hey I was wondering if there is a button accessory of any sort that a user can click that will run the sequence software of a lynx motion al5d robotic arm? Also, without a laptop having to be connected to it. Because I have to lynxmorion arms and wanted to have a button that a user can click so that the software on the two arms would be activated.
Hi,
This is possible, but it will require some work on your end.
As you can read about here, the AL5D robotic arms can be purchased as kits with two different controllers (or none 
), the SSC-32U or the BotBoarduino.
If you have a BotBoarduino, then you can simply program the board with the Arduino IDE to use a button to perform sequences.
If you have a SSC-32U, there is no “software” running on the arm, simply firmware that offers an interface to control the servomotor channels (and in your case, a robotic arm).
You will want to add a microcontroller board to your setup to control the SSC-32U. You could use one to control both, too. This is quite easy since once a command is sent to the SSC-32U, it will perform the task of maintaining the signal to the servomotors, which frees your microcontroller to do other stuff instead of spending a large amount of time driving signals.
You can find BotBoarduino code for the AL5D here (includes an example of a “sequence player”) and an example of how to use an Arduino-based board to control the SSC-32U/AL5D here. These should help get you started.
As for the button, well, we have plenty of options that are neat here. For the code, you can do a simple reading of a digital input. Make sure yo have a pull-up or pull-down with your switch/button so as to not leave the input floating! And, of course, add some debouncing (electrical or software).
Sincerely,
Hey,
Thanks for the reply. I have an SSC-32U. By adding the microcontroller board I will be able to have one robotic arm start a sequence and then the other do a different sequence with the click of one of buttons you referenced to purchase?
Because I want to have a robotic arm pick up an object, place it on a table and then have the second robotic arm pick it up and place it elsewhere overtime the button is clicked. This will be possible with the steps you provided?
Cheers
Hi,
Yes, that is exactly the kind of thing you would be able to do.
The main modification you will have to make is have two serial interfaces (use SoftwareSerial for them), one for each SSC-32U.
Other than that, the sequence example for the BotBoarduino-based arm should fit your basic needs (by default, it has the arm loop through 1 sequence infinitely). This could be tweaked to send sequences to two arms easily. Also, you can add pauses and such.
Finally, the SSC-32U/AL5D example code for BotBoarduino can be used as an example of how to interface the AL5D (with a SSC-32U) using a BotBoarduino controlling the SSC-32U by UART.
You can find an example of wiring the BotBoarduino and SSC-32U in the SSC-32U manual (page 21).
We hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Hey,
Let me take this step by step:
-If I already have a microcontroller board that comes with the kit for the Al5D robotic arm, am I supposed to get another one or do I use the one that I got?
-If I use the one in the kit, how am I supposed to connect two robotic arms to the one micro controller? Because it seems I am supposed to attach the wires to the specific ports and don’t know how you would attach two to the one port?
-So I would need to actually program this with code in order to do this?
Cheers,
Alan
Hey Alan,
First, we’ve added quotes to your post to add some clarity.
Here are answers to your questions:
From what we’ve seen, you’ve purchased the RB-Lyn-814. This kit comes with the SSC-32U RB-Lyn-850], which is a servomotor controller board. It does not do anything by itself and needs a controller of some kind. This is typically a laptop/desktop computer or a SBC (Single Board Computer), such as a Raspberry Pi. This controller then tells the SSC-32U what values to output to which channels.
The specific channels are only required if you are using the FlowArm PLTW applications (with a computer), as it sends values to those specific channels for the specific joints it expects there. If other channels were used, the software would not work as expected or at all.
Since you would be writing your own code to create sequences, you can most definitely use any of the channels. And yes, you could use only one SSC-32U to control both robotic arms. That being said, it is recommended to each robotic arm to a different group of pins (VS1 and VS2) and to remove the VS1=VS2 jumpers. You can then place a second power supply to the VS2 screw terminals. This way, you will ensure both motors have enough power to work properly.
Yes.
Sincerely,