Is it possible to use motorized faders using the arduino's analog inputs?
has anyone ever tried?
Do you want to control the motor or read the fader (potentiometer) with Arduino ?
I think that both is possible. Motorized faders are just slide potentiometers where the wiper is moved by a motor. Arduino can both control a DC (or stepper) motor, and read the value of the potentiometer.
i see, well i'd like to read the fader from my host app.
Does it need some kind of midi input in order to work?
The "raw" ones i have seen was just a potentiometer with a small dc motor with a spindle moving the pot. wiper, so i think you just apply a voltage to the motor to drive it. I think that some fadeers built into mixers can be controlled with some kind of external signal, maybe MIDI but i'm nor sure.
i've never used motors before as i've just bought my first arduino. However, i assume that in order to use motors (or motorized faders) you need to use the digital pins (as outputs). If so, can I use 48 motorized faders (meaning 48 motors) in a single arduino? I'm using 6 analog multiplexers for the analog inputs.
thanks for your help
If so, can I use 48 motorized faders (meaning 48 motors) in a single arduino?
You'll need something else to control the motors. A Arduino cant handle that kind of current.
Google around for various motor controllers. Then use something like a 595 to allow the Arduino to control that many motor controllers.
To control a DC motor you would typically use a PWM output NOT a digital pin.
You could use a digital pin (+ something more) if you just want to turn the motor on / of, but this would not allow you to control the speed or direction af the motor. You would al least need to control direction since the faders must be able to go both up and down.
so as a minimu you would need some way to turn the motor on and off, and a way to switch polarity on the supply voltage to th motor to enable it to forward / reverse. This would still not give you control over speed.
wow, sounds pretty complicated..anyway.
thnaks guys
You could use a digital pin (+ something more) if you just want to turn the motor on / of, but this would not allow you to control the speed or direction af the motor. You would al least need to control direction since the faders must be able to go both up and down.
Using two output pins allows direction. Speed requires PWM though.