Android Bluetooth Wireless DRO with Arduino and igaging scales

I did Yuriy's wireless dro for igaging scales today.

$30 Arduino Uno Rev3, $10 Bluetooth Slave module from ebay, $24 in scale connectors from digikey ($8 per scale), three 10K ohm res, one 220 ohm res, one 330 ohm res , Arduino Proto shield with breadboard, few pieces of jumper wire (Arduino Uno, Proto shield, breadboard, jumper wire, and resistors all from Radio Shack), iGaging scales (sold by Grizzly and others), sketch, and a used $100 ebay bluetooth equipped android 9.7 tablet = Wireless Digital Readout!

Here it is with one scale wired

http://www.yuriystoys.com/2012/09/ar...eless-dro.html

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps21a26620.jpg'

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psf8a66ef8.jpg

Let me see if I can break this out a bit more for folks - at least describe the parts a bit more and give a how to like post. Links accurate as of 6/17/2013.

The potential here is to measure tools and see the measurement on a big screen that does not have to stay in the shop or be wired to the setup. Only the scale and controller stays with the machine. Also one screen can be used on any tool - just build a scale/arduino setup for each tool and just "pair"/connect it up to each controller you want to use on your tablet.

Yuriy's site has all the technical info you need. This write up explains some basic arduino setup as well. Read Yuriy's site/blogs too. It is the most informative.
http://www.yuriystoys.com/2012/01/le...o-project.html
Bear with it as the posts progress over the months and his design changes once he decides on the arduino and the tablet.

Android tablet or android phone with blue tooth: These are your typical non-ipad tablets above $150 new. Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab are other popular ones. Just check the specs/google your tablet to make sure the tablet or phone you choose has bluetooth network capability.

Link to a tablet with bluetooth

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51P70RVMbZL.jpg


iGaging scale: These are the cheap Chinese scales used to measure distance. They have a little remote mountable scale display that takes 3v CR2032 batteries.

Link to an iGaging scale

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...5L._SX385_.jpg


Arduino Uno - A little microcontroller /small little computer that has inputs and outputs. It runs on 5V and can also supply 3.3V to devices. You write code in a "sketch" and upload it to the Uno via a USB connection and it runs when powered up. In this case we monitor inputs from the scale and output it to the Bluetooth module.

Link to an Arduino Uno clone

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...RL._SX385_.jpg

Here is one that is a kit with the breadboard and jumper wires as well. The breadboard makes it easy to plug in jumper wired pins in a circuit. It has a ground trace and positive trace along the edge horizontally (all those horizontal holes are connected together) and above, in the numbered build area, all vertical holes are connected together. So anything plugged in in a line are connected.

Link to kit

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...0L._SX385_.jpg



Bluetooth to Serial module: This is a little add on board that takes serial communication from the arduino and outputs it wirelessly across a bluetooth network. It uses an in and out connection to the arduino and 5V+ and ground.

link to a Bluetooh Module

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg



Arduino Proto Shield: This board is nothing more than a build platform to build simple circuits on an arduino. Think electronic workbench with ports for all the features of the arduino.

Link to a Proto Shield

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...0L._SX385_.jpg


Connector for iGaging scale - allows us to connect the mini-usb style connector from the scale to our arduino without cutting any cables. I ordered mine from a website called digikey. Part number is 708-1235-ND. The description is CABLE IP68 B MINI USB-5WAY CRIMP - but it is really a just a USB Mini B (5 pos) Male Plug to Rectangular 5 pos Plug. You need one per scale.

Link to connector

http://media.digikey.com/photos/Bulg...PX0443_sml.jpg

Resistors: A resistor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit. They are color coded to determine the ohm rating of each one.

Link to a multipack of 1/4watt resistors

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...yL._SY300_.jpg



So with those parts we can assemble a circuit on the breadboard. Get building:

We need a few key pieces of info. (In the diagram it also shows capacitors but a note in the blog says they can be omitted so I did). Namely the resistor values and colors:
So in the diagram:
Resistor R1-R3 = 10Kohm = and the colors are brown black orange gold
Resistor R4 = 330ohm = and the color is orange orange brown gold
Resistor R5 = 220ohm = and the color is red red brown gold

On the USB igaging digikey connector - red is 1, 2 is white, 3 is green, and 4 is black and we will not use 5 black on the connector.

