Speed Controllers
1. Introduction
The purpose of a motor speed controller is to take a signal representing the demanded speed, and to drive a motor at that speed. The controller may or may not actually measure the speed of the motor. If it does, it is called a Feedback Speed Controller or Closed Loop Speed Controller, if not it is called an Open Loop Speed Controller. Feedback speed control is better, but more complicated, and may not be required for a simple robot design. Motors come in a variety of forms, and the speed controller's motor drive output will be different dependent on these forms. The speed controller presented here is designed to drive a simple cheap starter motor from a car, which can be purchased from any scrap yard. These motors are generally series wound, which means to reverse them, they must be altered slightly, (see the section on motors).Below is a simple block diagram of the speed controller. We'll go through the important parts block by block in detail.
