2 Stepper Motors, 1 Servo, and 1 Arduino Uno

[PhillipB22]

Hey guys/gals,

As a new employee with my company, I was assigned to work on a project with our new summer interns. Long story short, Arduino and robotics was recommended for our application.

We will need to program two stepper motors and one servo motor to run simultaneously using our Arduino Uno that we were given. The two stepper motors will be used to lift two 6" (give or take) square wooden platforms that are roughly 2 feet apart. Think two elevator shafts side by side. On one of the wooden platforms would be a servo motor with a bearing attachment and on the other would be a stationary pulley stystem. The servo motor with bearing attachment would be used to pull a string attached with a small ring shaped object across the gap back and forth while the two platforms would lower once the ring gets to the end. You could paint the motion being made as a snake going back and forth while the 3 motors are working in unison.

I have no robotics experience so I'm trying to grasp what components we would need besides the Ardunio Uno. I've gathered that we need some type of motor shield or driver boards for connection purposes. Also, we would need adequate power for each motor. Apparently, we want it to be something you can plug into an outlet for the whole project. We'd want to be able to press one button for the demonstration to commence, finish, then go back to the beginning. If someone could point to specific parts as well that would be greatly appreciated. The deadline is Aug 17th when the interns leave. Money isn't an issue, but the biggest crunch may be time with ordering through the company purchase order process.

Thanks in advance!!

Phil

[adafruit_support_bill]

What is the weight of the platforms that need to be lifted?
How fast does this need to run?

You need to start with the physical requirements and work backwards. The weights and speeds involved will determine the motor power required. The motor selection will determine the driver and power supply requirements. And the driver selection will determine what libraries etc. are needed to program the system.

[PhillipB22]

I'd say the platforms would be no more than a pound max. The speed I'd say the side to side action would be is half a centimeter a second and the object being moved is most likely going to have the weight of a bottle cap or something comparable. The speed the platforms would rise would be a centimeter a second and only when the object moved reaches the end of each side.

[adafruit_support_bill]

Those are reasonably modest performance requirements, so the hardware selection is not too difficult.
The #324 motors should be capable of that and are a good match for the motor shield:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/324
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1438

The servo motor with bearing attachment would be used to pull a string attached with a small ring shaped object across the gap back and forth while the two platforms would lower once the ring gets to the end.

From your description of the servo operation, it sounds like you are talking about a continuous rotation servo.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/154

Since these have no feedback, you may need to add some limit switches or other sensor to detect the limits of travel.