Hullo, here's something I've been working on the last little while - a (hopefully!) simple to set up DIY focus controller that has a rich featureset in behind it - all designed to make your life easy though:
- Native USB connection (No more messing about with serial COM ports!)
- Sensorless homing/stall detection
- Dynamic current scaling to save power
- Configurability if needed past sensible defaults.
- Designed around common hardware, allowing for easy sourcing of parts for DIY construction using only bread-board-able components.
The main hardware is a TMC2209 stepper driver and an STM32F103 microcontroller. You can either make your own on a breadboard/wires or other DIY construction, or order your own assembled PCBs from JLC.
https://i.imgur.com/B0CKhof.jpg
Demo of the sensorless homing in action on a 135mm lens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBrDgyxgXSc
More details and downloads here:
https://github.com/AlistairSymonds/SympleAstroFocus
Now I've got that out of the way - I'd be very curious to hear any suggestions anyone has got. Just remember although the implementation may not be simple, the end product is designed to be as simple as can be. Where if you've already got a stepper motor attached somehow it just be a case of plugging in and it would all just work. For example no configuring through recompiling in an arduino ide or having to find which COM port matches up
