Quick start¶
From the box to a calibrated motor that follows commands, in four parts. The quickest way through is Motor GUI in the browser; every step also shows the terminal commands.
Read first
Reversed supply polarity, a daisy-chain cable the wrong way round, or 5 V on the UART port destroys the driver. The motor turns during calibration. The Safety chapter is two minutes long.
Before you start¶
You start from the box: a driver, a motor and the parts below. The wiring needs a multimeter and a soldering iron.
Nothing else is assumed: no experience with motor drivers, a terminal or a program.
The four parts¶
| Part | What you do | What you end with |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fit the motor | Fit the magnet, mount the board behind the motor, solder the three phases | A driver on its motor, wired |
| 2. Connect | Connect the supply and the PC, open Motor GUI or a terminal | A driver that talks to your PC |
| 3. Calibrate | Restore the defaults, calibrate, set the current limit, save | A calibrated driver that keeps its settings |
| 4. First moves | Turn the motor at a speed, move it to a position, stop it | A motor that follows commands |
Each step links the page that explains it. Follow the link when a step is not clear or something fails.
What you need¶
| Where to get it | |
|---|---|
| Spectral Micro driver | single driver or the starter kit, which has everything below except the motor, the bracket and the supply |
| A brushless motor with a phase resistance of 2 to 24 Ω and 2.8 A or less: a gimbal motor, from the 2804 class to the 8108 class | the tested motors are safe choices |
| The encoder magnet, diametrically magnetised; the stock one is 6 × 2.5 mm, another thickness is fine if it gives the 1 mm gap | magnet |
| A bracket that holds the board behind the motor, and M3 screws | the example bracket to adapt and print; a NEMA 17-format motor needs only a spacer |
| USB-to-serial adapter, 3.3 V, and its cable | serial adapter, UART cable |
| Power cable | power cable |
| A 12 to 29 V supply, 24 V recommended | a bench supply with a current limit is the safest start |
| For CAN later: CANvas USB-to-CAN adapter and a CAN cable | CAN adapter, CAN cable |
| Optional: 100 kΩ NTC thermistor for motor temperature protection | thermistor |
| Software: Motor GUI in Chrome or Edge, or a serial terminal | motorgui.com; PuTTY, the PlatformIO monitor or the Arduino serial monitor |
More: What you need.
Comments
Found a mistake on this page? Edit it on GitHub · Report it · Get help · This page as Markdown · llms.txt · The whole manual as PDF