Phidgets adds a $75.00 stepper controller to its line of motor controllers

The 1062 – PhidgetStepper Unipolar 4-motor, can control up to 4 stepper motors.

CALGARY, Alberta, April 29, 2008 ― Phidgets Inc. today announced the addition of a new product to its family of motor controllers. The 1062 Stepper controller controls the position, velocity and acceleration of up to 4 unipolar stepper motors. Applications that require precise
positioning are well suited for this device. The stepper controller can also run the motor in continuous rotation mode by giving it a large position address. Using the upper position limit as an address would, for example, rotate the motor for 45 years.

The 1062 plugs directly into the computer’s USB port and comes with a USB cable. Like all Phidgets, application programs can be written using the Phidgets API. “The 1062 Product Manual’s Technical Section contains valuable information and programming tips on how to
use the API functions to drive stepper motors,” said Bernard Rousseau, Phidgets Director of Marketing. “We continuously update our documentation in an effort to make it as easy as possible for our users to get their projects going”, added Rousseau.

“We already offer Servo controllers, and a variety of DC motor controllers. The arrival of a stepper controller fills a void in our family of motor controllers. ” says Chester Fitchett, CEO of Phidgets. “We have paid close attention to costs in order to give our customers the value/price ratio they are expecting from Phidgets.” added Fitchett.

Product Specifications
Position Resolution: ½ step (40-bit signed)
Upper Position Limit: 239 – 1 ½ steps
Lower Position Limit: -(239 - 1) ½ steps
Velocity Resolution: 0.75 ½ steps/second (9-bit)
Velocity Limit: 383.25 ½ steps/second
Acceleration Resolution: 140.625 ½ steps/second2 (6-bit)
Acceleration Limit: 8859.375 ½ steps/second2
Minimum Power Supply Voltage: 5V
Maximum Power Supply Voltage: 12V
Max Current Per Coil: 1A
USB-Power Current Specification: 100mA max
Device Quiescent Current Consumption: 23mA
Device Active Current Consumption: 23mA max
Software Environment

“Unlike a lot of our competitor’s products that require their users to write some firmware code in order to use their sensor, we are completely “Plug and Play” says Bernard Rousseau, Director of Marketing. “With Phidgets, you plug it in and start using it and when it comes to programming, the user, not us, decides which operating system and which computer language he wants to use”, added Rousseau.

Users can program Phidgets using a simple yet powerful and well documented Application Programming Interfade (API) that is supported under Windows (2000, XP, Vista), Windows CE, Mac OS X, and Linux. Users can write programs in Visual Basic, VB.NET, C#, C/C++, Flash/Flex, Java, Labview, Matlab, ActionScript 3.0, and Cocoa.

Phidgets also provides programming examples for all its products to help programmers write their own programs. The API Libraries as well as the examples and the documentation are available at no charge on www.Phidgets.com.

We now sell Hitec’s Laser 6 RC Tx/Rx set.  This is the first standard R/C control set to be added to our catalog, and it’s about time.  We know that not everybody needs or wants to build autonomous robots, and we’re cool with that.  The kit includes the 6-channel Laser 6 transmitter, HFD-08RD 8-channel receiver, and two HS-322 servos.  This set offers a great solution for no hassle, plug-and-play control of servos and DC motor controllers.

The Robonova 1 humanoid can easily be adapted to work with this controller, too.  RC inputs on the Robonova are interpreted as analog values, which can be used to trigger and alter motion sequences in a wide variety of ways.  Fun stuff!

These touch-sensitive linear potentiometers are really cool.  The resistance varies linearly depending on where pressure is applied to the sensor.  The pinout is just like any other 3-pin potentiometer, and the pins have a breadboard-friendly pitch of 0.1", so integrating it into your project is a snap.

These resistive flex sensors are made of one resistive element, which varies from 9 kOhm when straight to 22 kOhm when flexed 180 degrees.  You can use them for monitoring joint angles, as electronic "whiskers," or any other application that calls for a simple, inexpensive flex feedback.

For a while now, we’ve been looking for a cheap, simple motion sensor to satisfy the needs of our home automation customers.  Well, it looks like we’ve found it.  This little sensor is about 1" wide, only consumes a few milliamps, and presents a simple digital output.  The sensor outputs 5V when there is no motion, then when it senses something, the output drops to zero.

This breadboard-friendly adapter converts USB to TTL-level serial, appearing as a virtual COM port on your computer.  It was designed for programming and communicating with the Arduino Stamp, but it also works as a generic serial interface.

Do you need to connect some pins to some other pins?  Well, then you need some female-to-female jumpers.  They’re good for wiring up sensors whose pinouts don’t match the connections on your microcontroller or interface board.

Includes:

• Parallax Servo Controller
• Crustcrawler SG5-UT Arm with:
  • 1 - HS-805BB
  • 3 - HSR-5995TG
  • 1 - HSC-5998TG

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Features:

• Gyro stabilized
• Indoor and outdoor
• All factory assembled
• Unique electronic control system
• Ultra lightweight carbon fiber frame include 2-way charger-AC adapter or
  automotive adapter

Modes:

• Alive (Taking care of business™) mode
• Song mode
• Monologue mode
• Sing through (Share the spotlight) mode

Vectoring omni-directional bots are really cool, and you know you've always wanted one.  Buy this kit, give it a brain, and then come post about it in our forums.  The platform is 12" on each side, so there's plenty of room for a small single-board computer.

Included: All the nuts and bolts, 2 platforms, battery packs, dual-layer omni-wheels, hubs, motors, and wires.  Basically a complete hardware package.  All it needs is motor controllers, a brain, and… you.

Sale Price: $200

The cells are spaced for air flow, and and the pack is equipped with two built-in fans.  Active cooling allows for longer high-current operation and faster charging.

Sale Price: $40

16 inches wide by 16 inches long, this is the baby of the BattleKits family.  Despite (or perhaps because of) it's small size and simple design, this is a bad ass battle bot platform.  It has great mobility thanks to its two 3-horsepower 24V motors, and the slotted top panel allows the wheels to be in contact with the ground even if the bot gets flipped.

Included: Chassis, motors, wheels, battery pack, Ampflow Mini motor controller… all you need is an R/C receiver or other control signal source, and of course some flame throwers and pneumatic rams and spinning blades and whatnot.

Sale Price: $700

16 inches by 18 inches, four wheel drive.  Chassis only.  No motors, batteries, or controller.

Included: Chassis, wheels, and drive mechanism.

Sale Price: $400

21 inches by 22 inches, four wheel drive.  Comes with two S28-400 dc motors, each churning out a hefty 4.5 horsepower.  The motors themselves are worth the price of this kit.

Included: Chassis, wheels, drive mechanism, motors.

Sale Price: $600

This is the granddaddy of the BattleKits line.  The chassis itself (which, coincidentally enough, is all we're selling here) is 30 inches by 24 inches and weighs 87 lbs.  This thing is solid as a rock.

Included: Chassis, wheels, and drive mechanism.

Sale Price: $500

Don't want a whole BattleKits chassis?  Bolt these onto your own design.  We only have one of each (form A and form B) left in stock, so it's perfect if you only need two wheels.  Motors not included.

Included: Chassis, wheels, and drive mechanism.

Sale Price: $80 per module