Four-Axis Stepper Motor Training Set: STM32 Microcontroller, Algorithm and Teaching Considerations

Abstract

Practical training is essential in engineering education. Various applied trainings are carried out in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in order to develop engineering skills and create an engineering culture. The servo-capable (position-controlled) training set, which represents the multi-axis (complex) manufacturing process, is intended to be used in hands-on training for this purpose. Instead of the training set, which basically shows the speed and position capability of the servo motor, how to operate the servo motor, and how to take measurements, it was paid attention to design a training set to represent production processes such as drilling and screwing, etc. The STM32F series microprocessor, which is based on ARM, is used to control the motors in the training set according to the algorithm's requirements. Thanks to the training set designed in this study, undergraduate students will gain knowledge about the position control of a complex production process and the equipment (stepper motor and driver, ball screw, DC source, optical sensor and limit switch, emergency stop button, wiring and terminals) in the set. The theoretical knowledge gained in the course will be transformed into practice. As a result, it will meaningfully contribute to the development of undergraduate students' engineering skills. In the future work, it is aimed to make the training set compatible with the IoT technology.