Different motor types and how to use them

Now that we have a good understanding of the basics of how electric motors for DIY robots work, let us look in more detail at the most used motor types. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of these motor types and go through the hardware setup and Arduino code to use them.

Using RC servo motors

The easiest electric actuator type to use with Arduino is the standard RC servo motor. An RC servo is an integrated system that has the following components, all packaged in a very compact housing:

• An electric motor with a gearbox, most commonly a miniature DC motor
• A suitable motor driver circuit
• A shaft encoder at the output of the gearbox, most commonly a simple potentiometer
• A microcontroller that reads an input signal and controls the position of the gearbox output by driving the motor accordingly

There is a large selection of RC servos available that vary in size, speed, torque, and input voltage...