SN754410 Dual Motor Control

           One of the basic aspects of robotics involves being able to control any type of locomotion. Motor control, through digital electronics, has become widely regarded as an accurate and well developed area and while many mysteries still remain, an equal number of motor control methods exist. The most simple of which is known as the H-Bridge.
           The SN754410 is a motor controller made by Texas Instruments. Don't let its tiny size fool you, it is very capable, very simple and very powerful. This tutorial will use the SN754410 to show you how to control two motors independently and accurately. See the images and video below for an introduction.



SN754410 Dual Motor Control: Demonstration

SN754410 Close Up and Pinout

The Example Dual Motor Control Setup

Purpose & Overview of this tutorial
           The purpose of this tutorial is to use: a standard 1 Amp H-bridge motor control IC (SN754410), a microcontroller (PIC 18F452) and two DC motors, and control the two motors with basic functions such as speed and direction. The microcontroller will take input from two trimpots (5kΩ Variable Resistors) one trimpot will control the speed and direction for motor #1, with the other trimpot doing the same for motor #2.
           The microcontroller's internal analog to digital converter will be used to convert the trimpot's output voltage and will then determine the speed and direction the motors should move. If a trimpot's resistance is 2.5kΩ (the exact middle) the corresponding motor should be at rest. When the trimpot is moved to a higher or lower resistance, the motor should begin moving in the corresponding direction (forward/reverse).