Data Sheet

RoboClaw 120A/160A/200A Dual Channel Motor Controller Data Sheet
(c) 2016 Ion Motion Control. All Rights Reserved.
10
Wiring Basics
RoboClaw must be wired correctly to ensure safe and reliable operation. The wiring diagram below illustrates one of several
possible wiring congurations. An external main power cut off solution should be incorporated for safety. Regeneration will
occur if the motors are moved when the system is off causing possible erratic behavior. Use a high current diode (D1) to
create a return path to the battery when the unit is switched off. Use a precharge resistor (R1) to avoid high inrush currents
and arcing. A precharge resistor (R1) should be 1K, 1/2Watt for a 60VDC motor controller which will give a precharge time
of about 15 seconds. A lower resistances can be used with lower voltages to decrease the precharge time.
Wiring Closed Loop Mode
A wide range of sensors are supported for closed loop operation. Absolute and quadrature encoders are supported along
with potentiometers and hall effect sensor. The illustration below is an example of the wiring required for closed loop
mode using quadrature encoders. Quadrature encoders are directional. The internal RoboClaw counter to increment in
one direction and decrement in the opposite direction. When wiring encoders it is important they are wired to match the
direction of the motor. If the encoder is wired in reverse it can cause a run away condition.
Analog
RoboClaw has high speed 12 bit analog converters with a voltage range of 0V to 2V. The analog pins are 5V tolerant. If
using a potentiometer its range will be limited if 5VDC is used as the reference voltage. A simple resistor divider circuit
can be used to reduce the on board 5VDC to a 2VDC reference voltage. The below wiring diagram shows the placement of
this resistor (R2 & R3) when using a potentiometer. The potentiometer will act as the other half of the divider circuit. If the
potentiometer used is 5K, R2 & R3 = 7.5K. If the potentiometer is 10K, R2 & R3 = 15K and so on.
Wiring Diagram
RoboClaw has several wiring congurations, depending on the type of input or output being used. See the User Manual for
additional examples.
Encoder 1
A
B
GND
+5V
EN1 A
EN1 B
5VDC
GROUND
Encoder 2
A
B
GND
+5V
EN2 A
EN2 B
5VDC
GROUND
M1A
M1B
M2B
M2A
B-
B+
+
-
Battery
RX0
TX0
+5V
GROUND
ROBOCLAW
Motor 1
Motor 2
UART TX
UART RX
5VDC
GROUND
MCU
R1
R2
R3
F1
D1