Real Time Stepper Motors Control using ESP8266 and Blynk app

Question

I wanted to control 2 Stepper Motors for running a robot using the joystick of Blynk App and NodeMCU/ESP8266. But when I searched for the codes of real time controlling of Stepper Motors online I didn't get much code and most of them were not real time.

This is code I am currently working on:-

#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <BlynkSimpleEsp8266.h>

#define RightMotorSpeed D7
#define RightMotorDir   D8  

const int enPin = D2;
const int enPin2 = D3;

#define LeftMotorSpeed  D6  
#define LeftMotorDir    D5


// You should get Auth Token in the Blynk App.
// Go to the Project Settings (nut icon).
// Use your own WiFi settings
char auth[] = "LRTCZUnCI06P-pqh5rlPXRbuOUgQ_uGH";
char ssid[] = "Airtel_7599998800";
char pass[] = "air71454";

// neutral zone settings for x and y
// joystick must move outside these boundary numbers to activate the motors
// makes it a little easier to control the wifi car
int minRange = 312;
int maxRange = 712;

// analog speeds from 0 (lowest) - 1023 (highest)
// 3 speeds used -- 0 (noSpeed), 350 (minSpeed), 850 (maxSpeed).
// use whatever speeds you want...too fast made it a pain in the ass to control
int minSpeed = 450;
int maxSpeed = 1023;
int noSpeed = 0;


void moveControl(int x, int y)
{
  // movement logic
  // move forward

   // y je vetsi jak maxrange a současně x je vetsi jak minRange a současne mensi jak max range 
  while(y >= maxRange && x >= minRange && x <= maxRange) //zataci R
  {
    digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,HIGH);  
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,HIGH);

    analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,maxSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,maxSpeed);

    delayMicroseconds(500);

    digitalWrite(RightMotorSpeed,0); 
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,0);

    delayMicroseconds(500);
  }

  // move forward right
  while(x >= maxRange && y >= maxRange)   //zataci R
  {
    digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,HIGH);
   analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,minSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,maxSpeed);
  }

  // move forward left
  while(x <= minRange && y >= maxRange)
  {
    digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,HIGH);
    analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,maxSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,minSpeed);
  }

  // neutral zone
  while(y < maxRange && y > minRange && x < maxRange && x > minRange)
  {
    analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,noSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,noSpeed);
  }

 // move back
  while(y <= minRange && x >= minRange && x <= maxRange)
  {
    digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,LOW);
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,LOW);
   analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,maxSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,maxSpeed);
  }

  // move back and right
 while(y <= minRange && x <= minRange)
  {
   digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,LOW);
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,LOW);
    analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,minSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,maxSpeed);  
  }

  // move back and left
  while(y <= minRange && x >= maxRange)
  {
    digitalWrite(RightMotorDir,LOW);
    digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,LOW);
    analogWrite(RightMotorSpeed,maxSpeed); 
    analogWrite(LeftMotorSpeed,minSpeed);
  }
}

void setup()
{
  // initial settings for motors off and direction forward
  pinMode(RightMotorSpeed, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LeftMotorSpeed, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(RightMotorDir, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LeftMotorDir, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(RightMotorSpeed, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LeftMotorSpeed, LOW);
  digitalWrite(RightMotorDir, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LeftMotorDir,HIGH);



    Serial.begin(9600);

    pinMode(enPin,OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(enPin,LOW);

    pinMode(enPin2,OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(enPin2,LOW);



  Blynk.begin(auth, ssid, pass);
 }


void loop()
{
  Blynk.run();
}


BLYNK_WRITE(V1)
{
  int x = param[0].asInt();
  int y = param[1].asInt();
  moveControl(x,y); 
}

Here I have defined by 2 Stepper motors as Right and Left and since I am using TB6600 Motor Driver therefore their Pulse and Direction Pins are also Defined. That is the main reason that I am unable to use the Stepper motor Library for the code.

Running the code I see that Both the motors runs fine once for 3 to 5 seconds and the the Blynk Server Disconnects and Reconnects again causing the motors to stop and not creating a real time communication. Some one Please help me create a code for these 2 stepper motors to run at realtime.

I think that Blink.run() causes the server to reconnect and stop the motor.

I also searched for this cause and found that instead of Stepper motor Library I should use AccelStepper Library but that is also not achieved . Please help me with this. Any correct reference is also appreciable. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Blynk requires constants pings to keep the connection alive. A while loop prevents any form of communication between your device and the Blynk server. The preferred option is to use Timers to interactively call your functions and advance through the code. Another method is to force a server ping.

For example, you could add the following and call softDelay(1) within each of your while loops.

void softDelay(uint32_t t) {
  unsigned long currentTime = millis();`
  unsigned long newTime = currentTime + t;
  while (currentTime <= newTime)
  {
     Blynk.run();
     timer.run();
     currentTime = millis();
  }
}