Arduino MIDI Stepper Synth

The enable pin is connected directly with a jumper. Really in all the tests nothing happened. I will try to disable the enable physically and let the code activate it.

I managed to find the problem, but I still haven't been able to solve it. For some reason "motorSpeed ​​= pitchVals [midiNote]" is 0. I did a test with tone () and another list of pitches.h and it worked perfectly. it seems that the code is not correctly interpreting this pithes.h and cannot find the note I send. so motorSpeed ​​= 0. Do you have any idea what it might be?

I did the test by letting the code activate enable and it still didn't work. In fact, I inform the note on the serial monitor, the code is executed, the note recognizes the motor speed, then the message is repeated with note and speed RESET and the motor simply does not respond. I would love to make them work, I have an interesting project that depends on it.

I have the same problem that you reported, testing the stepper motor everything works fine. however, in the tune stepper and the serial stepper nothing happens. Could you explain to me what you did to resolve it?

Yes, I am using the serial monitor to send a note when using the Serial stepper, and the speed when using the Tune stepper. but nothing happens. the RX led flashes, but the engine doesn't move, doesn't even emit a sound ...

The speed that the stepper is tuned to shouldn't be motor specific. If you use tone(stepPin, 440) you should get an A440 note. What I am essentially saying is that the pitch values in pitches.h are the note periods in microseconds. Try using a number from the pitches.h file. Also, you could run the MIDI Serial Test (Serial_Stepper.ino) and see if that produces a sound. The difference between the TuneStepper and SerialStepper is that one takes a speed and the other takes the actual MIDI note. So Speed value 2273 should give you an A4 (440 Hz), MIDI note 69. I also found that my pitches.h was an outdated version in the test code, so I have updated it on the GitHub.

What you need to make sure is that the step pin is being pulsed by the arduino. If there isn't a step signal getting to the A4988 it will not spin. Unfortunately I am not able to see everything in your setup so I have absolutely no way to give you a straight up fix. My only recommendation is to use troubleshooting techniques and make sure you understand what the code is doing. read through the explanation and make sure you understand it and that you wired everything exactly is specified. If it doesn't work properly then you either didn't follow the configuration or something is broken.

Glad to hear that it's working! Yes, I do believe 12V 20A would be sufficient to drive 10 stepper motors. I assume that each motor draws 1.5A. They probably draw less since they don't have any load on then, but better to have more current than not enough...

Try running the Stepper Test code that I have on my GitHub. I just added it. I have a few test codes that help troubleshoot the setup. - Stepper Test simply spins a single stepper. If it doesn't work, there is a wiring issue. - Tune Stepper ensures that entering a MIDI note plays the correct sound. If all the test code works, then the actual code should work fine. It could also be due to your method of sending MIDI to the arduino. If you don't have mocuLUFA flashed onto the Arduino, then you need to have serial enabled and use the loopMIDI and hairlessMIDI to communicate. Hope that helps!

Are you using the serial monitor? Those codes are purely for testing the tone playback of the stepper motors. In Tune Stepper, you enter the motor speed value (the values used in pitches.h for the main program) and make sure it sounds as you want it. Serial Stepper is the same as Tune Stepper, but instead of inputting the motor speed value, you put in the MIDI note number. Of course, these are for testing and troubleshooting so you don't really need to use them unless you are having issues with the main program, or are using a different motor from a NEMA 17.

make sure you are wired up properly and that the pin assignments are correct. If it isn't making any sounds then the motors might not be enabled. (I believe the enable pin needs to be pulled low) I have a feeling you might want to make sure that you understand the circuit and code and make sure everything is wired up properly and pin assignments are correct. Other then that, I have no clue.

So to answer your questions: 1. MIDI Performance supports up to 127 channels if I am not mistaken. If you look at the code, all you need to do is define the appropriate IO (#define stepPin # and pinMode(stepPin, OUTPUT); ) the array size, and call singleStep in the main loop. Let's say you want to have 10 stepper motors, The code would look like this: #define stepPin_M1 2 #define stepPin_M2 3 ..... #define stepPin_M10 11 unsigned long motorSpeeds[] = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}; //eleven zeros unsigned long prevStepMicros[] = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}; pinMode(stepPin_M1, OUTPUT); ... pinMode(stepPin_M10, OUTPUT); singleStep(1, stepPin_M1); .... singleStep(10, stepPin_M10); Hope that helps with that. 2. Unfortunately, as soon as a motor turns, the drivers are enabled and current is supplied, even when in idle. I usually press the reset button on the arduino as soon as I am done playing a song or when the motors are in idle for long periods on time. You might want to ensure that your current is set correctly on the driver. For me, I set VREF to 0.65V. You do this by measuring the voltage between ground and the SMD Pot on the A4988. Use an alligator clip to connect your multimeter probe to a screwdriver. I will note that these stepper motors can usually handle higher temperatures than "hot to the touch". They can handle temps above 100C, so you don't have to worry unless you are being burnt by your stepper motors. It should be noted that you should NEVER run a stepper driver without a motor attached, as it can damage the driver. All this being said, I was actually planning on adding a timeout to the motors so that they disable after being idle for a certain period of time. That is a challenge within itself, but I might figure it out and add to V2. 3. I added a folder on GitHub called MIDI files, where I will add the MIDI to all the songs I feature. I create these in a program called "MuseScore 2" (free and open source) then import the MIDI file into Ableton Live 9 and assign each voice to its own MIDI channel. Hope that helps!

