i need to be able to drive two 24v dc motors for a project but all the motor drivers i have found only run up to 36v does anyone know any other controllers to drive the two motors
I might be missing something here but a 36v controller will work at 24v. It works at the voltage you feed it.
i understand that but i have two 24v motors so would it be a case of running two motor controllers or can anyone tell me if there is a controllere that will run at 48v
Still puzzled.
If you want to run two motors off the same controller you would wire the motors in parallel not series.
So you would only need 24V at twice the current in stead of twice the voltage at the same current.
ok did not know that thank you very much. will look at the sparkfun motor controller for what i need
checkout these motor controllers and drivers
http://www.robotsimple.com/Motor_Controller_and_Driver
Like grumpy mike said, your current will double. Make sure the driver can handle max current of both motors together. If you had 1amp each motor then you'd need to atleast be able to handle 2 amps. Being over the maximum on the driver is safer so for say max 3a motor driver would work. Get what I'm saying?
ok so the motors i have are both 4.89Amps so i would need to find a driver that runs at about 10 - 12Amps
That's alot...
i know got them on eBay they are second hand wheelchair motors need them for my end of year project at uni found a controller while searching teh internet
http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/5106-Sabertooth-dual-10A-motor-driver-for-R-C.aspx
would this one be what i was looking for.
or i found one at spark fun
You're going to need to supply 24v to the driver itself.
ok so thats as simple as using an external battery source which i am planing to use the battery from the wheelchair as power for the motors
TechDante:
Have you found out what the stall current and running current for your motors are? Until you know that information, you can't size and select (or build) an appropriate motor driver h-bridge for them.
For example, I have some small hobby DC motors, which pull about 250 mA running. If I stall them out, they pull around 1.2-1.5A, or 4-5 times their running current. Some DC motors will have even greater stall currents (engine starter motors, for instance, can pull a few hundred amps).
Have you measured and verified the running current for the motors? Is it truely about 5 amps? If so, figure out the stall current - the difficulty here will be doing so without causing a fire or smoking the motor. If you can find the manufacturers specs for the motor, that would be best. Otherwise, inline a fuse holder to the motor connections, and use a car battery (or starter/charger set). Put in a 5 amp fuse, and stall the motor out (easiest way is to remove it from the gearbox, mount it securely to a bench, then clamp the shaft with a pair of vice-grips so that the direction of spin forces the pliers against the bench so the shaft can't turn) - you'll only want to "pulse" this - inline your meter (hook it up for high amp measurements - meters typically have a different jack for the positive probe for high-amp testing - otherwise you'll blow the meter). You don't want to apply the power too long, because if the fuse fails to blow, you burn out the motor or something else. If you can figure out a way to make a "slip clutch", that would be better (maybe vice grips around a section of hose slipped over the shaft, and tightened down so that the shaft can still slip some).
Once you know both currents, then you can find out what size of controller you want to use; really, you are looking for a "power chair motor controller", because that is what was used to control them originally. Mind you that these controllers are anything but inexpensive.
You might try this site for some more information:
I can almost guarantee you that "Sabertooth" dual motor driver isn't going to work out for the motors, but you will need to first find out what current the motors draw while running and at stall, before you can know for sure.
Good luck.
i know got them on eBay they are second hand wheelchair motors need them for my end of year project at uni found a controller while searching teh internet
http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/5106-Sabertooth-dual-10A-motor-driver-for...
would this one be what i was looking for.
This one can only handle 8A at 24V, wouldn't be enough for you.
When you find your external battery power source, keep in mind, output voltage of a charged battery can be higher than the rated voltage. e.g. a 24V battery when it's fully charge might output as high as 28V or even higher. I suggest to get a driver that can handle higher voltage than 24.
or i found one at spark fun
Motor Driver 15A IRF7862PBF - ROB-09107 - SparkFun Electronics
this driver is rated for 18V batteries, and can safely handle maximum of 24V so wouldn't be enough for a 24V battery.
This one would be good for 24V battery, since it can handle up to 34V and does 12A continuous:
if you need something with higher current than 12, use this one
operates safe up to 34V and can do 20A continuous.
The below kit might be of interest. You probably could bypass the pot and timing chip and drive the h-bridge directly from the arduino.
The below kit might be of interest. You probably could bypass the pot and timing chip and drive the h-bridge directly from the arduino.
Yeah - you probably could; though how is a big question, since I don't see any manual or assembly guide for the kit to download from the site. Hopefully you get a guide with the kit is detailed enough to figure out such an interface, otherwise you would have to reverse-engineer the schematic. I am not sure the OP, though, would be up to either.
Something that should be noted about the specs given (bolding mine):
SPECIFICATIONS
Voltage: The kit and motor use the same power supply.
Since the maximum operating voltage of the LM324 is 32VDC then this is also the maximum voltage available to run the motor.
Current: The IRFZ44 MOSFET can handle 49A; the IRF4905 can handle 74A.
However the PCB tracks that run from the MOSFET pins to the screw terminal block can only handle around 5A.
If you do then check that the MOSFETs don't get too hot; if so then bigger heatsinks will be required.
Note that while the MOSFETs can handle the current, the tracks on the PCB can't (for the OP's motors, anyhow) - so you would have to do something differently with the circuit to get it to work with the larger motors (either a redesign of the PCB, or moving the MOSFETs off-PCB, perhaps with a larger heatsink, etc). With the OP's motors, you would probably smoke the PCB traces on the first power-up from dead start (essentially a stall condition).
i know the dimention enginearing controllers are avalable in a 50a model that can run upto 100a (burst) but its not cheap but designed to be used on combat robots
If the pcb traces become a problem, I would just jumper them with heavy duty wiring. For larger motors, I would think H-bridges without heat sinks will more than likely fail if the motors are operated under load for long periods.