I think I have destroyed 6 different A4988/A4983 chips, but I don’t know what I might be doing that is causing this.
I was hoping for two things (1) a way to confirm that the chips are dead; and (2) a hint as to what I am doing wrong.
The picture below is what I am currently testing. The power on the right is 12v and the power on the left is 5v. STEP and DIR is run by an arduino and 1a/1b/2a/2b is connected to an NC17. I have had this working early on with the connections and code shown below, but now the motors do not respond.
I have read that disconnecting the motor connections while power is on will damage the chip. Before I read that I recall doing exactly that on two of the a4988’s. But not all 6.
I have also read that if 5v and 12v power is supplied to the chip I should be able to measure 12v across 1a/1b or 2a/2b. I can only read 0v.
This code is from https://www.makerguides.com/a4988-stepper-motor-driver-arduino-tutorial/ about midway through the article.
/*Example sketch to control a stepper motor with A4988 stepper motor driver and Arduino without a library. More info: https://www.makerguides.com */
// Define stepper motor connections and steps per revolution:
#define dirPin 2
#define stepPin 3
#define stepsPerRevolution 200
void setup() {
// Declare pins as output:
pinMode(stepPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(dirPin, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
// Set the spinning direction clockwise:
digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH);
// Spin the stepper motor 1 revolution slowly:
for (int i = 0; i < stepsPerRevolution; i++) {
// These four lines result in 1 step:
digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(2000);
digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2000);
}
delay(1000);
// Set the spinning direction counterclockwise:
digitalWrite(dirPin, LOW);
// Spin the stepper motor 1 revolution quickly:
for (int i = 0; i < stepsPerRevolution; i++) {
// These four lines result in 1 step:
digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(1000);
digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(1000);
}
delay(1000);
// Set the spinning direction clockwise:
digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH);
// Spin the stepper motor 5 revolutions fast:
for (int i = 0; i < 5 * stepsPerRevolution; i++) {
// These four lines result in 1 step:
digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(500);
digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(500);
}
delay(1000);
// Set the spinning direction counterclockwise:
digitalWrite(dirPin, LOW);
//Spin the stepper motor 5 revolutions fast:
for (int i = 0; i < 5 * stepsPerRevolution; i++) {
// These four lines result in 1 step:
digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(500);
digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(500);
}
delay(1000);
}
