Hi,
I'm a software engineer, so relatively competent with the software, but would like some advice with the hardware side of working with Arduino projects.
I'm wanting to build a project which will require fairly precise motor positioning. Mechanically I need to turn a turntable through 360 degrees, and be able to specify (to within a degree at least) the positioning.
I'm seeking pointers to starter reading on what I'll need, so far I understand the following:
- I'll need a motor controller. I believe this is because otherwise I'm stuck with just applying a positive voltage to a motor, which is an incredibly coarse way of driving it. What advantages does a motor controller give me? Does it just abstract away the logic of running a motor forward and back at various speeds?
And could people suggest a motor controller shield (or indeed, if it's easy enough to put together a motor controller on a breadboard, I'd be very happy to go down that route). Perhaps someone could advise on the differences between the premade motor controller shield option, and the single IC breadboard option?
- I need a motor. My understanding is that a stepper motor is going to be the type that I require considering my needs for precision positioning. I'm confused as to how the stepper motor works with the motor controller though, what is it that 'knows' how many turns the motor has made, is this part of the controller's job? Or do we need to look out for this as an input from the Arduino code somehow?
I think that's about it, so any pointers for beginners working with stepper motors or precision positioning with motor controllers and motors would be absolutely fantastic.
Thanks!
- Nex