Introduction: Simple Button Controlled Stepper Motor With Raspberry Pi Pico

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In this quick project, let's make a simple stepper motor controller using some pushbuttons, a Raspberry Pi Pico, and a stepper motor driver. So without further ado, let's get started!

Step 1: Get All the Required Stuff

For this project, you will need:

  • A Raspberry Pi Pico
  • A step/dir-based stepper motor driver(Like A4988, TMC2208, DRV8825, TB6600, etc)
  • Male jumper wires for making the wiring connections.
  • A breadboard
  • 3 normally-open pushbuttons
  • *Hook-up wires for breadboard
  • A 12-volt DC power source(Depends on the stepper motor and driver)
  • A 5-volt DC power source(A 5-volt regulator can also be used instead of a separate supply)

*Hook-up wires are recommended for making tidy breadboard wiring connections, although you can also use male jumpers.

Step 2: Program the Pico

Here, I have used the Arduino IDE to program the microcontroller. The reason being the availability of an easy-to-use AccelStepper library for motor control. You can learn how to program a Raspberry Pi Pico from the Arduino IDE from here.

Attachments

Step 3: Make the Wiring Connections

Connect a pushbutton each between 'GND' and the following pins:

  • ADC0
  • ADC1
  • ADC2

Step 4: Connect the Motor Driver to the Microcontroller

Make the following connections:

  • Step/Pulse -> GP16
  • Dir -> GP17

Also, connect the 'GND' pin of the microcontroller with the 'GND' terminal of the motor driver.

Step 5: Connect the Motor Driver and the Microcontroller to Power

Connect the motor driver's 'VCC' pin to the +ve of the supply voltage(Here, 12-volts, shown with yellow wire), 'GND' to the -ve of the supply(Black). Connect the +5-volt wire to the 'VSYS' pin of the Pico and black wire to the 'GND' pin of the Pico.

Step 6: Power Up the Setup and Test the Controls

If everything was done the right way, your motor should run as shown in the video.

Make sure all of the wiring connections are made with the right pins of the microcontroller and the buttons are working properly.