Description:
The PhidgetMotorControl 1-Motor (1065_1B) lets you control the direction, velocity and acceleration of one DC Motor. The motor is powered by an external power supply (9 to 28VDC) - Not included.

Note: This revision of the 1065 comes with a built-in heatsink for the driver chip to prevent it from overheating.

Brushed DC Motors are very simple to understand, but very difficult to control precisely. By applying a voltage, or pulsing a voltage rapidly, at the terminals of the motor, current flows through the motor, and it will begin rotating. Depending on the direction of the current, the motor will rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. The 1065 changes the effective voltage by changing the percentage of time the full supply voltage is applied to the motor. By switching the voltage very quickly (a technique called PWM), the controller is made smaller, more efficient, and cheaper.

Rough control of actual motor speed can be achieved automatically in software by using the Back EMF property, or current sensing.

Precise control of DC motors can be achieved by using encoders. You can implement control loops through software by using the data provided by the on-board digital inputs, analog inputs and encoder input. There is an event that triggers every 16 ms that returns the back-EMF value for the attached motor, which can be very useful for PID control. For more information, see the API in the User Guide.

The 1065 also provides over-current, over-voltage, and over-temperature protection to insure that the board and motor is not damaged. The 1065 connects directly to a computer’s USB port. It comes with a Mini-USB Cable 180cm (3018) and a Hardware mounting kit (4 nuts and bolts, 4 plastic spacers).

Specifications:
Built-in 2 digital inputs, 2 analog inputs, 1 encoder input
Motor Type/Number Motor Ports: DC Motor / 1
Velocity Resolution: 0.39 %
Acceleration Resolution: 0.39 % per s²
Acceleration Min/Max: 24.5 % per s² / 6250 % per s²
Acceleration Time Min/Max: 32 ms / 8.2 s
Supply Voltage Min/Max: 9 V DC - 28 V DC (Standard Powerjack)
Continuous Motor Current Max: 5 A
Overcurrent Trigger: 8 A
Current Consumption Min/Max: 20 mA / 100 mA