Software Toolchain
The simplified chain of tools to control Cartesian robots built from Contraptor set includes the following (from bottom up):
- Microcontroller that reads/writes digital and analog signals from/to stepper motor drivers, limit switches and other hardware (Arduino)
- Firmware that interprets input from digital/analog pins/USB/serial port, and runs the microcontroller (Arduino GCode Interpreter)
- Host software on the computer that talks to firmware via USB/serial interface and tells firmware what to do
The extended chain relevant to fabrication applications adds the following:
- CAM apps that take input of 3D geometry and with user guidance, generate the motion path of a fabricating tool
- CAD apps that create 3D geometry files