As I plan my first basic robot I've run across people discussing motor shields a few times. I've seen some builds that don't use them and some that do. I believe I understand what a motor shield is capable of. What I'm unsure of is exactly what I can do with a motor shield that I can't do without one, or in what situations I would need one and which I wouldn't. I've done some rudimentary part testing and my Arduino Uno itself seems to be capable of what I need at a glance, though I'm sure I'm missing something.
nethyr:
As I plan my first basic robot I've run across people discussing motor shields a few times. I've seen some builds that don't use them and some that do. I believe I understand what a motor shield is capable of. What I'm unsure of is exactly what I can do with a motor shield that I can't do without one, or in what situations I would need one and which I wouldn't. I've done some rudimentary part testing and my Arduino Uno itself seems to be capable of what I need at a glance, though I'm sure I'm missing something.
Thanks for your patience with a newbie!
Well most DC motors are higher current drawing devices so you need some kind of motor driver interface between the arduino and the motor so that the motor has the proper voltage and current required to operate but still be controllable by the Uno board. This motor driver interface can be as simple as a single transistor and a couple of resistors or as complex as a full H-drive interface that allows for forward and reverse rotation as well as variable speed. And whatever motor interface circuitry you want or require can be mounted externally on it's own PC board or can be built in the form of a 'shield' board for easier mounting with an arduino board, which can simplify wiring. So lots of options, but most newcomers like the ease of using a motor shield when first starting out. Just be sure whatever motor shield you select is rated for the voltage and current requirements of the motor you select. Many motor shields will support two motors while some only one motor.
Pololu has many standalone motor controller boards and is a pretty popular supplier of such, but don't know if they have an in the 'shield' form factor.
retrolefty:
Pololu has many standalone motor controller boards and is a pretty popular supplier of such, but don't know if they have an in the 'shield' form factor.
Pololu does make a couple of motor driver PCBs that can be directly plugged into an Arduino's headers like other shields. Although both don't have the exactly same form as a standard sheild (i.e. they didn't bother to include the cut-outs at one end so these boards are plain rectangles, and one doesn't completely cover an Uno). Appearance aside like most motor shields they can control up to two motors, and like some are designed around an IC with an H-bridge and additional logic (as opposed to just a high power transistor). The more expensive one can handle a relatively large amount of current, 12 A continously for each motor.
Hello everyone,
this is Luigi from Rome ,Italy. From two weeks I am involved 24 a day in the arduino world.
I wish to control a DC brushed actuator 12V/4A by arduino to reach three of four fixed position .
The actuator has a travel of 4 inches and I need to command it to reach the next stored position if I send a short input or full travel
maintaining the switch for longer time. Like the windows of a car
This in both ways. The position fixed could be checked by microswitches or by a sensor Hall effect.
What is the easiest solution for a newby like me ? In term of hardware and for the software.
Any help will be useful
Thank-you very much
Luigi
elledien:
Hello everyone,
this is Luigi from Rome ,Italy. From two weeks I am involved 24 a day in the arduino world.
I wish to control a DC brushed actuator 12V/4A by arduino
Please don't cross post. You've already asked this question in the 'Linear actuator questions' thread.
I'm also incredibly new to this and am looking for additional understanding.
I'm trying to control a simple 2 phase stepper motor using the Arduino Uno and R3 motor shield. Unfortunately for me due to the constraints of my project I need to control it through Labview (the Uno is supported by Labview but the R3 has not yet been tested because this is a fairly new feature in Labview). Anyway, I have been looking through some sample code and I'm getting confused about how to control this motor shield. It seems to me that the motor shield is controlled though the D(3, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13) pins. Are these pins activated through the Uno and if that is the case how are the pins on the motor shield controlled, do these then turn into the pins that you would normally access on the Uno? Also, if these motor shield is activated by activating the pins on the Uno board, what is the purpose of the #include stepper line when coding in the Arduino platform? wouldn't the motor be able to be controlled without this line if that was the case?
Any understanding will be very helpful, and I'm sorry if my questions are sort of all over the place. Thank you