i have managed to generate a clock pulse in one of the pins of the microcontroller.(i have only one pin left free for myy use!!!) now i need to give this clock pulse to 2 of my stepper motors.(the clock pulse is given to the stpper motor controller) is it fine if i give the same clock from this one pin to both of them....
handling clock pulse
Jan 20, 2008
3 Replies
You mean what to isolate them with a unity gain stage or maybe a resistor branch.
"I\'d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5"
I don't know where the hell my mind was when I posted that. it should read as.. You may want..................
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5"
That's what specs are good for. Not having given the stepper controller make and model, or the microcontroller, you're really on your own.
First off, take a look at the microcontroller specs, and see how much current your output pin can source *and* sink (both or either may be important). Most microcontroller output pins can source and sink at least as much as an HCXX output pin (that's +/- 4mA). But many can source/sink more (some can do up to +/-20mA). Some less.
Now take a look at the specs on your stepper driver. Optoisolated ones may require as much as 20mA each (source or sink, only active one way). Some stepper drivers have protected logic gate inputs, which don't require any DC current. Many more have logic gates with pullup resistors to an internal (or external) supply. Many use a 10K or 4.7K pullup to +5V, which means 0.5mA or 1mA each, within the drive capability of all microcontrollers.
YMMV, so the first rule is, Read The Fine Manual.
Cheers Chris
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