Hi
I'm looking to rotate an object (probably going to be an LED lighting system) at 60RPM.
I'm familiar with using Arduino, but haven't had any experience with RC electronics.
Should I be using an ESC and somehow program it to maintain this speed on a normal servo motor? Also is this relatively low speed possible? I'd say as long as it is accurate to about 20 RPM and doesn't go lower than 60RPM it would be fine.
Thanks :)
Replies
You can get relatively cheap optical encoders (about 30$) that give your Arduino the rotational speed. Simply take the desired speed, subtract the current speed and multiply that by some suitable constant. Output that to PWM and it should work. (the most basic PID controller is this)
If you want it really cool you could probably use some diodes and a voltage regulator to create a burshless power transmitter, but the slip ring would be a lot easier I think.
PS is there any method available that would allow a range of speeds e.g. from 30 RPM to 300 RPM?
Thanks Mike, that's perfect.
I never knew about slip rings.
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1248
https://www.adafruit.com/products/775
Happy hacking.