I’m a software guy mostly. I’m trying to build a turntable that will rotate via a stepper motor.
I have a simple question, both the raspberry pi stepper motor HAT and the big easy driver controller require a 12V mains power supply. How can I connect a standard 12V power supply to either of these drivers? All the power supplies available on the store have a jack on one end. How can I physically attach this to the board? I’m a complete novice and am looking for a solution to this probably really dumb problem.
Thank you for posting on the forum.
First, there are no dump problems and your are welcome to post any robotic/technical related questions, project ideas and issues encountered on RobotShop’s forum. The RobotShop staff and the community will help you with this
Most of the drivers like the ones you mentioned (DC/Stepper Driver HAT for Raspberry Pi and the Big Easy Driver) have screw terminal connectors for power input where you can connect a 2 wire power supply.
For a convenience connection of the driver with a power adapter (with a jack), you can use this WH-02 Wiring Harness with wall pack connector.
The other option, is to use this 12V 15A Power Supply that you can directly connect to the driver with the appropriate wires (wires with enough conducting material that can conduct the amount of current your stepper require without heating too much).
You will need to be sure that the power supply you are using can provide enough current to the stepper and that the driver is capable of delivering this amount of current.
You can consult these blog posts that contains a lot of useful information about motor controllers :
