Features:

• W5500 Ethernet controller
• AtMega328 Microcontroller (with Arduino Bootloader)
• Trinamic TMC2208 Stepper motor driver
• AS5600 magnetic rotary encoder
• XT30 power connector
• Oled 128x32 Display
• USB / ISP programmable
• Inputs for E-Stop and End-Stop
• Reset button
• Motor current setting via potentiometer
• Fits on a NEMA17 stepper motor

How to get started:

Build an (or multiple) Ethersweep controller. All manufacturing/assembly files work with JLCPCB and only some easy THT soldering + ICSP programming when the boards arrive. Arduino code is available in repository.

Connect your Ethersweep controller to your network via ethernet and connect to a 5.5...30V power source. Stick an encoder magnet (radial magnetized) on a NEMA17 motor shaft and connect the controller to the four M3 screws of the motor. Once connected to power and Ethernet, it serarches for an IP address using DHCP. When an IP is found, the controller shows it on the display and its ready to use. When no IP is found, it defaults to 192.168.1.111.

Now you can use the Python script to control the motor.

Using Python to control a stepper motor:

import socket
import json

IP_MOTOR = "192.168.1.185" #local motor controller IP
UDP_PORT = 8888


def drive_motor(steps, speed, direction, stepmode, motor_ip):
    json_data = json.dumps({'steps': steps, 'speed': speed, 'direction': direction, 'stepmode': stepmode})
    message = json_data.encode()
    sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
    sock.sendto(message, (motor_ip, UDP_PORT))


drive_motor(100, 9500, 1, 32, IP_MOTOR)

Video:

Follow the project on hackaday.io: https://hackaday.io/project/187187-ethersweep

Upcoming Features:

• automatic MAC address generation at first start + EEPROM storage
• USB interface
• improved Broadcast mode + motor synchronization for multiple motors
• motor ramping mode
• motor servo mode
• (state) response to sender
• µC upgrade to STM32f103
• TMC2209 upgrade