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Controlling Smart Servos with an Arduino

(Author: David Couch)

Controlling Smart Servos with an Arduino

by David Couch
 
This document describes how I set up a test and demonstration of the control of Meccano servos, of the type used in the Meccanoids, by an Arduino microcontroller. In spite of the files provided by Meccano being named MeccaBrain, this is not about programming the MeccaBrain computer in the Meccanoid.

In 2015 three documents were made available on the Meccano web site. They are no longer available there, and so if you would like them please send me an email at david.couch46@gmail.com  One is a file named Meccano_SmartModuleProtocols_2015.pdf, which is a description of the communication protocol between a computer, the servos and the LED Module. The other is a file named meccanoid-library.zip. It contains two files named MeccaBrain.cpp and MeccaBrain.h, which are an Arduino library of code to implement the protocol and control the servos and LED module.
 

Installing the library files

 

Store the file meccanoid-library.zip anywhere. Navigate to the Arduino library folder. In Windows this is normally DocumentsArduinolibraries. In this folder create a new folder named MeccaBrain. Copy the two files from the zip file into the new folder.

Wayne Hortensius has kindly provided an additional file named keywords.txt. It is not essential but it is helpful. Its function is to make the keywords, mainly function names, in the library appear in a different colour when you edit code. The file is appended to this document. Select the text with the mouse, copy and paste it into Wordpad or another editor, and save it as keywords.txt in the new MeccaBrain folder.
 

Connecting the servos to the Arduino

 

As a test I connected the three servos in the left arm of my Meccanoid to an Arduino. The connectors used on the Meccano servos are a Futaba proprietary type known as a J connector. I bought an extension cable for this connector, like the one shown here or here. The servo connector is unplugged from the MeccaBrain and plugged into the female connector on this cable. I cut off the male connector, and separated and stripped the wires.

The protocols document includes a diagram showing how a servo is connected

Fig 1 The Adafruit Proto Screw Shield with the circuitry described in this paragraph

to an Arduino and a separate power supply. Two resistors are required. I built this simple circuit on an Adafruit Proto Screw Shield, as shown in fig. 1. The positive power supply lead and servo power lead (both red) are connected to the W terminal. A 22k resistor is soldered to the pad for this terminal and to another pad. A 1k resistor is soldered between this pad and a second pad. A wire connects the second pad to the pin 12 terminal. Another wire connects the first pad to the pad for the X terminal. The yellow or white data wire of the servo is connected to the X terminal. The power supply negative lead and the servo ground lead (both black) are connected to the ground terminal.

An alternative would be to solder a three-pin header to the shield, with the required connections, and plug the servo plug on to it, with an extension lead if required. 
 

The example sketch

 

I have written an example sketch which includes the code required to control most of the functions of the servos. It assumes the presence of three daisy-chained servos, as in the arm of a Meccanoid KS, but it will probably work with the two servos of the smaller Meccanoid. After uploading the sketch to the Arduino, open the Serial Monitor to see the output from the sketch.

The sketch does the following:
(1) Establish the communication with the servos. The Serial Monitor displays the values sent to and received from the servos.
(2) Move each servo back and forth three times.
(3) Cycle through the colours of the LEDs in the servos.
(4) Put the second servo in LIM mode and repeatedly read and display its position. If you move the servo by hand you will see the values changing.

For a copy of the sketch file please send email to david.couch46@gmail.com 

 

Module data

 
The list of command and data values given in the protocol document is incomplete. Here is the complete list, from both that document and MeccaBrain.cpp:

FF    Header byte
FE    ID not assigned
FD   Erase ID (resets Smart Module)
FC   Request module type
FB   Reserved
FA   Set LIM mode

Servo colour setting
F7   White
F6   Cyan
F5   Magenta
F4   Blue
F3   Yellow
F2   Green
F1   Red
F0   Off

Values from 00 to EF are defined as position data. However the library will send only values from 18 to E8. The range of reported position values I have seen is 04 to E9.
 

The file keywords.txt

 

#######################################
# Syntax Coloring Map for MeccaBrain
#######################################

#######################################
# Datatypes (KEYWORD1)
#######################################

MeccaBrain KEYWORD1

#######################################
# Methods and Functions (KEYWORD2)
#######################################

outputByteInfo KEYWORD2
inputByteInfo KEYWORD2
inputBytesInfo KEYWORD2
checkSumByteInfo KEYWORD2
servoPositionsInfo KEYWORD2
moduleTypeInfo KEYWORD2
moduleNumInfo KEYWORD2
getLEDorder KEYWORD2
getLEDbyte1 KEYWORD2
getLEDbyte2 KEYWORD2
setLEDColor KEYWORD2
setServoColor KEYWORD2
setServoPosition KEYWORD2
setServotoLIM KEYWORD2
getServoPosition KEYWORD2
communicate KEYWORD2
sendByte KEYWORD2
receiveByte KEYWORD2
calculateCheckSum KEYWORD2

#######################################
# Constants (LITERAL1)
#######################################

 

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