labview and Arduino combo

[Noob Ardie]

Hi people,

Is it possible to control 6 motors independently and getting some sensor readings all using an arduino mega and labview. Does each of the motor need its own motor controller or can the arduino + labview combo program one.

Really appreciate the help and thanks in advance for reading.

Noob Ardie

[RyanCahoon]

See this thread or this webpage for info on interfacing LabVIEW with Arduinos.

In terms of controlling motors, it depends on what type and size of motors you have. Small (what I tend to call) "hobby motors" you could probably control with just a transistor controlled by one of the Arduino's digital output pins. If you want to use motors much bigger than that, you'd probably going to need to get an actual motor controller. The Arduino should be able to control all six motors, but you'll need 6 motor controllers to do the current switching (although motor controllers packaged in 2s are commonly available). Many motor controllers (including the Victors and Jaguars from FIRST) are PPM/PWM controlled, so check out the Arduino's servo libraries.

--Ryan

[Noob Ardie]

Thanks Ryan for the response. that was nice of you, with the weekend and all.

I would be trying out the arduino on a mock up soon and will update on the results..