Hi, I'm currently working on a senior design project incorporating a NEMA 17 stepper motor with a 2A rated current. In order to control this motor, we are using an L298N driver and an Arduino Uno Rev3 board. The battery currently in used is linked here; in summary, it is a 12V NiMH battery with 2000 mAh charge, and a 2A maximum discharge rate.
Using a guide found here, and replicating the diagram shown below, we have found that while the power source will be sufficient to light the driver's LED, it will not power the Arduino board. Only when connecting the Arduino board to a computer via USB have we managed to test the setup. Is there any possible workaround to allow us to power the full system with this battery? If not, would it be possible to incorporate a secondary battery to power the Arduino board alone?
For reference, we will need something that can power the system without a direct computer or wall connection. All electronics will be housed within a waterproof body and used underwater, and our design does not allow for a wired connection to a power source outside of the body.
Thanks so much for the help, everyone. I (and the rest of my group) am very new to Arduino in general, and have only done very basic things with electronics, typically in controlled lab settings, in the past.
We have had additional problems with overheating of our L298N driver, and have relied primarily on online tutorials like the one I mentioned in my initial post. As @Railroader and @Wawa have suggested, it's clear now that this driver is not sufficient for the system in use. We intend on using an A4988 or a DRV8825 driver in its place moving forward.
As for power concerns, thank you to @DrDiettrich and @TomGeorge for clearing that up. Being the novices that we are, we assumed that the diagram given would be sufficient to power the entire system, including the Arduino Uno board. A PDF is attached to the end of this reply, with the data sheet of the stepper we're using.
Sorry about that, and thanks for the advice. I'm new to this forum and I appreciate the etiquette advice. Here is a screenshot of that file instead; unfortunately I couldn't find a URL to the spec sheet.
The dimensiion part of the picture explains what a NEMA17 is.
One line telling the rated current, is the most important data.
Good luck!
Come back to forum if You need!
