A simple Java program demonstrating controlling the SCK-300 spin coater kits through the serial port, and even over Bluetooth from a Windows 10/11 computer. Please note that this code is provided for demonstration and testing purposes only, and comes with absolutely NO Warranty, or Support of any kind. Use at your own risk.
Every once in a while someone ask about controlling the SCK-300 kits using a program running on a desktop computer. Now, even though the use cases for this are limited and it likely makes more sense to use a commercial spin coater with such functionality instead, it's readily doable. All that's required is a USB to UART (TTL), or Bluetooth to UART (TTL) adapter, an understanding of the SCK Communication API and how to implement it in the programming language of your choice. As a matter of fact, the SCK-300 controller communicates with the base module using the same serial protocols, so using a desktop computer instead is a fairly transparent process.
Inorder to connect a PC to the SCK-300 units, a USB to UART adapter and USB A male to dupont header cable are needed. Using this combination of adapters and cable means no cutting of wires or soldering needs to be done.
So far, the following USB-UART and Bluetooth-UART adapters have shown to work when combined with this USB Male A/Dupont Header Cable. If using a SCK-300 version 1 unit then this USB Male Mini/Dupont Header Cable can be used.
For a wired connection, the DSD TECH SH-U09C2 USB to TTL Adapter can be used. All that's necessary is to change the TTL level to 5V (SCK-300 version 2) or 3.3V (SCK-300 version 1) and connect the dupont header end of the USB Male A cable to it. Next connect the USB end of the cable to the SCK-300 unit then the adapter to the computers USB port.
The USB cable's wire positions will need to be adjusted to match the UART adpaters (green->Tx, white->RX, Red->Vcc, Black->Gnd).
For a wireless connection, the SH-H3 Bluetooth Dual Mode Module or HC-06 Wireless Bluetooth Serial module can be used. All that's necessary is to change default baud rate to 19,200 and pair the device to the PC using PIN code 1234 or 0000. Once these steps are done connect the dupont header end of the USB Male A cable to Bluetooth module, and the USB end to the SCK-300/P unit. Also see how to connect Bluetooth module to a Windows 11 computer.
The USB cable's wire positions will need to be adjusted to match the UART adpater's (green->TX, white->RX, Red->Vcc, Black->Gnd).
Inorder to run the SCKTalk application (Windows/Linux), first install the Java 8 or above JRE.
- Download the most recent SCKTalk.zip release, and unzip it in a directory of your choice.
- Open the terminal program and go to the SCKTalk directory.
- Run the application by typing the following command: java -jar SCKTalk.jar
- Once the application is running, select the correct comm port and SCK version from the dropdowns.
- Next press the "CONNECT" button. A message in the console area should indicate if connection was successful.
- Once connected type in the desired speed, then press the "Start/Stop" button to start motor.
- Press the "Start/Stop" button again to stop the motor.
What makes this code possible is the excellent RX/TX library for reading/writing to Serial port: https://github.com/NeuronRobotics/nrjavaserial
There is also some legacy code for using the Bluecove library for reading/writing to serial data over bluetooth directly. However, in Windows 10/11, this is not needed since the Bluetooth adapter looks just like another Serial port once it's paired. Here is the link to this library: https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/io.ultreia/bluecove/2.1.1