Stepper Test code result was tested in motor has confirmed that it works correctly. However, it is not possible to find the correct value in Tune Stepper. I could confirm the MIDI signal from arduino. Probably the motor specification you are using is different. So I can not TUNE well. motor spec; http://akizukidenshi.com/download/ds/mercurymotor/SM-42BYG011-25.pdf Continue to help

Postscript Everyone's interest rises if you can perfectly play the song(Only my rail gun) in Japan

I will report it. Since tuning relation does not react when entering a numerical value with a serial monitor, it was confirmed that a sound is output by directly entering a numerical value. I have a few questions. ① Does MIDI performance only support up to 4 channels? ② Motor / motor driver during playing is very hot. It gets hot enough to the touch. ③ I want you to share the sample MIDI file

It was confirmed that the correct sound comes out！＞ω＜ THANKS! I have this motor could be beautiful to play. http://amzn.asia/i5BkEGW It is necessary to mention one additional question. Do you need a 12 V 20 A power supply with 10 stepping motors?

I have found the culprit. I used a midi din and was using the 115200 baud rate, but midi is 31250. for anyone having an issue of connection, use this in your MIDI_Stepper_V1 void setup. instead of this: Serial.begin(115200); //allows for serial MIDI communication, comment out if using HIDUINO or LUFA use: Serial.begin(31250); //allows for serial MIDI communication, comment out if using HIDUINO or LUFA

I wound up getting the CNC Shield, working on making sure its not my wiring.

When I want to do a chord, I split it along the 4 channels. There is a tool in MuseScore called "Explode" that does it for me. So for example if I had a C-major triad (CEG) then channel 1 would play C, channel 2 would play E and channel 3 would play the G.

I introduce you a very similar project. https://www.hackster.io/45036/making-music-using-a-step-motor-01f8e6

I came across the issue today. It took a while to get to the bottom of this. The solution is "No line ending" in the serial monitor. Anything else and the serial buffer will keep an extra 0. It then presents it the next time around loop; which results in halting it. Thanks JK for the project. I'm enjoying it so far. I personally marked this as a comment in the code, as one tends to forget these findings 'next time' round ; )

I had a similar issue. Stepper Test worked fine, however, the Tune_Stepper.ino did not work. When I input a 2000 value into the serial window this is what I'd get back. 14:42:39.297 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. 14:42:56.036 -> Stepper Motor Speed set to: 2000 14:42:56.103 -> 14:42:56.103 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. 14:42:57.054 -> Stepper Motor Speed set to: 0 14:42:57.089 -> 14:42:57.089 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. No motor function. I was able to get it to work by changing line 45 from this: while(Serial.available() > 0) //taking in the speed value to this: while(Serial.available() > 1) //taking in the speed value. Changing the value from 0 to 1 allowed me to input a value that that be passed on to the motor. However, I'm a bit confused because a higher numerical value results in lower speed and tone. Since it is referred to as a speed number I expected the reverse. The higher the number the faster the speed. Maybe someone could answer that for me.

Hi Peyton, Now that your device is seen as a MIDI device, you simply need to send MIDI data to it. There are a plethora of programs capable of doing this, and they are all (usually) music programs. I use Ableton Live 9, but I also know that MuseScore 2 works too. MuseScore is free and open source, so it would probably be your best bet. That's actually what I use to make the MIDI files for the Synth. You just assign a staff to each of the MIDI channels, and press play!

Peyton, It shouldn't show up specifically as a MIDI input or output, only as a MIDI device (called MIDI Stepper Synth). Like I said before, you need an application that can send the MIDI data out such as MuseScore. In MuseScore, go to Edit>Preferences, then select "I/O". Set the MIDI Output device to MIDI Stepper Synth and click Apply. There is an Icon in the main screen that looks like a MIDI connector that you will want to make sure is enabled. when you play back MIDI, the stepper will play too. If it isn't playing, check the Arduino and see if the Serial LED is flashing as data is being sent over.

