Hi all,
I don’t know much about motors and am looking for a DC or AC motor for a project that does the following:
- has a normal motor mode (ability to control direction and speed of rotation)
- is able to switch into a free swivel/coast mode with low friction
The motor is for a simple mechanism that allows a pendulum (a rigid rod) to be remotely “swung” up to some angle (perhaps with Arduino) through a motor locking itself to the swivel point, then released (i.e. “unlocked”), allowing gravity to take over and the pendulum to swing freely. I imagine there would need to be some ball bearing involved to reduce the rotational friction in the unlocked state.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I do have a bit of a budget for this project so cost isn’t a huge deal.
Thanks so much!
Hello.
As opposed to a particular kind of motor, it sounds like you just need a controllable clutch that you can add into your system. Unfortunately though, I do not have any suggestions for where you might find that.
Alternatively, you might be able to achieve what you want using a stepper motor along with a driver or controller
that you can use to deneergize the motor, allowing the rotor to spin freely. Going that route would simplify your mechanical setup, though I would expect the stepper motor rotor to add more rotational inertia to your pendulum than the clutch mechanism when the clutch is disengaged.
- Patrick
Do all Pololu stepper motors spin freely with low friction when not powered (i.e. there is no electromagnetic brake)?
Our stepper motors do not have electromagnetic brakes.
- Patrick
