I am not new to robotics, in fact i have studied 1 year at university in electronic. We built a robot controlled with the Motorolla 68hc11 microprocessor. From then, 8 years have passed for me without working in the electronic field.
Lately, i have been working on a greenhouse project and was thinking about controlling the environnement of this greenhouse by using various sensors (temperature, humidity, light, wind speed…) and actuators (motor, light bulb, valve, linear actuator…) controlled by a microprocessor. Some actuators need to work in reverse and forward, some don’t. I doubt that i do need a
speed controller since i will be using fix speed.
Now here comes my questions:
Since i am using a fix platform to control the actuators, can i use a 110volt source with power supply to power those actuators via the actuator controllers?
Since some actuators don’t need complex control, do i need a motor controller for each actuator? What about relays and connectors?
I tought it could be nice use current from the good old 110volt AC source. On the other hand i was questionning myself on the accuracy of power supplies, are they all thrustworthy? I also have the potential to use wind power to energize the actuators but it would probably be more expensive.
The Greenhouse project scenario i had, would allow the choice of going with “manual option” or “automatic option” to drive the motors/actuators. I do not want to have actuators controlled only manually. All actuators would be driven directly by the microprocessor’s digital or analog inputs. This being done by using preprogrammed switches, buttons and sensors.
Some actuators controlled by analog inputs will definitly need a proportionnal response to the analog sensors. To do so, if i understand correctly, i will need a controller?
—Fore exemple, i want to compensate for lack of light on a cloudy day. My photosensor working on an analog input gives me a reading. This reading is used to adjust the control of an incandescent lamp.
Welcome to the RobotShop forum. The majority of actuators used in robotics need to be supplied with DC voltage. The source of this DC voltage can be batteries, solar panel, power adapter, etc. You can certainly use 110V AC, but you would need a 110V AC to DC (the appropriate voltage and current) supply.
Actuators do not need a controller; a controller is used mainly when manual control is not possible. The simplest approach is to connect a DC actuator to a DC source. The next step is to attach an On/Off switch, and then an on/off/on switch. Some simple controllers also allow you to use a potentiometer to control both speed and direction manually. Another approach is to use a relay (~$20), but speed is not variable.
