Optical Rotatory encoders for geared motors

This project is designed as an attachment to geared motor to measure its angular rotation. One of the most important things in robotics is to accurately sense and control the rotation of a motor. Geared motors are preferred for this project since stepper motors are bulky and have comparatively less torque and speed.

Let us take a note of the prerequisites for this project:

1.Geared motor.
2. IR LED and detector
3. Aluminum strips
4. Super glue
5. Drilling machine with 5.5mm drill bit

An encoder disc with alternate black and white quad circles is attached to the shaft of the motor. Using rigid aluminum strips, two IR leds are attached to the front end of the wheel such that the wheel does not touch it while rotating. After you superglue everything, measure the voltage difference between black and white and bend the aluminum strips till you get a difference of at least 2V and if you have a glue gun, glue the two strips together so that they can’t move. Now, CRO is used to measure angular resolution. The output can then be given to the microcontroller for the accurate control of the motor.

Visit the blog to fetch in more details about this project through a video tutorial.