Arduino : How to Use a Servo Motor With an External Power

Intro: Arduino : How to Use a Servo Motor With an External Power

This instructable is the written version of my "Arduino : How to Use a Servo Motor with an External Power" YouTube video that I've uploaded recently. I strongly recommend you to check it out.

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STEP 1: Tutorial

Servo, can be powered by another power source without Arduino power. Only thing important here is that all the GND are connected to each other.

STEP 2: Hardware Required

Hardware Required :

• Arduino or Genuino Board
• Servo Motor
• Battery for Servo (I used for my servo; 4pcs (1.5V) batteries.)
• Mini Breadboard
• Wires

STEP 3: Circuit

Like this you can add as many servo motors as you want.

***Important! If you will use high voltage battery and you want give power to arduino with same power source, you need to put a 7805 voltage regulator in, and make a parallel circuit for that too.

STEP 4: Code

This example makes use of the Arduino servo library.

• Get the Code

STEP 5: If I Was Helpful

First of all, I would like to thank you for reading this guide ! I hope it helps you.

If you want to support me, you can subscribe my channel and watch my videos.

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Comments

[MertArduino]

Shown here is providing external power for high torque servo motors. Therefore, you can safely power the Arduino UNO via the USB port. The Servo motor gets its power from batteries, independent of Arduino UNO, while Arduino UNO gets its power via USB, independent of batteries.

An extra tip:
If you add a 100uF capacitor to the positive and negative (i.e. VCC and GND) legs of the Servo Motor, you can prevent vibrations caused by sudden current fluctuations in the servo motor movements. Remember, the positive and negative legs of the capacitor must be placed correctly.

Another scenario:
If you want to power the entire hardware from an external battery, you can use the VIN pin on the Arduino UNO, but in this scenario, you need to disconnect the VIN pin when connecting the Arduino UNO to the USB port to program it. Otherwise, the Servo Motor may momentarily draw a high current from your USB port and damage your computer. (The positive wire of the battery is connected to the VIN pin.)

[renojim2014]

Forgive me, I'm a bit slow. In these examples, I see the signal line from the servo going to the arduino, and the ground to the arduino, but I don't see power to the arduino. How does this work?

[MertArduino]

Shown here is providing external power for high torque servo motors. Therefore, you can safely power the Arduino UNO via the USB port. The Servo motor gets its power from batteries, independent of Arduino UNO, while Arduino UNO gets its power via USB, independent of batteries.

An extra tip:
If you add a 100uF capacitor to the positive and negative (i.e. VCC and GND) legs of the Servo Motor, you can prevent vibrations caused by sudden current fluctuations in the servo motor movements. Remember, the positive and negative legs of the capacitor must be placed correctly.

Another scenario:
If you want to power the entire hardware from an external battery, you can use the VIN pin on the Arduino UNO, but in this scenario, you need to disconnect the VIN pin when connecting the Arduino UNO to the USB port to program it. Otherwise, the Servo Motor may momentarily draw a high current from your USB port and damage your computer. (The positive wire of the battery is connected to the VIN pin.)

[InstructDA]

Thanks for the presentation, it helped me a lot.

[Pirulina]

Thanks a lot! excelent video

[filipmrsovic]

Would it work if I powered it with 3 1,5V batteries?

[unglaublich]

thanks again for a great presentation, i understood all of it, is there any variation if i want to connect the servo motor to a l298n or vnh2sp30 to the arduino and power the servo with a battery ??? again thanks for your information, best regards

[functionaldesign]

Nice tutorial. Would be interesting to also see a fritzing diagram where the arduino is connected to the same power source, for example using the mentioned 7805 voltage regulator.

[MertArduino]

Thank you for your interest. Sorry any missing information.