3-Axis Control Brushed DC Motors

Support Motor controllers/drivers and motors
1

Hi there,

I am part of an undergraduate team that is entirely new to robotics and could really do with some advice!
We have three brushed DC motors (Nom Volt: 36. Nom cur 1.29A, Start curr: 12.9A) and we basically have no idea how to control these motors simultaneously. The robot we are making needs to have extremely high precision and be as manually back drivable as possible (hence DC motors over servos/steppers). We have 12bit absolute encoders to go with the motors.

Our main query is how to drive all three motors simultaneously - we have looked at other companies that have multiaxis controllers but have been unsuccessful in finding a controller that can drive the motors and control them.

Looking at the Pololu products is it possible to operate 2 of the ‘RoboClaw 2x15A Motor Controller (V5)’ simultaneously, and if so how do you do it?

Any advice would be much appreciated
Cheers,

Stephen

2

Hello, Stephen.

The RoboClaw will work with quadrature encoders, however I suspect your 12bit absolute encoders have a different type of interface that the RoboClaw would not be able to read. I recommend contacting Ion Motion Control directly with more information about the interface for your encoders to see if it is possible for them to work together.

-Nathan