Do I have the right Motor Controller, the DRV8833?

I’m using the inexpensive RRCO1A chassis along with the recommended gearbox and caster. I plan to use the DRV8833 motor controller for one of the incarnations of this robot, a simple object avoidance bot that uses “whiskers.” (The other version will use an Arduino Uno and Motor Driver Shield.) I want to keep the control circuitry as simple as possible since I’m using it to teach a couple of precocious eight year-olds about electronics and robotics.

I just noticed that the controller I have is a lot less expensive than the ones recommended. Did I goof?

Thanks for taking the time to read and answer.

Ray

I am a bit unsure which recommended products you are referring to; it would help if you could post links or specific names of the products you are comparing. You can use the DRV8833 with the Tamiya Twin Motor Gearbox Kit, but you should avoid stalling the motors. Also, I believe you may be confusing the DRV8833 for a motor controller, when it is actually a motor driver. A DRV8833 Motor Driver requires a microcontroller or some circuitry to generate a PWM signal to drive the motors.

You can reference our Motion Control Modules page for a brief overview of the difference between motor drivers and controllers.

-Ken

Thank you, that page was helpful.

As I now understand it, the DRV8833 does have the H-bridge circuitry. I have to apply either logic level or a pwm signal to the inputs on the chip to tell it how to configure the H-bridge to drive the motors. That is what I want. Reading the datasheet, it appears that PWM is optional.

If I understand the use of PWM correctly, it’s to control the speed of the motor. By varying the pulse width, I can make the motors run faster or slower.

I’m building this robot in discrete stages in order to learn each phase thoroughly, and because I want to use the robot to teach others. So at first it will just have bumpers to stop, later bumpers that make it change direction, and so on, increasing the complexity and capabilities by small steps. After I cover the basics, I plan to use an Arduino with the Arduino Motor Shield.

How do people typically mount the batteries and circuitry on these platforms? Are there some good tutorials or examples?

Sounds like you’re on the right track!

More accurately, the duty cycle (proportion of the time the signal is high vs low) of the PWM is what determines the speed.

I have tried to answer your mounting question as closely as I can in this post. You could try either double-sided foam tape or standoffs with the mounting holes; however, the real solution is up to your ingenuity!

-Ken