Motor module

Motor module incorporates the motor driver board and different electrical motors. Motor board is designed to be compatible with the Controller module but can be also used for other controllers as it is equipped with standard motor drivers. Motor power supplies are separated from the control signals.

It is possible to drive different types of motors with the module.

Following motors can be connected with Motor board:

• 4 x DC motors and 2 x encoder.
• 2 x unipolar stepper motors.
• 1 x bipolar stepper motor.
• 2 x RC servo motor.

Specific model or mark of the motor in a Add-On kit can vary, but every kit has at least one DC motor, 1 RC servo motor and 1 bipolar or unipolar stepper motor.

Following specific models can be found in the kit:

• DC motor
  • Micromotors L149.6.10 (with gear) datasheet
  • Micromotors LE149.6.43 (with gear + encoder) datasheet
• RC servo motor
  • E Sky EK2-0501 datasheet
• Unipolar stepper motor
  • Ming Jong ST35 datasheet
• Bipolar stepper motor
  • Ming Jong ST28 datasheet

Motors

Motor board is connected with Controller module to the port PE-PB-PD. The power supply to the motors comes from the DCIN connector on the board and runs through voltage regulator, which brings the voltage down to +5V. If DC power is provided to the board and the voltage regulator is working properly, the PWR LED in the bottom right corner of the board will light up.

Power supply for motors

DC motors are connected to the connector group DC. Every pair can handle one motor - all together 4 DC motors. Motors are controlled with widely used H-bridges, L293D dual H-bridge driver is used for the DC motors. Motors can also be replaced by some other actuator which can be controlled digitally and if the current do not exceed 500 mA (piezo generator, relay etc.)

Schematics of DC motor connection

Motor board supports two different types of stepper motors. Two unipolar and one bipolar motor can be connected with the board on the same time. Bipolar stepper is controlled with dual H-bridge L293D and unipolar stepper is driven by transistor array ULN2803. The pattern of the stepper signals are generated by the software. It is important to check the sequence of the stepper motor windings. The supply wires of unipolar stepper motor are connected to pins Vcc. If unipolar stepper has only 5 wires, the first pin is left unconnected.

Stepper motor connections:

Unipolar (left) and bipolar (right) stepper motor windings

Schematics of stepper motor connections

RC servo motors are connected to the connector SERVO on the Motor board. Motors are connected so that the ground wire (usually black or brown) is on the pin GND (close to the edge of the board). Two servo motors can be used at the same time. The control signals are connected directly with microcontroller timer outputs.

Schematics of servo motor connections