I ordered 4 car seat motors from 12 Vdc 2500 Rpm Automotive Seat Motor
Now, I need motor controllers for them. They draw 1.3A at no load and 9.5A when stalled. They run at 2500 RPM. Which one is best and cheap?
I'd have a look amongst the Pololu motor drivers, and eBay too.
[edit: oh yes the other thing, these motors are probably not rated for continuous duty given their
intended function - they may not have paid much attention to heat dissipation]
What about http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1377 ?
Pololu describes their parts as "drivers" and "controllers". Their controllers are drivers with extra microprocessors onboard; if you're using them with an Arduino that's usually extra goo that you don't need and at a higher price.
Pololu - Dual VNH3SP30 Motor Driver Carrier MD03A will run two motors.
Pololu - VNH3SP30 Motor Driver Carrier MD01B will run one.
Also, we're assuming you need to drive these motors in both directions. If you're only driving them in one direction then you can do this with a single mosfet for much cheaper.
Are there DIY circuits for motor controllers/drivers that accept at least 10A?
What OEM stuff do they use in cars? Or are they proprietary and or too closely tied into the rest of the car?
Ebay has some inexpensive high current h-bridges.
Like a lot of cheap-n-cheerful devices those particular ones use parts rated for 43A max with heatsink,
yet don't have heatsinks - good for about 10A in practice as the MOSFETs are 7mOhm and 9mOhm.
JimboZA:
What OEM stuff do they use in cars? Or are they proprietary and or too closely tied into the rest of the car?
For things like seats and such, I would think the switch (DP3T) would be directly connected to the motor in the classic h-bridge fashion (center off). There just isn't any real need for the extra complexities of a semiconductor h-bridge. I do know for larger loads that need h-bridge functionality in vehicles, they use a dual SPDT high-current relay. For really large loads (like winches and similar), they use something similar, but a solenoid (not just an electromagnet) is used to actuate the contacts, since they are larger and heavier. They are basically 12 VDC contactors, similar to what are used in home air-conditioners (which are generally actuated by 24 VAC to control 220 VAC - at least here in the United States).
MarkT:
Like a lot of cheap-n-cheerful devices those particular ones use parts rated for 43A max with heatsink,
yet don't have heatsinks - good for about 10A in practice as the MOSFETs are 7mOhm and 9mOhm.
Perhaps you are just not familiar with using ebay.
zoomkat:
MarkT:
Like a lot of cheap-n-cheerful devices those particular ones use parts rated for 43A max with heatsink,
yet don't have heatsinks - good for about 10A in practice as the MOSFETs are 7mOhm and 9mOhm.Perhaps you are just not familiar with using ebay.
Google skills are hardly what the op is seeking. To interface a motor driver, we need (as a minimum) a schematic for the driver board and a link to the datasheet for the driver IC. This listing offers neither and so fits well into the cheap-n-cheerful category along with your previous link.
To interface a motor driver, we need (as a minimum) a schematic for the driver board and a link to the datasheet for the driver IC. This listing offers neither and so fits well into the cheap-n-cheerful category along with your previous link.
I agree that your "we" crowd should stick to products that you ("we") will be able to understand. 
You can always buy your devices from "reputable" companies, which charge 3 times more for the same product
which is not actually the biggest problem because it then adds $38 postage for an item weighing less than 2 grams.
I find the notion of a Morris with 4 electrically adjustable seats to be particularly tantalising.
zoomkat:
I agree that your "we" crowd should stick to products that you ("we") will be able to understand.
Excellent, then I will be looking forward to your follow up post on how you interface the "240W high-power H-Bridge Motor Driver". I'm particularly curious when it comes to "Retrogression" (should I be worried) and also "Free rotation" (note that both H-Bridge outputs are active according to the "datasheet"). If we can't trust the logic truth table then what can we trust? Also how would you set the current limit and what is the default limit (no-current)?
See http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php/topic,134411.0 for a previous discussion on this board. dc42 points out that the driver is (or is equivalent to) the ST L9958 chip. That datasheet is now at http://www.st.com/web/en/resource/technical/document/datasheet/CD00268302.pdf
The SPI interface appears to be only necessary for diagnostics or setting the current limit. The DIR/PWM control seems pretty straightforward.