This might be the dumbest question of the year, but, can I run a 6V motor (https://www.pololu.com/product/3451) with a 5V battery? Would I need to use an op amp to increase the voltage from the battery to 6v?
Also, can this motor be run on 1.2A continuous? I saw that stall was 2.9A and it recommended .25% of stall, so that’d be around .75V.
Hello.
5V is an unusual nominal battery voltage. What particular battery do you have?
You can generally power brushed DC motors (like the one you linked to) with voltages lower than their nominal ratings as long, they will just output proportionally less speed and torque than listed in the motor specifications. At some point the supply voltage could be too low for the motor to start up, but powering a 6V motor with 5V should not be a problem.
If you want to increase the speed and torque of your motor then you could do that using an appropriate step-up voltage regulator.
I am not sure I understand your second post. Where are the 0.75V and 1.2A continuous current values you mentioned coming from? How much current a brushed DC motor draws (or at least tries to draw) is a function of the applied voltage and the load on the motor. That relationship is shown by the performance curves in our Datasheet for Pololu 20D Metal Gearmotors (which is available one each 20D gearmotor’s product page under the “Resources” tab).
- Patrick
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The motors do not usually run if supplied with a voltage lower than their operating voltage. You may see them vibrating but not running.
If you are using an Arduino to run the popolu motor shown in the link, you can use L293D or L298 in between. You can use the ICs or buy/make arduino shields like this:
Hello, Bidrohini.
Please note, our company name is Pololu, not “popolu”.
This is incorrect, at least for our brushed DC motors, which is the subject being discussed here. As I mentioned in my previous post, at some point a sufficiently low supply voltage could be too low for the motor to start up, but powering a 6V motor with 5V should not be a problem.
The L293D and L298 are ancient and inefficient drivers that have no place in modern designs. For better alternatives, you might consider one of our brushed DC motor drivers
- Patrick