Hey CD!
Is it at all possible to run a neo or neo550 paired with a sparkmax with an arduino? I’ve read about the PWM ports on the sparkmax but am unsure about how they would be wired to the arduino. So far I understand that I would have to power the sparkmax externally with 12V and enough current. I am just unsure about how to actually tell the motor controller to spin the motor and how it would be wired.
You’d need to generate a PWM signal from the arduino to the Spark Max controller.
Here is the connector for PWM included with the controller and pinout:
CAN/PWM Port Connector Information
| Connector Pin | CAN Function | PWM Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAN High | Signal |
| 2 | CAN Low | Ground |
| 3 | CAN High | Signal |
| 4 | CAN Low | Ground |
Here is a video that goes into generating a PWM from an arduino to drive a different controller, but probably covers enough to figure it out with your devices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Rc892r--njw&t=0s
edit: For power, we use a little 12v automotive circuit panel with circuit breakers to connect to 1-2 controllers for testing. We use a airplane servo controller to generate PWM to the spark maxes.
The examples for the Servo library will help here. It’s the same protocol, but the signal just corresponds to speed rather than a specific angle.
I see, could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by “angle” vs “speed”? Would just running an analogWrite({PWM_PIN}, {0-255}) in a loop not work to spin the motor? Would it just send the motor to a certain angle like a servo?
What you’re looking for is the Servo.write() function. The note on continuous-rotation servos also applies to PWMPulse Width Modulation motor controllers:
On a continuous rotation servo, this will set the speed of the servo (with 0 being full-speed in one direction, 180 being full speed in the other, and a value near 90 being no movement).
I’ve found that the Knob example is a good place to start with when working with motor controllers and Arduino.
Ive actually been doing work with this recently. I havent done it with sparkmaxes, but rather the original sparks with CIM motors, it should be a similar process. In terms of wiring, I’m using PWM control. I’m getting the signal, 5v power, and ground from the arduino. The Arduino must have a shared ground connection to the main FRC circuit for this to work. From there I am just using the arduino servo library, 180 is motor full speed forward, 90 is stopped, and 0 is full speed reverse. Let me know if you have any questions.
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