ARM Controller MKIII

Our latest controller is the Coil Winder ARM Controller MKIII
The information on this page is for the MKII controller.

The ARM Controller MKII still has all the features of the original controller but with the following enhancement’s:

  • Manual controller dial now built in on PCB.
  • Outputs that can be switch 5 volts to control different peripherals.
  • 8 Inputs with 3 of them dedicated for Limit/Homing and Emergency Stop.
  • Higher speed pulse trains.
  • Opto Isolated inputs can be switched to use 5/12 Volts.
  • On board Flash memory that can be used to buffer upto 130000 commands. This allows for very small movements to be sent to the controller with no delay between them from the software’s new Absolute Scripting Engine and build up some fancy windings.
  • Fram memory also on board for Flash memory optimization algorithm.
  • Jtag connectors for firmware upgrading.
  • Free software and firmware upgrades for life!

Inputs/Outputs

The picture below shows the controllers I/O’s. We have inputs that can be used as triggers within the software, such as buttons connected and mapped to key presses and Outputs that can be configured to switch 5 volt outputs. The outputs will probably we added to the Scripting page in the future release of software and firmware.

Here we show how you would connect your switches to the inputs.

If you wished to use these inputs to control the Start, Stop, Pause and Home buttons within the software then you can do this via the Keyboard Mapping Tab within the software.

The other 3 inputs are used for Limit/Homing switches and the Emergency Stop button.
You can use N/O switches also for this or Inductive Proximity Sensors.

At the moment the outputs are not implemented in the software or firmware, but will be soon.
The outputs switch the 0v line and here are some typical connections scenarios.

Below is a diagram showing the connection of Stepper Motors or Servo Motors

If needed then add resistors to each of the Enable, Step and Direction lines. Check with the motor driver manufacturer for details.
We recommend to set the motor drivers to 1600 pulses per revolution.

As you can see by the picture above the motors should have a separate power supply which is a much higher voltage than the controller board which runs on 5V which can be supplied by the USB lead attached or a external supply.
J1 can be set to choose External 5V or USB 5V.

In the software under the Settings/Diagnostics tab set the Steps Per Bobbin Revolution (SPBR), Steps Per Feeder Revolution (SPFR) and the Ballscrew Pitch you have on your machine(BSP). Make sure you click save afterwards to save as a custom machine.

You have 4 jumpers on the controller board:

J1 Sets the 5 volt supply for the controller to be either from the USB power or a external supply.
J2 Ignore this one
J3 Set this jumper to the left hand side to choose Custom Machine.
If you have upgraded your Firmware to version 2.1 and running the latest 3.xx software then J2 and J3 should of been removed when doing the firmware update and left off the board.
J6 Sets the input for the Limit Switches to 5V or 12V

Software.

We have 2 Current editions of the software:

ARM Controller MKII Desktop Edition
Our extensive desktop application filled with tons of tools to create a vast array of different coils ranging from guitar pickups to LVDT coils. This software requires a computer running windows to use.
To Read more about our software and to download Click Here.

Windows 10/IoT UWP Application
This UWP application is currently in BETA and as so is limited to only the automated winding for the time being.
But the beauty of this software is it can be deployed to a SBC Board running windows 10 Core such as the Raspberry pi, this completely removes the necessity of having a full computer rig to communicate with your coil winder.
All information regarding the UWP Application can be found here –