Raspberry Pi Forums

Hi there!
I am currently working on a project with a friend which aims to push a button connected to an aerosol in many increments. To give an impression, we need approximately 100 steps in the space of the 1cm compression depth.

So far, we are planning to go for a Raspberry Pi 2 approach here [1] in combination with a Gertbot Motor Control Board here [2] in order to power a Linear Stepper Motor to push the button. One of the candidates for this motor is the RS 28.1N Stepper Electric Linear Actuator, 12V dc, 48mm Stroke found here [3] and we have a few questions around suitability and compatibility:

1. Most importantly, we’d like to confirm that this motor is indeed compatible with the Gertbot & Raspberry Pi 2 combo. Otherwise, we’re a little dead in the water!
2. Secondly, we have noticed that there is a 5V power supply required to power the Raspberry Pi 2 and we have found a 12V Electric Motor. Does this mean we need to purchase some kind of transformer or extra power supply to step up the voltage or is this handled by the Gertbot board itself?
3. We would like to write C# .NET code with the Windows 10 Internet of Things operating system. Can we operate the motor plugged into the Gertbot this way?

We would appreciate any help as we are both software developers with very limited experience in electronic engineering!

Links Provided:
[1]: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/8326274/
[2]:http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/8486806/
[3]: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/4540990/

I'd say the chances of doing this with Windows IoT are less than zero.

For a more reasoned response you ought to post in the Windows IoT forum.

I'd say the chances of doing this with Windows IoT are less than zero.

I don't know. All the gertbot requires is access to standard serial port drivers.
In contracts to all other motor controllers it does NOT require you to access the GPIO pins yourself in any way.

1. Most importantly, we’d like to confirm that this motor is indeed compatible with the Gertbot & Raspberry Pi 2 combo. Otherwise, we’re a little dead in the water!

I can't guarantee it but I would say it is 99.9% likely to work.
I have yet to find a 12V stepper motor which the Gertbot can't drive.
(I have used it even with some weird stepper motors for car mirrors where the two drive coils have a common central tap)

2. Secondly, we have noticed that there is a 5V power supply required to power the Raspberry Pi 2 and we have found a 12V Electric Motor. Does this mean we need to purchase some kind of transformer or extra power supply to step up the voltage or is this handled by the Gertbot board itself?

The Gertbot is dual voltage, that is: the motor voltage and the operating voltage are separate. But you have to supply both voltages, it does not generate them itself.
Making a voltage lower is much, much easier then making it higher. Thus you best start with a 12V supply and then generate 5V from that.
Here http://www.gertbot.com/toaste.html is an example in the first image of a small 5V DC/DC converter which can do the job.
That page also has a parts list with that converter.

3. We would like to write C# .NET code with the Windows 10 Internet of Things operating system. Can we operate the motor plugged into the Gertbot this way?

I know next to nothing of C# or windows 10 IoT. You can try the Raspberry Pi windows IoT forum to find out if it supports the raspberry-Pi serial port.
If so it should be not too difficult to control the board as you can open the port as a standard file and read/write it.
The C-drivers can be incorporated with C++ (see all the GUIs I provide) so I assume driving it from C# should be compatible.
Having said that: you can make your life A LOT easier if you use a standard Rasbian image as I provide example C and Python drivers for that.

....as we are both software developers with very limited experience in electronic engineering!

That is what the Gertbot was designed for. It does all the electronics so the users can concentrate on the software.

Gert van Loo wrote:

joan wrote:I'd say the chances of doing this with Windows IoT are less than zero.

I don't know. All the gertbot requires is access to standard serial port drivers.
...

I don't think Pi Windows IoT has usable serial devices.