Romi with 32U4 controller 3rd motor

I have a functioning Romi and would like to add a spinner that can throw ping pong balls. Does the controller support an additional motor? A servo doesn’t have the speed needed. Should I use an external motor controller like a L298N Motor Driver Board? This seems over complicated since I already have a motor controller. I already have an L298N but I’m not sure I should use power from the 32U4 to supply the motor power.

Thanks

Hello.

The Romi 32U4 has 2 built-in motor drivers; it does not have a third available. You could add a separate motor driver like you’re describing. It isn’t clear to me what your spinner needs to be capable of, but if you do not need bidirectional control, you could also consider just a simple MOSFET.

In either case, for powering the electronics for the third motor, you can use the VSW pin. The VSW pin is the output of the power switching circuit (i.e. the battery voltage after the on-board power pushbutton power switch) and is also used to power the onboard motor drivers.

Brandon