Hi, I’m using an Arduino Uno with four 8825 drivers to run four 12v linear stepper motor.
I’d like to conserve power when they are not in use. I have them wired up to match the Alternative minimal wiring diagram… that is:
reset and sleep are tied together
step and dir connected to microcontroller pins
ground connected to ground of microcontroller
fault connected to +5v of microcontroller
A2,A1,B2,B1 are connected to microcontroller
gnd and vmot connected to 12V power supply with 100uf cap
It all works fine, but I’d like to disable them in between operating for power conservation. Would it be ok to change my fault line from +5V to say pin3 of my Arduino. Then set pin3 as an OUTPUT, and change state from low to high when ever I want to use it? I tried it with one stepper motor and it seems to work, but I’m worried it might be a bad practice, or doing it for multiple steppers all tied into the same pin might be bad.
The motors can’t really spin on their own in the setup, but would this wiring setup be bad for the Arduino pin3 with a rotary style stepper if you accidentally spun one/all of the motors gently and generated current?