Quieter motors?
 

Our computer science department has purchased several Vex robots for programming purposes rather than engineering, so most of the motor talk has been lost on me. I apologize if someone has already answered this question and I just couldn't understand or find the post! :rolleyes: We would like to replace the Vex motors and servos with something quieter. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Re: Quieter motors?
 

If you get different motors you'll also need to get Hobby RC speed controllers to power them. The Vex motors have speed control built in. You can probably find slightly quieter motors if you really look for them. You can certainly find stronger motors anyways. You're unlikely to find any quieter servoes. The noise is mostly coming from the gears that are slowing the motor down, and every servo has a gear train like that.

Re: Quieter motors?
 

For 'Hobby RC Speed Controllers" one typical vendor is IFI Robotics, one of the vendors for FIRST. There are both more costly and less costly units available.

The value is that you select whatever motor best suited for your purpose, and power it through such a controller. the controller, in turn, is controlled by the Vex motor output.

Don

Re: Quieter motors?
 

If you want to use servos, you're unlikely to find anything else much quieter than these, for reasons already stated.

If you want to use other motors, you can probably find a number of different ones (they sell DC motors in the parts racks at Radio Shack, for example). Unfortunately, since motors typically don't have a controller built in, you need to obtain a speed controller to be able to do anything other than use them at full power in one direction. One option is speed controllers, but these tend to be rather pricey and in most cases overkill for a motor the size of the Vex ones.

Another option, probably a bit more realistic for small motors, is to get an H-Bridge. It can do the same thing as a speed controller for a much cheaper price; they can't handle nearly as much current or voltage, but should be suitable for small motors. You can find them at most hobby robotics places online (I don't think I've ever seen one at an actual store before), one good place to look at is acroname.com or anywhere that sells Sumobot components. You can probably obtain small DC motors from such places as well.

I don't know what kinds of programming are required to use an H-Bridge (I think they can be used the same as a speed controller), but I'm sure you guys could figure it out since you're using these for programming.

Re: Quieter motors?
 

Gotta love google:
H-Bridge Motor control
That will tell you how to make your own speed controller. Note that using that, you can't use the standard program. You'll need to generate a 1% to 99% duty-cycle PWM signal plus a direction signal, probably on the digital/analog ports.

Alternatively, try hobby stores, like:
Tower Hobbies
Horizon Hobbies

Note that you're almost certainly looking for brushed motor controllers, not brushless motor controllers. They're vastly different and incompatible. You'll also likely want one with reverse on it.