How to Make a Robot - Lesson 5: Choosing a Motor Controller

Let's Make Robots Tutorials
15

thanks for your guidance.plz send lesson no. 6 to lesson no. 10 as soon as possible

16

plz send lesson no. 6 to lesson no. 10 as soon as possible.

17

i have enjoyed alot by reading
and making a robo

18

wens d nxt post guy’s?? i’m gettin a bit impatient!

19

Very usefull…
Tnx a lot

20

its very usefull…

21

UIROBOT integrated stepper motor with motion controller will be a good choice for your robotics.

22

You are indeed right. Encoder inputs and the possibility to implement PID control systems id definitely an important factor when choosing a motor controller. Nevertheless, it was left out of the tutorial since it is a fairly advanced feature and might confuse beginners who will most likely not use it.

It is also important to note that for small scale robots that do not move too fast, it is possible to read the encoders by using the main robot microcontroller. Since the robot is not doing much processing, taking also care of control algorithms and encoder readings is certainly a possibility.

Rest assured that encoders will be covered in the upcoming tutorial about sensors.

Thanks for the feedback!

23

Good article, but you left out a very significant bit : feedback/rotary encoders.

If your DC motor controller does not accept encoder input, thats a significant factor.

24

Greetings to all, can you help me with something?
I would like to build some FPV 4wd platform size 25 x 30 cm (without wheels), with 150 mm diameter wheels, which top speed would be around 8km/h.
I am thinking to use four motors: PGHM-01 or RB-Pol-81
is it possible to connect each side motors parallel together and use this controler: RB-Dim-23 or RB-Bat-23

for controling platform I will use rc transmitter

25

The robot I am constructing will have two 12V motors. Is there a recommended motor controller I should use on this?

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@mja You need to know the motor’s specs - not just its voltage. Take a look at the article and the example below.

27

Coleman,

This article is very helpful however I am new to all of this. I need a small Motor Controller that will hook up to this motor http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/cgi-bin/catalog/e_catalog.cgi?CAT_ID=re_260ra would you suggest the RB-Pol-16?

Thanks!

Colin

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@Colin The motor in your link operates at 3V nominal, and most DC motor controllers start at 6V. RB-Pol-16 is one of a small few which can go down to 3V and would be a good choice.

29

I am making a robot arm that can lift at least 10 lbs. What kind of moter should be recomended (im wanting 6 joints) I also want to know what kind of microcontrol and motor controller i would need

30

@Coleman,

Thanks! do you have any other manufacturer recommendations? i know that might be weird on this site… hahaha

  • Colin
31

@Brandon We understand you want to lift 10 pounds, but at what distance from the base? We would suggest going straight to using DC linear actuators: https://www.robotshop.com/en/actuators.html

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@Colin Recommendations for… a UAV in general of just the flight controller?

33

Maybe about 1 foot

34

@Brandon so you want to have six degrees of freedom but the gripper will only be 12" from the base? Take a look at this tool to get an idea of the torque required at each joint: https://www.robotshop.com/blog/en/robot-arm-torque-calculator-9712