Make a motor move threw the usb

[phycoCoder]

Hello users of "Daniweb"
I am try to make a robotic arm that will be controlled my a mac book threw the usb/fire wire ports.I want to use a step motor or some thing similar and was wondering what kind of hard wear i would need to buy in order to change java computer code into beautiful motoro moving instructions.

I will be in your dept for ever if you can help me out
-Adam

[UrbanKhoja]

Hi there,

I'm guessing you've already solved this, but you need a servo. Which in essence is a motor that can be remotely operated and finely controlled. These vary in both analogue and digital, and varying torque ability.

Maplin do a nice board which allows you to connect a number of servos, program them and ultimately control them.

The type of servo to use will depend on what you want to do, should you wish to use 2.4Ghz then a digital servo is preferable. If the arm will need to grip and lift, then a high torque servo with metal gears and maybe ball raced will be best.

Standard motors can be used, but this depends on your robotics ability as they'll require more work and modifying to work as you want.

Hope this helps

Darren