The device doesn’t seem to be recognized as a MIDI output. If appears in the device manager, but that’s it. I can’t figure out how to set it so that the computer sends the midi data to it.

I found the problem I accidentally Had the motor speed set to 2 instead of 0. Now I just need to find out why the steppers BEEP when they play the first note. I have noticed in the video The steppers do the same thing on Totos Africa But if anyone needs the pin layout for ramps v1.4 here it is. Arduino mega 2560 with Ramps V1.4 Pin layout Motor Step Dir En X 54 55 38 Y 60 61 56 Z 46 48 62 E0 26 28 24 E1 36 34 30

Hi Carl, The A4988 has two pins that get the power for the motors (VMOT and GND). You would want to make sure each driver gets the 12V that way. If you look up A4988 wiring you should see how to wire everything. The Test Stepper code simply moves the stepper a certain amount clockwise then counterclockwise. Basically, when you make the step pin on the A4988 driver go from low to high, the stepper motor will move one "step". In the default setting this is exactly 1/200th of a revolution or 1.8 degrees. If you want to make it work for more than one motor simultaneously, define more step and direction pins and then duplicate the digitalWrite() for each of the step pins. I put some comments to show where to modify the code below. It might be a good idea to check out this video as it will give you a better understanding of stepper motors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CmjB4WF5XA

#define stepPin 2 #define dirPin 5 #define enPin 8 // DEFINE THE OTHER STEP, DIR, and EN pins const int Time_1 = 5000; const int Time_2 = 5000; const int step_1 = 200; const int step_2 = 200; void setup() { pinMode(stepPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(dirPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(enPin, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(enPin, LOW); //DUPLICATE THE ABOVE 4 LINES FOR EACH MOTOR } void loop() { digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS for (int i = 0; i < step_1; i++) { digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS //delayMicroseconds(Time_1); digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS delayMicroseconds(Time_1); } delayMicroseconds(2000); digitalWrite(dirPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS for (int i = 0; i < step_2; i++) { digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS //delayMicroseconds(Time_2); digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS delayMicroseconds(Time_2); } digitalWrite(enPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS while(1); //stop loop } Hope that helps! -Jonathan

I have found the culprit. I used a midi din and was using the 115200 baud rate, but midi is 31250. for anyone having an issue of connection, use this in your MIDI_Stepper_V1 void setup. instead of this: Serial.begin(115200); //allows for serial MIDI communication, comment out if using HIDUINO or LUFA use: Serial.begin(31250); //allows for serial MIDI communication, comment out if using HIDUINO or LUFA

I wound up getting the CNC Shield, working on making sure its not my wiring.

Hi Carl, The A4988 has two pins that get the power for the motors (VMOT and GND). You would want to make sure each driver gets the 12V that way. If you look up A4988 wiring you should see how to wire everything. The Test Stepper code simply moves the stepper a certain amount clockwise then counterclockwise. Basically, when you make the step pin on the A4988 driver go from low to high, the stepper motor will move one "step". In the default setting this is exactly 1/200th of a revolution or 1.8 degrees. If you want to make it work for more than one motor simultaneously, define more step and direction pins and then duplicate the digitalWrite() for each of the step pins. I put some comments to show where to modify the code below. It might be a good idea to check out this video as it will give you a better understanding of stepper motors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CmjB4WF5XA

#define stepPin 2 #define dirPin 5 #define enPin 8 // DEFINE THE OTHER STEP, DIR, and EN pins const int Time_1 = 5000; const int Time_2 = 5000; const int step_1 = 200; const int step_2 = 200; void setup() { pinMode(stepPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(dirPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(enPin, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(enPin, LOW); //DUPLICATE THE ABOVE 4 LINES FOR EACH MOTOR } void loop() { digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS for (int i = 0; i < step_1; i++) { digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS //delayMicroseconds(Time_1); digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS delayMicroseconds(Time_1); } delayMicroseconds(2000); digitalWrite(dirPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS for (int i = 0; i < step_2; i++) { digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS //delayMicroseconds(Time_2); digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS delayMicroseconds(Time_2); } digitalWrite(enPin, HIGH); // DUPLICATE FOR THE OTHER MOTORS while(1); //stop loop } Hope that helps! -Jonathan

When I want to do a chord, I split it along the 4 channels. There is a tool in MuseScore called "Explode" that does it for me. So for example if I had a C-major triad (CEG) then channel 1 would play C, channel 2 would play E and channel 3 would play the G.