Follow Yuriy's schematic being careful not to short any wires. Use the bread board for now. Latter after you are comfortable and like your circuit you can solder up a final version.

Once done verify it is correct several times. Again C1-3 can be omitted - hook wire four on the igaging usb connector to ground only.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dR7SCLbDE3...-schematic.png

You will also need three pieces of software.

First you need to install Yuriy's software on your tablet. Seach "touch dro HD google play" on your tablet and install that software on your tablet.

Next is the arduino IDE - easiest to do on a PC/laptop with a USB port. This software is what is used to load the arduino.
Here is the windows version of the installer
Other OS versions are HERE

You also need Yuriy's sketch to load with the above software:
Yuriy's sketch is here

1. Install that Arduino IDE software (#1 above) and start the arduino software

2. Connect up your Uno (without the shield) paying attention to the com port the driver selects

3. Select that com port in the Arduino software (under Tools, Serial port) - if you do not know this look up the Arduino Uno in the ports section of your OS's Device manager

4. Select the Uno board in the Arduino software (at the top of Tools, Board)

5. Load the sketch into the program (File, Open, ArduinoDRO.ino) agreeing to any prompts about sketch naming

6. Click the check mark to verify it and make sure it says "Done Compiling" and no errors are listed

7. Click the arrow that will upload the sketch to your Arduino - Make sure it completes with no errors

8. Unplug the arduino

9. Connect the shield with the circuit and plug in the scale

10. Plug the arduino in again. In the shop you will need to supply a Power adapter of some kind for the arduino like THIS. The light on the Bluetooth module is flashing at this point

11. Start your tablet and the Touch DRO HD software making sure bluetooth is turned on on the tablet.

12. Press connect in the upper right hand side and you should see it connect, you should see green digits on the DRO screen, and the light on the bluetooth module should be red.

13. Slide the scale and the numbers should change with the scale movement.

Congrats you have a working wireless Yuriy Touchscreen DRO setup!!!!

Mikie

I will be putting two scales on a my 12" Craftsman Commercial Metal Lathe from 1972.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps3eb77af2.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps1297115d.jpg


A Shumatech DRO-550 is going on the 1987 Menards clone of a Rong Fu milldrill. It also uses iGaging scales. It is also getting some CNC treatment so the Shumatech setup will be redundant then.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psa86582d5.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psbc9f7bc0.jpg

Thanks; another project added to my "list".

Thanks. I've used iGaging devices on several machines. I find them to be much more reliable than the Wixey readouts. Knowing the protocol could be very useful.
BTW, I came up with a clever idea of how to use the Igaging readout on my jointer. Most of the replys were questioning my wisdom about why I would ever want a DRO on my jointer. Oh well.... If interested, I'll repost here.

Sure George. Post up. I too am wondering why a jointer would need that level of accuracy. Planer sure but a jointer? To me its a get the work flat and two surfaces 90 degrees machine. The other tools (TS, planer, crosscut saw choice) are where the measurements count.

The DRO on the jointer comes in handy when a precision amount of material must be removed from the edge or face of a board. I use this a good bit when routing signs on my CNC router. I can tell V-Carve to cut the lettering 0.020" below the surface. After the routing is done I can seal and spray paint the lettering. When the paint dries, I set the jointer for 0.020", and take off the face of the board and the unwanted paint.
The trick to putting a DRO on a jointer is measure just the vertical movement, without the horizontal movement causing error. Grizzly does it with a bar of steel parallel with the table and a roller on their measuring head that rolls along the bar, thus measuring only the vertical component. This is fairly complex and since the bar and roller can get covered with sawdust, it can be error prone.
In my system I use a pair of Heim joints on the ends of a fairly long shaft, about 12". One end is connected to the table, the other to an Igaging reader head. One of the beauties of the Igaging system, is that you can cut the scale to any length you want. It's aluminum, so a chop saw works fine. In this case I cut it just long enough to get 1" of reader head travel. This makes a very robust reader.
There is a small amout of cosine error, but it is not much and it is repeatable.

Attachment 264677Attachment 264678Attachment 264679

Thanks for the info.

MK

Mike, do you still have the Arduino sketch to read the scales for TouchDRO? I had it working years ago bit lost the sketch somehow. I would like to get it working again.
Chuck

I can check. Pretty sure Yuris project info is still out there.

http://www.yuriystoys.com/p/downloads.html#arduino

https://www.yuriystoys.com/2012/01/r...ales-with.html