I am making a hand that I would like to control 4 fingers individually with 4 servo motors. I am using an Arduino Uno R3. I want the input for the position of each finger to depend on its own flex sensor that detects how much it is bent and turns the servo an appropriate amount.
I am unsure what power source would be appropriate to power these 4 servos, 4 sensors (across 10K resistors), and arduino. Should I use a separate power source for arduino? I would prefer to use one source for all of the sensors+servos if possible.
Last night I connected all the servos+sensors to a breadboard powered by a 9V battery, and then I powered the Arduino with a different 9V battery. It seemed to mess things up so I am wondering what the appropriate power source would be for this project.
I do not have much experience, so the simpler the better, please include any connections! A schematic would be super helpful! All technical details from the servos/sensors are included.
PICTTURES/ATTACHMENTS:
-The type of servos I am using
-The type of flex sensors I am using
-Details on the flex sensors.
I am making a hand that I would like to control 4 fingers individually with 4 servo motors. I am using an Arduino Uno R3. I want the input for the position of each finger to depend on its own flex sensor that detects how much it is bent and turns the servo an appropriate amount.
I am unsure what power source would be appropriate to power these 4 servos, 4 sensors (across 10K resistors), and arduino. Should I use a separate power source for arduino? I would prefer to use one source for all of the sensors+servos if possible.
Last night I connected all the servos+sensors to a breadboard powered by a 9V battery, and then I powered the Arduino with a different 9V battery. It seemed to mess things up so I am wondering what the appropriate power source would be for this project.
I do not have much experience, so the simpler the better, please include any connections! A schematic would be super helpful! All technical details from the servos/sensors are included.
PICTTURES/ATTACHMENTS:
-The type of servos I am using
-The type of flex sensors I am using
-Details on the flex sensors.
Data sheets that I find for the servos list the stall current as 2.5A @ 6V so 4 servos mean a minimum of 10A for the supply. Better would be 15A so that the supply will not be run near its max.
If you use a 6V supply you can use 1 or 2 silicon diodes to drop the 6V to about 5V (or a bit less) to feed to the Uno 5V pin.
Better would be a separate 5V supply for the Uno to isolate the Uno from potential motor noise.
groundFungus:
Data sheets that I find for the servos list the stall current as 2.5A @ 6V so 4 servos mean a minimum of 10A for the supply. Better would be 15A so that the supply will not be run near its max.
If you use a 6V supply you can use 1 or 2 silicon diodes to drop the 6V to about 5V (or a bit less) to feed to the Uno 5V pin.
Better would be a separate 5V supply for the Uno to isolate the Uno from potential motor noise.
Thank you for the help! Could I use a 4pack of AA's to get the 6V to the bread board for all the motors and sensors to run on? And then just power the arduino with my computer?
It’s not a good idea to use a breadboard either - they are not designed for this sort of current .
You really need to make up a loom for your power connections to the servos .
I’m guessing all the servos will not be running at the same instant or near their max current , the AA batteries might do it.
Edit: rather than screenshots of the relevant data, it is usually better to post links to the relevant data.
For a power source, a collection of AA batteries that in series, adds up to an acceptable value usually works well.
Edit: rather than screenshots of the relevant data, it is usually better to post links to the relevant data.
For a power source, a collection of AA batteries that in series, adds up to an acceptable value usually works well.
Edit2:
This is a common way to power servos.
THANK YOU!! I really appreciate you taking the time out to make this diagram it is a huge help!!
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