What Are Servo Motors?
Servo motors are special motors used for tasks that require turning to a specific angle. For example, they are used to move a robot’s arm or steer a toy car. These motors receive an electric signal, which tells them how much to turn.
Inside a servo motor, there is a small motor, gears, and a control circuit. The control circuit determines how much the motor will turn and at what speed.
Using a servo motor is very easy. It usually has three wires: one for power, one for ground (GND), and one for the control signal. We can set the motor’s angle using a control signal from a device like a microcontroller (e.g., Arduino).
For example, if a robot arm needs to turn 90 degrees, the servo motor receives the control signal and turns the arm exactly 90 degrees. That’s why servo motors are very useful for projects that require precise movements.
Let’s get to know the servo motor we use in the circuit.
The SG90 servo motor is a small and lightweight servo motor model. It is commonly used in robotics projects, model airplanes, robot arms, and toys. Here are some details about the features and usage of the SG90 servo motor:
Features:
- Size and Weight: The SG90 is a very small and lightweight motor. Its dimensions are approximately 22.2 x 11.8 x 31 mm, and it weighs only 9 grams.
- Torque: The motor’s torque is about 1.8 kg/cm. This means it can handle a load of 1.8 kilograms at the motor’s shaft.
- Operating Voltage: The SG90 servo motor operates between 4.8V and 6V.
- Operating Angle: This motor typically rotates 180 degrees (90 degrees to the right and 90 degrees to the left).
- Connections: The SG90 servo motor has three wires:
- Orange Wire: For the control signal
- Red Wire: For power (VCC)
- Brown Wire: For ground (GND)
How to Use: Controlling an SG90 servo motor with a microcontroller (e.g., Arduino) is quite simple. Here are the steps:
- Connections:
- Connect the red wire to the 5V power supply.
- Connect the brown wire to the ground (GND).
- Connect the orange wire to one of the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) pins on your microcontroller.
Wiring diagram:
In this project, we will rotate a servo motor first to 90 degrees and then to 180 degrees, thereby performing position control on the motors. To do this, we will use the mBlock ‘servo pin’ feature.
