Book Image

Arduino BLINK Blueprints

By : Utsav Shah
Book Image

Arduino BLINK Blueprints

By: Utsav Shah

Overview of this book

Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino has been used in thousands of different projects and applications by a wide range of programmers and artists, and their contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to novices and experts alike. Want to build exciting LED projects with Arduino? This book will be your companion to bring out the creative genius in you. To begin with, you will get introduced to the maker movement and the open source hardware development Arduino boards. You will then move on to develop a mood lamp and a remote-controlled TV backlight. As you progress through the book, you will develop an LED cube and will learn to use sound visualization to develop a sound-controlled LED Christmas tree. You will then move on to build a persistence of vision wand. At the end of each chapter, you’ll see some common problems, their solutions, and some workarounds.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)

Different types of motors


Depending upon your project needs, you can choose from the variety of motors available in the market. For hobby electronics, you will mostly use either DC motor, servo motor, or stepper motor. The following image shows all three types of motors. From left to right, DC motor, servo motor, and stepper motor:

Let's get an overview about all the different types of motors.

DC motors

DC (Direct Current) motors are two-wire continuous rotational motors. When power is supplied to the motor, it will start running and will stop once power is removed. Most DC motors run at high speed, that is, high RPM (rotations per minute). The speed of the DC motor is controlled using the PWM technique (as discussed in Chapter 2, Project 1 – LED Night Lamp). The duty cycle will determine the speed of the motor. The motor seems to be continuously running as each pulse is very rapid.

Servo motors

Servo motors are self-contained electric devices that rotate or push parts of a machine with great...