Motors for Makers: A Guide to Steppers, Servos, and Other Electrical Machines

Description

The First Maker-Friendly Guide to Electric Motors!

Makers can do amazing things with motors. Yes, they’re more complicated than some other circuit elements, but with this book, you can completely master them. Once you do, incredible new projects become possible.

Unlike other books, Motors for Makers is 100% focused on what you can do. Not theory. Making.

First, Matthew Scarpino explains how electric motors work and what you need to know about each major type: stepper, servo, induction, and linear motors. Next, he presents detailed instructions and working code for interfacing with and controlling servomotors with Arduino Mega, Raspberry Pi, and BeagleBone Black. All source code and design files are available for you to download from motorsformakers.com.

From start to finish, you’ll learn through practical examples, crystal-clear explanations, and photos. If you’ve ever dreamed of what you could do with electric motors, stop dreaming...and start making!

• Understand why electric motors are so versatile and how they work
• Choose the right motor for any project
• Build the circuits needed to control each type of motor
• Program motor control with Arduino Mega, Raspberry Pi, or BeagleBone Black
• Use gearmotors to get the right amount of torque
• Use linear motors to improve speed and precision
• Design a fully functional electronic speed control (ESC) circuit
• Design your own quadcopter
• Discover how electric motors work in modern electric vehicles--with a fascinating inside look at Tesla’s patents for motor design and control!

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Motors for Makers: Introduction to Stepper Motors for Motion Control

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 4 and Index)

Table of Contents

Introduction     1
Who This Book Is For     2
How This Book Is Organized     2
Let Me Know What You Think     3
Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1: Introduction to Electric Motors     5
1.1 Brief History     6
1.2 Anatomy of a Motor     7
1.3 Overview of Electric Motors     9
1.4 Goals and Structure     11
1.5 Summary     11
Chapter 2: Preliminary Concepts     13
2.1 Torque and Angular Speed     13
2.2 Magnets     18
2.3 Equivalent Circuit Element     21
2.4 Power and Efficiency     23
2.5 Summary     25
Part II: Exploring Electric Motors
Chapter 3: DC Motors     27
3.1 DC Motor Fundamentals     28
3.2 Brushed Motors     34
3.3 Brushless Motors     42
3.4 Electronic Speed Control (ESC) Systems     49
3.5 Batteries     51
3.6 Summary     53
Chapter 4: Stepper Motors     55
4.1 Permanent Magnet (PM) Steppers     56
4.2 Variable Reluctance (VR) Steppers     59
4.3 Hybrid (HY) Steppers     61
4.4 Stepper Control     63
4.5 Summary     71
Chapter 5: Servomotors     73
5.1 Hobbyist Servos     74
5.2 Overview of Servo Control     78
5.3 PID Control     85
5.4 Summary     87
Chapter 6: AC Motors     89
6.1 Alternating Current (AC)      90
6.2 Overview of Polyphase Motors     91
6.3 Asynchronous Polyphase Motors     96
6.4 Synchronous Polyphase Motors     100
6.5 Single-Phase Motors     103
6.6 AC Motor Control     106
6.7 Universal Motors     109
6.8 Summary     110
Chapter 7: Gears and Gearmotors     113
7.1 Overview of Gears     113
7.2 Types of Gears     117
7.3 Gearmotors     124
7.4 Summary     125
Chapter 8: Linear Motors     127
8.1 Linear Actuators     128
8.2 Linear Synchronous Motors     131
8.3 Linear Induction Motors     137
8.4 Homopolar Motors     140
8.5 Summary     143
Part III: Electrical Motors in Practice
Chapter 9: Motor Control with the Arduino Mega     145
9.1 The Arduino Mega     146
9.2 Programming the Arduino Mega     149
9.3 The Arduino Motor Shield     158
9.4 Stepper Motor Control     162
9.5 Servomotor Control     166
9.6 Summary     168
Chapter 10: Motor Control with the Raspberry Pi     171
10.1 The Raspberry Pi     172
10.2 Programming the Raspberry Pi     174
10.3 Controlling a Servomotor     182
10.4 The RaspiRobot Board     186
10.5 Summary     192
Chapter 11: Controlling Motors with the BeagleBone Black     195
11.1 The BeagleBone Black (BBB)      196
11.2 Programming the BBB     198
11.3 PWM Generation     205
11.4 The Dual Motor Controller Cape (DMCC)      207
11.5 Summary     213
Chapter 12: Designing an Arduino-Based Electronic Speed Control (ESC)      215
12.1 Overview of the ESC Design     216
12.2 Switching Circuitry     218
12.3 Zero-Crossing Detection     225
12.4 Designing the Schematic     229
12.5 Board Layout     232
12.6 Controlling the BLDC     234
12.7 Summary     239
Chapter 13: Designing a Quadcopter     241
13.1 Frame     242
13.2 Propellers     243
13.3 Motors     248
13.4 Electronics     250
13.5 Construction     259
13.6 Summary     260
Chapter 14: Electric Vehicles     263
14.1 Electric Vehicle Conversion     264
14.2 Modern Electric Vehicles     267
14.3 Patents from Tesla Motors     272
14.4 Summary     278
Part IV: Appendixes
Appendix A: Electric Generators     279
A.1 Overview     280
A.2 DC Generators     281
A.3 AC Generators     283
A.4 Summary     286
Appendix B: Glossary     287
Index     293

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