11/3/19

Stepper and Solenoid Control

I started working on the firmware to control the steppers and solenoids from the Arduino. The primary concern we have right now with the solenoids is that they will get too hot during use, so I worked on finding the optimal duty cycle for them to punch a dot but not linger too long. I found that about .2 seconds is just about right and makes a good, forceful dot without making the solenoid too hot. I have done some experimenting with stepper motion and built a test stand for the electronics that will let me simulate the actual thing.