I am trying to create a lift system using four N20 Reduction Gear Motors from Makers Supply, and I need to connect them all to a single potentiometer board from Makers Supply, but I need to make sure each motor is getting the maximum amount of power possible, so I don’t think a power distribution board will work because the power would be shared amongst all four motors, which from my understanding, would decrease the amount of weight each motor could lift. Does anyone know how I can control all four motors using a single potentiometer board and make sure each motor is receiving the same amount of power it would if it was the only motor being used?
This covers pretty much all the core elements that you need to do. I’m assuming you will need to reverse the lift system. You will need to add a second L293 chip to achieve 4 motor control.
There are other ways to do this but this is the best way to learn how a system like this works.
I really wish Arduino was a thing when I was a kid. It is a great building block and teaching tool.
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I am trying to use motors from Makers Supply, but I have no clue how to make it so each motor receives 6v and is controlled by a single potentiometer board. Do you have any ideas on how to do that?
If you don’t need to reverse the motors, used the power distribution board and control the speed with the USB speed controller. This will give you proper PWM speed control and maximize the potential of each motor.
I still recommend going the arduino route as you will be WAY better off in the end.
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The USB speed controller is a good idea. If he adds a DPDT switch to it he could have reversing too.
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Not sure this will provided the solution your are looking for however to answer your question directly:
Connect the pot to SW0 and each motor to each CH from 1 to 4, you will need to use the jumper cables inserted into SW1 to 4.
Each motor will get 6V however your current will be reduced across the 4 motors. The power distribution board is listed at 6V 1A. The motors use 40mA when idle but can draw up to 650mA if they are stalled per specs so that may cause a failed condition if your lift gets stuck. Not sure what the current would be running at load so that should also be worked out but for experimentation I wouldn’t connect something to the PDB that provides more than 6V 1 amp to be safe.
With four motors and the pot connected the PDB will not have free spots for anything else.
Are the Makers Supply N20 motors reversible with the right setup?
Yes, DC motor rotation is controlled by the polarity of the power supplied to it.
Ok, and do you know whether the Makers supply power distribution board is wired in parallel or series?
Generally “distribution” boards are in parallel. In this case the associated switch terminal is in series with the power terminal allowing power to be switched individually.
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It’s actually a series/parallel circuit. The four outputs are parallel to each other so all see the same voltage and current among the four outputs adds.
Each output has a connector in series with it for switches, potentiometers, etc. to control each load independently.
There are diagrams on the PDB web page.
So does that mean that, the Makers Supply power distribution board can supply 6v to each motor all at the same time?
Yes, that is what parallel supply means. Take note that the distribution board ships with a USB connector so normal power supply is 5v.
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I’m not even sure of the 6V value. There is an IC on the PDB that has no discussion of its function. If it’s a 5V regulator, since the PDB can use batteries or USB power, then each port may only supply 5V.
Also, looking into it, you cannot control four motors using a single potentiometer board and the PDB. The way the board is designed, you can only control one device with a potentiometer. To control four motors you need four potentiometers, or jumpers, or switches to control them.
If you weren’t controlling motors you could possibly fan out the connections from the device connector to multiple devices. But while trying to find out what the PDB IC is, I saw the potentiometer board is only good to 400mA. They do show a potentiometer board running a gear motor in the examples so one motor on one pot is probably fine though don’t know what happens if you exceed that 400mA. The potentiometer board could clamp the current there or it might fail. It’s not just a pot on that board - there’s other parts on it too and they don’t provide any circuit description.
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I doubt it’s what you are interested in but this and a microcontroller can run 2 steppers or 4 brushed motors. Ganged or individual control in software.
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