Using Arduino with a Voltage Regulator

Projects General Guidance
1

I've been looking for a solid way to regulate voltage for large motors (i.e. 12v 3 amp) using Arduino. I've used PWM with transistors and mosfets, but I've noticed that as you lower voltage, you're also lowering current, and with motors, that's overall torque. Also, PWM can get pretty loud at different frequencies.

So...I just tried using a digital pot in conjunction with the LM317. That doesn't seem to work because I'm limited by the voltage that powers the digital pot - 5V, and I'm looking to get 9V on the high end.

Anyone have suggestions on how to use Arduino to create a linear voltage regulator?

Thanks

2

You can filter PWM to smooth it out. But I'm not the guy to explain that, there's much better here.

You can connect your digital pot to a transistor through a resistor.

The better path probably involves using proper large motor drivers that won't fry your circuits when the motor stops.

3

Yeah, I'm just trying to avoid dropping $40 on a high amp motor driver.

4

You should be able to build one from a circuit diagram.
In the General Electronics section of the forum you should be able to attract solid advice.