【Rotary Motors in Arduino】What are they? + List ▷ 2022

Today, Arduino is considered one of the best open source electronics creation platforms that exists all over the world. Which, offers both software and free hardware, offers great power, is versatile and reveals a remarkable ease of use. Therefore, it is one of the most fundamental elements for the .

In this way, this platform allows both creators and developers as well as fans to no matter your level of difficulty and thus, provides optimum performance with the aim of implement a greater use of technology and the Internet of Things. Therefore, its expansion is excessive.

Now, luckily, the they support an endless number of complements with which it is possible build the different desired projects. Reason why, allow to make use of rotary or rotary motors in order to program them from scratch. That is why, below, we teach you What these elements are about and how to use them in conjunction with Arduino.

What is a rotary motor and what kind of Arduino projects are they used for?

While true, the rotary engine is estimated as one of the first types of internal combustion engines to exist. Therefore, it was widely used before World War I, in the first cars and motorcycles, as well as to propel airplanes. Whereas, in general, they are distinguished by working with a crankshaft that remains fixed and thus the engine revolves around it.

Now, basically, a rotary engine consists of an internal combustion engine that It is capable of performing the four strokes of suction, compression, expansion and exhaust.simultaneously while the work chamber changes its volume and the moving parts rotate in the same direction.

So, in essence, it works like an Otto cycle engine that, instead of having a cylinder block with a rotating crankshaft, it remains fixed and the entire cylinder block is the one that rotates around it. On the other hand, in the Arduino projects, rotary motors have different uses which, especially, are dedicated to the field of home automation to automate a home, as well as in the world of electronics.

Well, usually such motors are present in any part of a home, given that they are essential for the operation of fans, household appliances, personal computers, electric razors, remote-controlled cars, etc. They can even be used to create large projects where electricity is the protagonist.

What should I keep in mind when programming using rotary motors on Arduino?

Fortunately, making use of rotary motors in Arduino reveals notable advantages that users need to know. So, here we mention the most important of them: Its components are internally balanced with rotating counterweights that favor a smoother power delivery and do not generate many vibrations.

Also, has fewer moving parts than a conventional engine and therefore, its total weight is much more optimal. On the other hand, to compile a rotary motor on Arduino, It is essential to take into account several aspects.

One of them consists of the types that can be used in a project with Arduino boards and, therefore, it is worth detailing them as follows:

• DC motors: They are also called “DC motors” and are one of the most common actuators of all. Which have a function based on the alignment of two magnetic fields and its main advantage is that it guarantees effective synchronization, regardless of speed.
• brushless motors: They refer to a variation of direct current motors that differs from brushes as a current rectification system. So that, turn to electronics to be able to switch the magnetic field. Thus, they are widely used in fans, ship propellers, quadcopters and other air vehicles that need high turning speed.
• Geared down motors: They are those DC motors that add an internal reducer to increase the torque of the motor and decrease its speed. In this way, they are commonly used to be able to drive wheels of vehicles and robotsTherefore, they are indicated for Arduino robotics projects.
• stepper motors: They are characterized by having an axis that is responsible for rotating at a fixed angle called “step” when this is adjusted by a processor. Therefore, necessarily, a rotary motor of this class it needs a processor to work correctly. Thanks to their capacity, they are widely used in robotics. Considering that there are unipolar and bipolar motors within this classification.
• servo motors: Without a doubt, it is the type of rotary motor most used to build projects with Arduino. Which, basically, provides a pulsed signal generated by a processor that transmits the desired position so that, autonomously, the servo can be located in said position. Thanks to this, are used in robotics projects (such as: robotic arms, bipedal robots, hexapods, etc.) and even allow positioning of sensors or a laser.
• Continuous rotation servo motors: As their name indicates, they are motors that show the ability to turn completely and thus behave like a DC motor with integrated speed control. Therefore, they refer to a variant of a conventional servo motor, except that the electronics are modified so that the signal controls the speed (and not the position).

