The Parts
The Wifi Spinner is mainly comprised of the harware and the software/firmware. The hardware is comprised of a microcontroller, and H-bridge, and the stepper motor assembly. The software/firmware is comprised of the firmware loaded onto the microcontroller, and the software which the client uses for control and display.
More on the Hardware
The microcontroller board is based on the Atmel ATmega32 was purchased from www.futurlec.com. The DIO lines are used to drive the H-bridge, and the H-brige is used to drive the stepper motor coils. The keen reader will note that the H-bridge used for this project is way too big for the stepper motor used. The H-bridge is a new design based on sphisticated MOSFET switches and this priject was this new design's shakeout.
Very simply, the controller's job is to translate rs232 serial commands from the computer into DIO instructions for stepper motor movement.
