Noob Servo controlling with LabView

Other Hardware Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
1

Hi, I have a project for my robotics class and I need to control 5 servos (small ones 4.8 - 6V). As far as I understand I can use the Servo toolkit in Labview to send the PWM signal through the pins and move the servos. However, since the arduino will be hooked up to the computer through an USB cable, which is I think 5V, will I have enough current to supply the 4 servos? can the arduino be damaged if I try this set up? I will be moving one servo at a time

Do I need an external power source to power the servos and use the output pins from the arduino just to control the servos? If I do this, how do i connect the grounds?

Thanks everyone for the help!

2

An Arduino can control those servos but not power them. You must use an external power supply. The ground of this power supply must also be connected to the ground of the Arduino.

3

Thank you for your answer. Do you think I can control at least 1 with the arduino ampage? When im not at the lab I dont really have an extra source.

4

That depends on the servo, it might work if it is a small servo (micro 9G or similar) that draws very little current.

5

Additional power supply can be as simple as a set of 4 AA Batteries, it wont drive your servos under load, but it will allow you to experiment with four or five servos provided there is no load on them without them resetting your Arduino.

Demonstration and background in the two links in my signature below -

Duane B