I've been using the forum quite frequently lately, and the members here have always been such a great help! I've run into a problem for a project, and I'm curious about what you're thoughts on this are.
We're making an installation for an exhibit, and we're using 64 electromotors (4.5V and they can take up to 1A). I'm already able to control 64 actuators independently (simply LEDs) through Arduino using shift registers.
Now we want to use some external power supply to power the motors, and using a transistor to switch the motors on and off using the signals coming from the Arduino.
But now I'm unsure what to do, we want to use the motors in parallel and use them simultaneously. Do you have some idea how to design such a circuit (as in determining the resistors and so) and how much power supply we need? We will never be using all 64 motors at once, max 4 at a time..
Alternatively I can also program the installation so it only activates one motor at a time, but this is plan B.
I've been considering to use a power source to supply all motors (in case all would be used at once). Since the motors function at 300mA, it would take a supply of about 20A to power all motors.
Can you tell me more about possible problems I could run into by using such a power supply? I have no experience using this much current in a project, so I would like to skip all the beginner mistakes.
The transistor I want to use to switch a motor on and off is an IRR520N mosfet. It can take very high voltages (up to 100V) and a continuous drain current of around 10A.
Furthermore, I will probably have to use wiring that can handle this amount of current, but I'm not sure what type of wire I should use.
I will try to explain and elaborate on the project.
We have a grid of 8x8 cells that will be able to vibrate independently of each other (using the electro-motors). So all of these will be wired in parallel.
We have decided on dividing the 8x8 grid in 4 large cells of 4x4 small cells.
This makes sense logistically if we want to transport all of the stuff, but also if we would want to (eventually) add more cells to the installation.
So the idea is to take a modular approach in building each large cell. So I was indeed thinking of using a separate power supply for each large cell. In that case, it would need something like 5V, 5A supply.
I am using shift registers to be able to control all of motors. The idea is that each large cell is controlled by 2 shift registers (595s), and to chain the shift registers from one cell to the other.
All large cells will be placed directly next to each other, with the dimension of one large cell being 1x1 meter. For now, we want to place the cells in a square:
I hope this clears up the physical aspect of the installation.
Now you know the arrangement, is there anything I should consider wiring- and power wise?
We are very excited to be working on this project and we will keep you up to date on the progress if you want
It seems very necessary, though I would like to keep the circuit as simple as possible.
What would happen if I didn't decouple each motor circuit? Is it possible to do without?
I understand it would generate noise in the circuit, and might mess up the logic chips I'm using.
Can I prevent this from happening by just using a seperate power supply for the chips?
