DCMotorDriver
Overview
The DCMotorDriver project is a DIY dual-channel DC motor driver for use in motor control applications. The circuit uses H-bridges for bidirectional control and braking. The DCMotorDriver board is laid out on a single-sided PCB, and is designed to be easy to develop and etch using amateur PCB fabrication techniques.
DCMotorDriver, like all NBitWonder projects, is completely free and open-source. All documentation and source materials are made available under NBitWonder’s default legal terms.
Hardware Overview
DCMotorDriver uses H-bridges for bidirectional motor control. For this, the ZXMHC3F381N8, manufactured by Diodes, Inc. will be used. PWM switching waveforms for the H-bridges are generated via an onboard PIC18F2XK22 microcontroller, and Fairchild semiconductor MMBT3904 transistors are used to interface the high-side H-bridge transistors to the microcontroller. Power regulation is handled by a switching regulator based on the AP34063 IC manufactured by Diodes Inc. Using the above parts, the system is capable of handling voltages in the range of 5 to 35 volts and currents of up to 8 amps (4 amps per channel).
Software Overview
The software for the DC Motor driver is currently under development, and a stable release has not been published at the time of this writing. The software for the DC Motor Driver accepts a command string (sent to the microcontroller via SPI) issuing an order to the driver (eg. left, right, straight, brake, etc.). Depending on the order issued to the driver, the software sets outputs to the transistors in the H-Bridge ICs to perform the desired action in accordance with the H-bridge theory of operation. Outputs are controlled via PWM outputs, so the speed can be varied by modulating the inputs to the H-bridge ICs.
Documentation
The DCMotorDriver project is fully open source, and as such links to documentation are included below. For the latest, most up-to-date documentation, consult the NBitWonder github repository.
