Intel 8097 based controller for an XY plotter

Abstract This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of an Intel 8097 based controller for an XY plotter. The plotter utilized two stepper motors to drive its two axes and a solenoid for the pen up/pen down functions. A pulley mounted on the shaft and a steel wire belt were used to translate the steps of the motor to the platform with the pen holder. Driver circuits for the motor and the solenoid were developed and implemented. Microcomputer hardware was developed to implement the control system for the plotter. Algorithms for linear and circular contouring, which were adapted from Brensenham's raster scanning algorithms, were implemented for the discrete step motion. They were translated into pl / m -96, the programming language for this particular microcontroller. The system developed is capable of drawing geometric shapes utilizing the primitives developed. These concepts along with the software implementing the drawing algorithms can be used for a computer numerical control machine.