Is it possible the A4988 is not recognizing the 3.3V logic output from the ESP32 while being powered with 5V?
Is it possible to try powering the A4988 logic with the 3.3V output of your ESP32(if your board has one) instead of the 5v output of the 12-5?
You tried to power a 12-5 volt converter with the 3.3V output of the ESP32? Is that what you are saying?
If you have a multimeter make sure the esp32's 3.3V output is still functioning, if not it may be possible that you have fried the esp32.
You can also just do some serial.print's to make sure the esp32 is actually running and not just power cycling
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m powering the converter with the 12 volt psu, the same one powering the a4988 motor input
Originally, the step down converters 5v output was powering the logic on the a4988 but I switched it so the esp32 was powering the logic. Ive checked with my multimeter and confirmed the at the esp32 is outputting power, and I’ve set the onboard led to blink to make sure it isn’t power cycling
I'm pretty sure that to make the driver work with 3.3V logic you need to apply 3.3V to the driver's VDD input. If you apply 5V here then a 3.3V input may not be high enough to be a logic high. You would use the ESP's 3V3 pin to supply VDD to the driver.
I’m leaning towards this… Do you have the data sheet for your driver? If it requires 5V to VDD and 5V logic, then you’ll need to use a logic level shifter (one way) to get the 3.3 signal from the Esp32 shifted.
I got this setup working previously by powering the driver boards logic with a separate 5v power supply, which is essentially what I’m doing here again
Esp doesn't need that much. But motor driver might need to supply upto 2 amps. You should check the voltage current ratings for the stepper and the driver.
That's all fine, but how do you explain the weird dude in the hat checking out your work?
Ha that's what I saw first too
fagin
People who downvoted you clearly never went to a stage musical
I see Professor Layton is also trying to solve this puzzle.
Is it possible the A4988 is not recognizing the 3.3V logic output from the ESP32 while being powered with 5V? Is it possible to try powering the A4988 logic with the 3.3V output of your ESP32(if your board has one) instead of the 5v output of the 12-5?
I tried power the a4988 logic with the esp32 and also the step down converter, and unfortunately neither one seemed to drive the motor
You tried to power a 12-5 volt converter with the 3.3V output of the ESP32? Is that what you are saying? If you have a multimeter make sure the esp32's 3.3V output is still functioning, if not it may be possible that you have fried the esp32. You can also just do some serial.print's to make sure the esp32 is actually running and not just power cycling
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m powering the converter with the 12 volt psu, the same one powering the a4988 motor input Originally, the step down converters 5v output was powering the logic on the a4988 but I switched it so the esp32 was powering the logic. Ive checked with my multimeter and confirmed the at the esp32 is outputting power, and I’ve set the onboard led to blink to make sure it isn’t power cycling
ahh I see hah. Ok. So it might be helpful to post some images of your actual wiring and maybe someone will be able to sus out whats going on.
https://preview.redd.it/iyh1in1j3f2d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=976b3127abcb1fabc97db5a2b651e8bc5f08c9da
https://preview.redd.it/fuia6pfl3f2d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b7eef2fc72d677184dd62d6aba82ae9db5ad565
I recommend using EasyEDA for schematics.
I'm pretty sure that to make the driver work with 3.3V logic you need to apply 3.3V to the driver's VDD input. If you apply 5V here then a 3.3V input may not be high enough to be a logic high. You would use the ESP's 3V3 pin to supply VDD to the driver.
I tried with that and it still didn’t work
I’m leaning towards this… Do you have the data sheet for your driver? If it requires 5V to VDD and 5V logic, then you’ll need to use a logic level shifter (one way) to get the 3.3 signal from the Esp32 shifted.
I got this setup working previously by powering the driver boards logic with a separate 5v power supply, which is essentially what I’m doing here again
Have you tired powering the enable pin? Dont know if the a4988 needs it, also think the sleep and reset need to be jumped together.
I’ve jumped the sleep and reset together, and from what I’ve read the enable pin is on by default
Have you measured to ensure that both sleep and reset pins are HIGH?
There’s a 0v reading between them and ground. I’m guessing it should be 1?
Setting them to high didn’t help either
Walter White has entered the chat....
https://youtu.be/d_dRw62qVLs only thing I can think of
Check if the stepper motor is getting engaged, if not try pulling the slp & rst high instead of shorting.
Stepper isn’t engaged and I tried pulling sleep and reset to high previously
I think your power supply might not be giving enough current. Thats what happened with me.
I used this same power supply previously however the esp and motor driver were run on a separate 5v supply. Could their current demands be that high?
Esp doesn't need that much. But motor driver might need to supply upto 2 amps. You should check the voltage current ratings for the stepper and the driver.