Powering Raspberry pi + Arduino + 10 servo motors

Hi, I'm using the Arduino for a school project and I'm having problems powering the Raspberry pi + Arduino + 10 servo motors.

I'm using the Raspberry pi 2 (the one with 4 usb ports), the Arduino uno and my motors run at 6v each. I need it to run almost 24/7 and I do not need for it to be portable so I would prefer not to use batteries but plugs instead (most tutorials use batteries) Is this possible?

I have very limited knowledge and experience on this so I'm hoping someone can help me out

You can use a phone charger to provide 5V 2A. But one will not be enough for all your devices I think.

Maybe 1 for RPI & Arduino via USB & 1 for all servos. Just link all ground together.

I have tried using the phone charger but it didn't work... probably because of the wiring...

I'm sorry, I'm really a junior at this what is linking the ground together? Can I get an example?

I'm using 5 of this,

and another 5 of this,

if it makes any difference.. Thanks for the help! :slight_smile:

okay I just tried it again with a different wiring and I'm testing it now... so far after install 5 motors its working great! :slight_smile: thanks for the help pirquessa!

Now would it be advisable if I wired everything into using just one plug? Would it potentially cause malfunction?

Also.. will powering so many motors at the same time cause the tourque to be smaller?

The risk to use only ONE phone charger that can deliver 2A (some only deliver 0.5A, you have to check) is that in case of a peak of consumption (one servo that is blocked/forcing) your RPI & Arduino could reboot because of a lack of power.

Basic servo wiring in attached pix.

servo power.jpg

thanks zoomkat!

I'm still wondering if powering so many motors will decrease the torque/speed of the motors

Just test it... Plug only one, make some observations, plug 9 more, you will quickly see if you need more power :stuck_out_tongue:

You might need 10A peak if all the servos move together, or a lot less if only one moves at a time...

In general powering servos is much simpler with a battery pack because of the bursty nature of the load,
and high current supplies are expensive. The best compromise is a battery pack on continuous charge,
although its tricky to charge a battery pack under load correctly since the voltage no longer indicates
state of charge...

siaw:
I'm still wondering if powering so many motors will decrease the torque/speed of the motors

If you provide an adequate supply that doesn't dip in voltage at full load, the motors will all
perform 100%.