I know there’s Arduino learning kits out there, but I’m not sure that I necessarily want to do a bunch of projects for the sake of projects. But I would like to order all the basic parts I need to start experimenting on my own with robotics and motor controls. Can someone recommend a good list of stuff to start experimenting with motors?
I’m not confident enough to order all the right parts I need to get a stepper or serveo working.
So let’s say I wanted to try something like this:
And I bought an Arduino Uno.
What else would I need to start making things work? Assume I know nothing about robotics or electronics. (My background is in software).
From reading, it looks like I need a motor controller/driver/encoder. I have seen DM542T and DM556T recommended. Do those work with the motor?
Power supply. What all do I need to power the motor and it’s controller, since it can’t run off the Arduino’s power? Assume that I want to plug everything into the wall to start with, and not use batteries.
Jumper wires? Resistors? Breadboard? Any other kind of chips? Is there a kit I would buy just for the accessories even if I don’t intend to build all the projects?
My thought is that I can get a munch nicer motor and controller instead of all the stuff in the kit, and just focus on the basics that I need for robotics.
It wouldn’t hurt to have some buttons, switches, dials, leds, to play with.
Solder-less would be great. I have a solder iron, but have never liked doing it.
Other recommended motors (servo or stepper) with a matching controller and power supply recommendation? I really have no idea how to pair the controllers and motors to each other. I’ve learned that NEMA is the physical size. I know about steps per revolution. I don’t know why I care about how the motor works inside, other than getting a controller that matches it.
For a beginner let me tell you that you are on the right track, the next thing you need is the power supply. If you are getting an Arduino you will probably get the power adapter as well, and you can use the Arduino to power other electronic components if necessary. However, as you said it yourself, the Arduino is not powerful enough to control the motor and that’s why you need the motor controller, and you will need to choose the power supply/battery according to the nominal voltage of your motor. For the motor you mentioned you could use a 12V rechargeable lead acid battery pack and get a battery charger or use a wall adapter as long as it can provide 12VDC and enough current for the motor, maybe this one could interest you https://www.robotshop.com/en/sparkfun-atx-power-connector-breakout-kit-12v-5v-4-pin.html.
Yes, as you are planning on experimenting with different types of control I would suggest getting some jumper wires, a breadboard, a potentiometer (visit the sections I linked, there you may find a kit that includes the things you are looking for or if you don;t have the Arduino already maybe one of the
Arduino Kits would be perfect for getting the essentials).
Other recommended motors (servo or stepper) with a matching controller and power supply recommendation?
It depends on what you are looking for, I would suggest checking this tutorial and see if one type of motor calls your attention:
There are some DC motor controllers that can also control small servos, so maybe getting one of those would be nice, and you can also use DC motor drivers to control lineal actuators so you may want to check those out. And you may want to also experiment with RC so maybe visit the R/C DC Controllers section, Sabertooth’s are very popular and offer lots of ways of controlling them.
Agree Geraldine below . Try to have an actual project in mind to use these components. too easy to be content with something that works as per the manual but you will not appreciate what lilmits you are working in
I used the spark fun stepper motor controller . Puta 55 timer together for the step speed input. ( on a bread board ( as per geraldine advises breadboard etc)
Tried to make a model railway turntable with flat footprint. Abandoned that solution as I quickly ran up against the enormous heat fromm stepper motors . Enough to melt all my mounting brackets…
Which then sparked me to make a 4 channel " pancake slip ring " with a simply dc motor on the rotor LOL
Give it a go with some practical aim in mind . You will learn a lot more that way m ciao Ms O
So at this point I got a Mega, some breadboards, jumpers, leds, and other basic stuff.
For motors, these are the projects that I want to do:
I want to control a DSLR camera with a pan/tilt armature, and put it on a sliding track, with the possibility of adding motors to control lens zoom and focus as well. The goal is smooth movement and very quiet operation. In addition to motor recommendations, I’m also interested in recommendations on where to get and what parts to get for building mechanical armatures. For example, I’ve found c-channel and v-slot extrusions and gantry kits, but some are screw drive only, and I’m not sure if belt drive would be smoother and quieter for camera movements.
I also need to build some kind of pivoting armature that holds the camera, possibly with a fluid-drag type bearing. So the motor is not connected directly to the camera, but rather uses a belt to rotate the armature, so the weight does not bear on the motor.
I’m also interested in building my own 3D printer and CNC router at some point.
To start with, I’d like to get one aspect of the camera armature working. Any recommendations on fluid drag bearings and/or armature parts?
For the pan/tilt you will need some Servo Motors, for the slider you will need a DC Motor and for the lens zoom and focus a Stepper Motor. For the mechanical parts you can visit the following sections:
