skip to the bottom to see my question in bold
I am working on a design project for school. We have to build a setup inside a can that will make the can tip over. We have our basic design figured out, and I have programmed my Arduino Uno to do what it needs to do. Let me start by giving you an inventory of what I know I need:
- Arduino Uno
- Dc motor (to spin a weight attached to a wire around really fast)
- transistor
- resistor???
- wires, etc.
- battery
So we bought a small DC motor (not sure of the specs) and an Arduino kit just to play with and try to figure it out. We started by testing our system with an LED in place of the motor, and it worked. Then we used the motor instead, and it did not work. So we eventually (after roughly 2 hours) figured out how to use a transistor to make the motor run in our system.
We were not very careful in what kind of motor, transistor, and resistors we purchased. Off the top of my head, I am not sure of the specs of any of these things, but I just assume we got all the wrong stuff.
So that should be enough of an introduction. Let me try to put my question in a concise format:
I have a 9V battery which is to power an Arduino Uno AND a DC motor. What kind of DC motor do I need? What kind of transistor do I need? What kind of resistors do I need, if any?
Nobody on my team has any electrical background. We are mechanical engineering students. We do not understand voltage and current very well. Personally, I know nothing about any of this. Thank you for your help!