TinyG Start
If you have just received a TinyG this is the place to start. Here's some background if you want to know what TinyG is
The getting started page is your first place to go to figure out what you need to get to get your TinyG up and running quickly. However before we dive into hooking up wires and downloading software the image below is a "diagram" of the important sections / parts of you TinyG board.
To highlight a few things in the above diagram:
- The MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is to wire your power input correctly. Double check your polarity BEFORE plugging in your TinyG board.
- Power output for the PC fan is an important to make sure you have right! Failure to set your fan jumper may result in blowing up your PC fan by providing 24v to a 12v fan. See more about this below.
- All input voltages are limited to 3.3v MAX!
- DO NOT over torque the current trim pots!
Here is what you are going to need in order to use TinyG:
- A TinyG
- Power supply - typically 24 volts DC at between 4 and 15 amps. Can be anything between 12VDC and 30VDC. Here's one we like: (Meanwell NES-350-24)[http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&pa=2149600&productId=2149600&keyCode=WSF&CID=GOOG&gclid=CKGp2eipk7UCFWGnPAod9jMAKA] (you can usually hunt around and find this for < $50. They als make lower amperage supplies that are cheaper)
- 1 - 4 stepper motors - typically NEMA17 or NEMA23 up to 2.5 amps per winding
- Fan - A 12VDC or 24VDC fan is recommended, especially if the board is in an enclosure
- Case (Optional)
- Programmer (Optional.. If you want firmware updates..)
Please note: Stepper Motor Connectors are required for v6 and earlier, but are not longer needed with v7s!
You can get the TinyG controller board fully assembled from the Synstore.
[https://www.synthetos.com/webstore/index.php/assembled-electronics/tiny-g.html The TinyG Board]
TinyG v7's purchased after 11/5/12 are "blue" boards labeled as TinyGv7 - 23. These use the DRV8818 driver chips as opposed to the DRV8811 driver chips. The 8818 drivers have a lower ON resistance in the FET output stages and therefore don't get as warm as the 8811's are are capable of driving a bit more current. The '23' designation refers to NEMA23 motors, as the blue boards will easily drive most NEMA23 motors.
We plan to continue to sell green boards with the DRV8811 driver chips as well, and will begin labeling these as '- 17s". These boards are recommended for NEMA17 motors, although that are quite capable of driving NEMA23's - as they have been doing for the past 2 years in production setups. The green boards will be made available at a lower price than the blue boards.
=== Power Supply ===
TinyG v7 (either green or blue) supports up to 2.5A per winding per motor and needs a 12v-30v motor power input. While 12 volt operation is possible and entirely fine, running with a 24v power supply will allow the motors to be more responsive and actually run cooler (ironically). We recommand fan cooling the board if you use a voltage over 12 volts.
=== Motors ===
TinyG will work with bipolar and unipolar stepper motors up to 2.5 amps per winding. This covers most NEMA23 and smaller motors. Slome of out favorite sources for motors are:
*[http://www.alltronics.com/cgi-bin/category/55 www.alltronics.com/cgi-bin/category/55]
*[http://www.mpja.com/Stepper-Motors/products/101/ www.mpja.com/Stepper-Motors/products/101/]
*[http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/400/Motors/1.html www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/400/Motors/1.html]
=== Heat Sinks ===
These are optional, however they come with TinyG so why not use them :)
4x heat sinks are included with TinyG. Simply peel the back sticker off and place the heat sink over each DRV8811/DRV8818 stepper driver chip.
See the image below for reference.
=== Fan ===
The TinyGv7's come equipped with connector that can be used to provide 12 volts to a standard 12v PC fan. The fan voltage needs to be configured via a 3 pin header on the TinyG board. Please read the silkscreen designators as below:
*The "24v" side means the board is powered with 24v. The jumper in this position uses the 7812 regulator to provide 12v to the fan connector. Put the jumper on this side if you are powering the board with anything over 12 volts. This is the default location and your v7 should have been shipped with the jumper in this position. *The "12v" side means the board is powered with 12v. The jumper in this position bypasses the 7812 regulator and provides Vmot directly to the fan connector. Put the jumper on this side only if you are powering the board 12 volts or if your fan voltage is compatible with the applied voltage (e.g. a 24v fan being used with 24v motor voltage). Use this side with caution as applying 24 volts to some 12 volt fans will burn them out.
See the following image.
=== Programmer ===
TinyG runs an Atmel xmega chip which requires Atmel's PDI protocol to program. We use the Atmel AVRISP MKII which is available from Mouser [http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsaJrqdZ%252b6EWyua%252bG%2FwcOQP26MNKN%252bCIDE%3D here] for roughly $35.00. This is needed to apply firmware updates on TinyG. We are also testing a boot loader that will program over the USB port, but it's not out yet.
TinyG is available at the [https://github.com/synthetos/TinyG TinyG github]
TinyG comes pre-loaded with the latest version at the time of purchase. Upgrading (flashing) TinyG firmware is here: Projects:TinyG-UpdateFirmware.