Hello,
I am looking for a cheap H-bridge motor driver to control a single DC motor and the cheapest one (Pololu DRV8838 I think) is out of stock. Can I simply buy a dual motor driver and use it for only one motor? If so, do I need to do anything on the second motor side or can I just connect my one motor and everything works fine? Please let me know since the second cheapest single DC motor driver is like $16…
Thanks,
Chris
Whatever motor controller you select needs to be able to provide enough current at the right voltage for your motor. The cheapest one simply may not work.
Can you provide a link to the motor you have? Also, how do you want to control the motor - this will determine the communication method.
An article which may help: robotshop.com/blog/en/how-to … oller-3695
I have been looking at this Pololu motor: robotshop.com/en/pololu-298- … or-hp.html
as well as this other one: amazon.ca/gp/product/B00M1JG … 3JGESWVM9Q
I want to control the motor using RF with a 433MHz receiver. I’m just not very inclined on the electrical side…not sure how many batteries I will need as well. I’ll look at the link later today when I have time, it seems to be very useful though.
I wasn’t planning on using a microcontroller, which I’m assuming is basically the speed controller? I’m just trying to make a proof of concept so hopefully it’s fine to omit it.
Chris
6V, 1.6A stall (so plan for around 0.4A continuous, which is quite lot)
12V, and don’t see any evident specifications… thanks Amazon. Can’t help you with this one unless you find the information.
Most motor controllers can’t accept serial input from an RF unit unless there’s a microcontroller on board as well. Normally you need:
RF transmitter -> RF receiver -> Microcontroller -> Motor controller -> Motor
Not at all - a speed controller can provide the current necessary to run a DC motor, whereas a microcontroller is used for calculations and signals.
It might be a bit overkill for your current needs, but the following tutorial series should help quite a bit:
robotshop.com/blog/en/how-to … son-1-3707
Okay, so I went through the lessons and it definitely helped, thanks for posting. I have my motor and motor controller selected now as well as receiver/transmitter:
Motor controller: robotshop.com/en/pololu-dual … 12fng.html (I’m using a dual driver for only 1 motor, but that’s fine right?)
Motor: robotshop.com/en/12v-110rpm- … motor.html
Transmitter/receiver: robotshop.com/en/433-mhz-rf-link-kit.html
I’m expecting my max current/torque to be 0.389A and 1.79kgf-cm. I think what I chose should work but I’ve never done this before so someone’s confirmation would be nice!
I’m still however confused as to why I would need a microcontroller. I’m familiar with C++ programming so I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I need to program a bit but I’m just not sure why it would be necessary. I only need to make my motor spin both directions and I though the motor controller dealt with that through H-bridge. Could you possibly skim through this youtube video: youtube.com/watch?v=kuVMidJ … redirect=1 and tell me why this guy doesn’t need to use a microcontroller for his robot? I was basically planning on following this.
Question is - how do you plan to connect the receiver to the motor controller?
We suggest reading through the motor controller’s guide to see what communication it needs, and then compare that to what the receiver provides.
You’ll find the two cannot communicate with one another, and as such, need a microcontroller between them.
The motor controller needs four connections: PWM pins A and B and two direction pins.
I see. As for the motor controller, I can connect the PWM pins A and B to any PWM pin on the microcontroller, right?
Could you possibly suggest a microcontroller for me? I looked through the guide and so I know I want a cheap, relatively small, that connects to a regular USB, that’s popular and can control the direction of a single DC motor through my motor driver specified in my last post. It is then connected to my receiver. I was planning on powering my whole system with 4-6xAA batteries, so 6-9V. The microcontrollers take 5V so…do I also need to buy some sort of transformer now? Is the Arduino Micro USB microcontroller satisfactory for my need mentioned above? Any other suggestions?
Normally yes.
Something Arduino-based is usually a great start.
robotshop.com/en/arduino-mic … dules.html
Flagship product: robotshop.com/en/arduino-uno … rev-3.html
Small with USB input: robotshop.com/en/pro-micro-a … RB-Spa-650
It depends on which model you choose - some take 7-12V while others require a dedicated 5V source. Take a look through the category above and see what interests you.
Yup - standard choice.