I found the problem I accidentally Had the motor speed set to 2 instead of 0. Now I just need to find out why the steppers BEEP when they play the first note. I have noticed in the video The steppers do the same thing on Totos Africa But if anyone needs the pin layout for ramps v1.4 here it is. Arduino mega 2560 with Ramps V1.4 Pin layout Motor Step Dir En X 54 55 38 Y 60 61 56 Z 46 48 62 E0 26 28 24 E1 36 34 30

I had a similar issue. Stepper Test worked fine, however, the Tune_Stepper.ino did not work. When I input a 2000 value into the serial window this is what I'd get back. 14:42:39.297 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. 14:42:56.036 -> Stepper Motor Speed set to: 2000 14:42:56.103 -> 14:42:56.103 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. 14:42:57.054 -> Stepper Motor Speed set to: 0 14:42:57.089 -> 14:42:57.089 -> Please Enter a Stepper Motor Speed Value. No motor function. I was able to get it to work by changing line 45 from this: while(Serial.available() > 0) //taking in the speed value to this: while(Serial.available() > 1) //taking in the speed value. Changing the value from 0 to 1 allowed me to input a value that that be passed on to the motor. However, I'm a bit confused because a higher numerical value results in lower speed and tone. Since it is referred to as a speed number I expected the reverse. The higher the number the faster the speed. Maybe someone could answer that for me.

I came across the issue today. It took a while to get to the bottom of this. The solution is "No line ending" in the serial monitor. Anything else and the serial buffer will keep an extra 0. It then presents it the next time around loop; which results in halting it. Thanks JK for the project. I'm enjoying it so far. I personally marked this as a comment in the code, as one tends to forget these findings 'next time' round ; )

Hi Peyton, Now that your device is seen as a MIDI device, you simply need to send MIDI data to it. There are a plethora of programs capable of doing this, and they are all (usually) music programs. I use Ableton Live 9, but I also know that MuseScore 2 works too. MuseScore is free and open source, so it would probably be your best bet. That's actually what I use to make the MIDI files for the Synth. You just assign a staff to each of the MIDI channels, and press play!

Peyton, It shouldn't show up specifically as a MIDI input or output, only as a MIDI device (called MIDI Stepper Synth). Like I said before, you need an application that can send the MIDI data out such as MuseScore. In MuseScore, go to Edit>Preferences, then select "I/O". Set the MIDI Output device to MIDI Stepper Synth and click Apply. There is an Icon in the main screen that looks like a MIDI connector that you will want to make sure is enabled. when you play back MIDI, the stepper will play too. If it isn't playing, check the Arduino and see if the Serial LED is flashing as data is being sent over.

The device doesn’t seem to be recognized as a MIDI output. If appears in the device manager, but that’s it. I can’t figure out how to set it so that the computer sends the midi data to it.

The enable pin is connected directly with a jumper. Really in all the tests nothing happened. I will try to disable the enable physically and let the code activate it.

So to answer your questions: 1. MIDI Performance supports up to 127 channels if I am not mistaken. If you look at the code, all you need to do is define the appropriate IO (#define stepPin # and pinMode(stepPin, OUTPUT); ) the array size, and call singleStep in the main loop. Let's say you want to have 10 stepper motors, The code would look like this: #define stepPin_M1 2 #define stepPin_M2 3 ..... #define stepPin_M10 11 unsigned long motorSpeeds[] = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}; //eleven zeros unsigned long prevStepMicros[] = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}; pinMode(stepPin_M1, OUTPUT); ... pinMode(stepPin_M10, OUTPUT); singleStep(1, stepPin_M1); .... singleStep(10, stepPin_M10); Hope that helps with that. 2. Unfortunately, as soon as a motor turns, the drivers are enabled and current is supplied, even when in idle. I usually press the reset button on the arduino as soon as I am done playing a song or when the motors are in idle for long periods on time. You might want to ensure that your current is set correctly on the driver. For me, I set VREF to 0.65V. You do this by measuring the voltage between ground and the SMD Pot on the A4988. Use an alligator clip to connect your multimeter probe to a screwdriver. I will note that these stepper motors can usually handle higher temperatures than "hot to the touch". They can handle temps above 100C, so you don't have to worry unless you are being burnt by your stepper motors. It should be noted that you should NEVER run a stepper driver without a motor attached, as it can damage the driver. All this being said, I was actually planning on adding a timeout to the motors so that they disable after being idle for a certain period of time. That is a challenge within itself, but I might figure it out and add to V2. 3. I added a folder on GitHub called MIDI files, where I will add the MIDI to all the songs I feature. I create these in a program called "MuseScore 2" (free and open source) then import the MIDI file into Ableton Live 9 and assign each voice to its own MIDI channel. Hope that helps!

