Stepper 8 Click

Stepper 8 Click is a motor control add on board based on TC78H670FTG from Toshiba, a clock-in and serial controlled Bipolar Stepping Motor Driver which can drive a 128 micro-stepping motor with a power supply ranging from 2.5V to 16V for wide range of applications includes USB-powered, battery-powered, and standard 9-12V system devices. A perfect solution for driving stepper motors in security cameras, portable printers, handheld scanners, pico-projectors, smartphones and many more.

Click Product page

Click library

• Author : Stefan Filipovic
• Date : Feb 2024.
• Type : I2C/SPI type

Software Support

We provide a library for the Stepper 8 Click as well as a demo application (example), developed using MikroElektronika compilers. The demo can run on all the main MikroElektronika development boards.

Package can be downloaded/installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended way), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Library Description

This library contains API for Stepper 8 Click driver.

Standard key functions :

• stepper8_cfg_setup Config Object Initialization function.

  void stepper8_cfg_setup ( stepper8_cfg_t *cfg );

• stepper8_init Initialization function.

  err_t stepper8_init ( stepper8_t *ctx, stepper8_cfg_t *cfg );

• stepper8_default_cfg Click Default Configuration function.

  err_t stepper8_default_cfg ( stepper8_t *ctx );

Example key functions :

• stepper8_set_direction This function sets the motor direction by setting the DIR pin logic state.

  void stepper8_set_direction ( stepper8_t *ctx, uint8_t dir );

• stepper8_set_step_mode This function sets the step mode resolution settings.

  err_t stepper8_set_step_mode ( stepper8_t *ctx, uint8_t mode );

• stepper8_drive_motor This function drives the motor for the specific number of steps at the selected speed.

  err_t stepper8_drive_motor ( stepper8_t *ctx, uint32_t steps, uint8_t speed );

Example Description

This example demonstrates the use of the Stepper 8 Click board by driving the motor in both directions for a desired number of steps.

The demo application is composed of two sections :

Application Init

Initializes the driver and performs the Click default configuration.

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    stepper8_cfg_t stepper8_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    stepper8_cfg_setup( &stepper8_cfg );
    STEPPER8_MAP_MIKROBUS( stepper8_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag = stepper8_init( &stepper8, &stepper8_cfg );
    if ( ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) || ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    if ( STEPPER8_ERROR == stepper8_default_cfg ( &stepper8 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

Application Task

Drives the motor clockwise for 200 full steps and then counter-clockiwse for 200 half steps and 400 quarter steps with 2 seconds delay on driving mode change. All data is being logged on the USB UART where you can track the program flow.

void application_task ( void )
{
    log_printf ( &logger, " Move 200 full steps clockwise, speed: slow\r\n\n" );
    stepper8_set_direction ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_DIR_CW );
    stepper8_set_step_mode ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_MODE_FULL_STEP );
    stepper8_drive_motor ( &stepper8, 200, STEPPER8_SPEED_SLOW );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf ( &logger, " Move 200 half steps counter-clockwise, speed: medium\r\n\n" );
    stepper8_set_direction ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_DIR_CCW );
    stepper8_set_step_mode ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_MODE_HALF_STEP );
    stepper8_drive_motor ( &stepper8, 200, STEPPER8_SPEED_MEDIUM );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf ( &logger, " Move 400 quarter steps counter-clockwise, speed: fast\r\n\n" );
    stepper8_set_direction ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_DIR_CCW );
    stepper8_set_step_mode ( &stepper8, STEPPER8_MODE_QUARTER_STEP );
    stepper8_drive_motor ( &stepper8, 400, STEPPER8_SPEED_FAST );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

The full application code, and ready to use projects can be installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended way), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Other Mikroe Libraries used in the example:

• MikroSDK.Board
• MikroSDK.Log
• Click.Stepper8

Additional notes and informations

Depending on the development board you are using, you may need USB UART Click, USB UART 2 Click or RS232 Click to connect to your PC, for development systems with no UART to USB interface available on the board. UART terminal is available in all MikroElektronika compilers.