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Steppers on a PD-LED (P-ROC/P3-ROC)

Related Config File Sections:

Starting with PD-LED v3 you can configure up to two steppers on a PD-LED. You need an additional cheap external stepper driver to drive the load of the stepper. Those are sold for a few bucks as StepStick or DRV8825 on amazon, ebay, aliexpress or similar platforms.

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To enable steppers you need to configure your PD-LED board in your p_roc section. Assuming your PD-LED has the ID 4 you can use the following config to enable and define two steppers:

p_roc:
  pd_led_boards:
    4:
      use_stepper_0: true
      use_stepper_1: true
      # stepper_speed: 13524    # uncomment to tune the speed
switches:
  s_stepper_4_0_home:
    number: A4-B0-0
  s_stepper_4_1_home:
    number: A4-B0-1
steppers:
  stepper_4_0:
    number: 4-0
    homing_mode: switch
    homing_switch: s_stepper_4_0_home
  stepper_4_1:
    number: 4-1
    homing_mode: switch
    homing_switch: s_stepper_4_1_home

The number of your stepper has to be id_of_your_ped_led-number. In this case 4-0 and 4-1 for the first and second stepper on PD-LED 4. Every stepper needs a homing switch so MPF can home it at startup. You will not be able to use LED 75 to LED 80 on the PD-LED when enabling both steppers.

You might have to fine-tune the stepper_speed setting to your steppers. Increasing the value will reduce the speed of your steppers.

You should hook up your steppers to an external power source and not draw that power from the PD-LED. However, make sure to connect the ground of your power supply. See Voltages and Power for details. Connect those stepper drivers as described in How to use Step Stick Steppers in MPF (but use the PD-LED outputs).

Overview video about steppers:

What if it did not work?

Have a look at our troubleshooting guide for the P/P3-Roc.

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