Now, another aspect to consider when programming these elements in Arduino, outlines the requirements necessary to consider a practical rotary engine.

Therefore, here we inform you of these requirements so that you can verify them when you want to acquire one of them:

• Seals for the working chamber gas have to be three-dimensionally reliable. This means that the engine in question must be made from the connection of individual seals in a three-dimensional way.
• Each moving part must make a rotary movement including the synchronization mechanism.. Reason why, structures that need valves and suction and/or exhaust mechanisms using oscillating motion rotors are not appropriate.
• All the constructive parts need resistance to fatigue at high speeds and pressures.. Which means that they must have sufficient capacity, in size and shape, to withstand high pressures, heat loads and sliding speeds.
• They have to carry out a pertinent exchange of gases in the suction and in the exhaust. It is essential that the engine provides sufficient time for intake and exhaust, especially at high revs and speeds.
• Sufficient lubrication and cooling must be provided. Which requires high durability, high heat loads and high sliding speeds. In order to comply with the sufficient capacity to withstand these factors.

Learn step by step how to program a rotary motor on Arduino from scratch

First of all, the connections will depend on the type of rotary motor that you want to use with the Arduino. Taking into account that, all must have three wires (one that will go to ground, another for 5 volt power, and a third wire for a PWM pin). Thus, after carrying out the connection, it is possible start the process of programming a rotary engine in the from scratch which, when building a certain project, is the most interesting of all.

In this case, the steps to follow are the following:

• First of all, it is necessary that make use of an external library to help you control the type of rotary motor you are using. In order to do so, proceed to incorporate said library into the Arduino environment. through the tab that says “Program” on top.
• Once you select that tab, Click on the option that says “Include Library” and in this way, a menu will be displayed from where you have to choose the engine used (for example, “Servo”).
• Done the above, you will have already done an “include” in your programming code that allows you to control the engine in question. In addition, you can make use of a basic code (exposed later) to position the same at angles from 0° to 180° (ie: 0°, 90° and 180°).
• Basically, in that code, it is useful to declare an object or variable through the “Servo.h” library, for instance. Taking into account that, this process admits two methods: (1) attach to set which pin you have connected to your servo. (two) “write” to indicate the angle at which the rotary motor will be positioned.
• That way, you can control your motor in Arduino in a very simple waythanks to the use of the library “Servo.h” in this case.

Next we leave you the simple code to rotate the motor from 0º to 180º:

// We include the library to be able to control the servo #include // We declare the variable to control the servo Servo servoMotor; void setup() { // We start the serial monitor to display the result Serial.begin(9600); // We start the servo so that it starts working with pin 9 servoMotor.attach(9); } void loop() { // Move to position 0 servoMotor.write(0); // Wait 1 second delay(1000); // We move to the 90º position servoMotor.write(90); // Wait 1 second delay(1000); // We move to the 180º position servoMotor.write(180); // Wait 1 second delay(1000); }

List of the best rotary motors to work with Arduino that you should know

Although, previously, we indicated the main types of rotary motors that are suitable for working with plates Arduino and programs by means of this software; the truth is that there are certain specific models of these engines that are optimal for building quality projects.

Therefore, in this section of the post, we will detail some of the best rotary motors to use in conjunction with Arduino:

brushless brushless motors

As its name indicates, They are brushless motors. and thanks to this, they do not generate any friction when turning; as a consequence, its performance is higher. Thus, they are defined as a variation of direct current motors that, with the aim of provide a high quality current rectification systemdispenses with brushes and instead uses electronics to effect the switching of the magnetic field.

In such a way, the main advantages of this type of motors for Arduino is that have a high speed rangehigher performance, longer battery life, better power with less weight and size, little heat loss and minimal electronic noise. It also dissipates heat better and require less maintenance due to lack of brushes. However, it should also be noted that, They are more expensive and more complex.They even only work with Lipo batteries.

servo motors

Other…