I have Arduino Nano microcontroller and a 12V motor. I am still about to buy a motor driver(by the way - does this have specific requirements depending on Arduino controller or motor?). Anyways, I am wondering how should I set up this system so that I could use the Arduino Nano for controlling the motor's turning rates while feeding the motor with full 12V. And now I am lost.
I want to know quite a lot of things:
What power supply properties do I need? I assume I need 12V power supply, but does anything else play a role here and how do I find out what kind of specifications I need?
How to set up the circuits so that it worked + my Nano board didn't smoke out?
What else kind of components do I need (like resistors?)?
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My apologies for so basic questions, I am just new to all the electronics. I am building myself a racing wheel controller. I am using this motor for force feedback and the Nano for controlling everything (communicating between computer and controller). Do you have any else suggestions for my project to succeed?
First thing is how much current (Amps) does the motor require, 2 values are needed, 1: the full load current, how much current does the motor need in normal operation? 2: stall current, how much current does it take to accelerate the motor from stopped up to full speed while loaded? Will the motor be reversible or always run the same direction? Do you need variable speed or will the motor always run at full speed? What type of motor, brushed, brushless, stepper?
Start off by telling us what type of 12V motor you have...a link to a datasheet or where you got it from would be good. The way you drive the motor and so what other components you will need depends on what type it is.
That's going to be fairly easy once you have the details. It sounds like the other parts of your project are going to be more challenging.
But if you Google "arduino force feedback steering" you may get some ideas because it has been done before.
Looks like 4.7A stall (at 12V? - not clear as its rated for 12 to 24V for some bizarre reason)
Is the 15600 rpm at 12V or 24V? Who knows - not very clear specs are they.
Anyway, assuming for now 5A stall and 2.2A starting current, you are going to need a MOSFET
H-bridge driver like one of the Pololu ones, rated for at least 5A. Non-MOSFET H-bridge
will just get too hot to be sensible.
[ BTW: You are wise to ask before buying the motor driver, a lot of people come here after having bought
an inappropriate driver for the motor, or buy the driver before choosing the motor. ]
MarkT:
Looks like 4.7A stall (at 12V? - not clear as its rated for 12 to 24V for some bizarre reason)
Is the 15600 rpm at 12V or 24V? Who knows - not very clear specs are they.
Anyway, assuming for now 5A stall and 2.2A starting current, you are going to need a MOSFET
H-bridge driver like one of the Pololu ones, rated for at least 5A. Non-MOSFET H-bridge
will just get too hot to be sensible.
[ BTW: You are wise to ask before buying the motor driver, a lot of people come here after having bought
an inappropriate driver for the motor, or buy the driver before choosing the motor. ]
Thanks for information. I am pretty sure that it's 15.6K RPM at 24V, as it would make sense to indicate maximum. I haven't tested(and I don't feel like being able to detect it). Anyways, I'll search for some drivers and post them down here to see if they're proper. Or maybe you can suggest some options?
Yep, it is. Actually I am planning to have analog RPM(makes sense for FFB since sometimes steer doesn't have any feedback at all(e.g. sliding on smooth surface), while at other moments it's going crazy with it (driving on sticky and bumpy road). Since I will be using around 30:1 gear ratio, at around 7750 RPM it's turned into ~ 255 RPM which is around 4.25 RPS. I don't see any need to have my wheel turn any faster. I may even increase gear ratio even more for more torque. Anyways, thanks for the info so far. I think I can get that driver and use it. Now I will need a set up for the board. By the way, this part of the device will be steer only (no pedals or H-stick). The steer will have sequential sticks, input data for FFB which is fed to motor drivers, measured steer rate as output and a few function keys. I am now wondering - how much function keys would Nano allow me to add along with the steer and FFB feed-in?