Are you using the serial monitor? Those codes are purely for testing the tone playback of the stepper motors. In Tune Stepper, you enter the motor speed value (the values used in pitches.h for the main program) and make sure it sounds as you want it. Serial Stepper is the same as Tune Stepper, but instead of inputting the motor speed value, you put in the MIDI note number. Of course, these are for testing and troubleshooting so you don't really need to use them unless you are having issues with the main program, or are using a different motor from a NEMA 17.

What you need to make sure is that the step pin is being pulsed by the arduino. If there isn't a step signal getting to the A4988 it will not spin. Unfortunately I am not able to see everything in your setup so I have absolutely no way to give you a straight up fix. My only recommendation is to use troubleshooting techniques and make sure you understand what the code is doing. read through the explanation and make sure you understand it and that you wired everything exactly is specified. If it doesn't work properly then you either didn't follow the configuration or something is broken.

make sure you are wired up properly and that the pin assignments are correct. If it isn't making any sounds then the motors might not be enabled. (I believe the enable pin needs to be pulled low) I have a feeling you might want to make sure that you understand the circuit and code and make sure everything is wired up properly and pin assignments are correct. Other then that, I have no clue.

Glad to hear that it's working! Yes, I do believe 12V 20A would be sufficient to drive 10 stepper motors. I assume that each motor draws 1.5A. They probably draw less since they don't have any load on then, but better to have more current than not enough...

Try running the Stepper Test code that I have on my GitHub. I just added it. I have a few test codes that help troubleshoot the setup. - Stepper Test simply spins a single stepper. If it doesn't work, there is a wiring issue. - Tune Stepper ensures that entering a MIDI note plays the correct sound. If all the test code works, then the actual code should work fine. It could also be due to your method of sending MIDI to the arduino. If you don't have mocuLUFA flashed onto the Arduino, then you need to have serial enabled and use the loopMIDI and hairlessMIDI to communicate. Hope that helps!

I managed to find the problem, but I still haven't been able to solve it. For some reason "motorSpeed ​​= pitchVals [midiNote]" is 0. I did a test with tone () and another list of pitches.h and it worked perfectly. it seems that the code is not correctly interpreting this pithes.h and cannot find the note I send. so motorSpeed ​​= 0. Do you have any idea what it might be?

The speed that the stepper is tuned to shouldn't be motor specific. If you use tone(stepPin, 440) you should get an A440 note. What I am essentially saying is that the pitch values in pitches.h are the note periods in microseconds. Try using a number from the pitches.h file. Also, you could run the MIDI Serial Test (Serial_Stepper.ino) and see if that produces a sound. The difference between the TuneStepper and SerialStepper is that one takes a speed and the other takes the actual MIDI note. So Speed value 2273 should give you an A4 (440 Hz), MIDI note 69. I also found that my pitches.h was an outdated version in the test code, so I have updated it on the GitHub.

Stepper Test code result was tested in motor has confirmed that it works correctly. However, it is not possible to find the correct value in Tune Stepper. I could confirm the MIDI signal from arduino. Probably the motor specification you are using is different. So I can not TUNE well. motor spec; http://akizukidenshi.com/download/ds/mercurymotor/SM-42BYG011-25.pdf Continue to help

I will report it. Since tuning relation does not react when entering a numerical value with a serial monitor, it was confirmed that a sound is output by directly entering a numerical value. I have a few questions. ① Does MIDI performance only support up to 4 channels? ② Motor / motor driver during playing is very hot. It gets hot enough to the touch. ③ I want you to share the sample MIDI file

Postscript Everyone's interest rises if you can perfectly play the song(Only my rail gun) in Japan

It was confirmed that the correct sound comes out！＞ω＜ THANKS! I have this motor could be beautiful to play. http://amzn.asia/i5BkEGW It is necessary to mention one additional question. Do you need a 12 V 20 A power supply with 10 stepping motors?

I did the test by letting the code activate enable and it still didn't work. In fact, I inform the note on the serial monitor, the code is executed, the note recognizes the motor speed, then the message is repeated with note and speed RESET and the motor simply does not respond. I would love to make them work, I have an interesting project that depends on it.

I have the same problem that you reported, testing the stepper motor everything works fine. however, in the tune stepper and the serial stepper nothing happens. Could you explain to me what you did to resolve it?

I introduce you a very similar project. https://www.hackster.io/45036/making-music-using-a-step-motor-01f8e6