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Published2025-10-15
This detailed guide will walk you through the process of connecting a servo motor to your Arduino Uno, offering both beginners and advanced users a clear and easy-to-follow explanation. Whether you're building a robotic arm, automating your home, or adding motion to your next project, this tutorial will help you understand the essentials of integrating a servo motor with the Arduino Uno.
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Understanding Servo Motors and Arduino Uno
When diving into the world of electronics and robotics, one of the most commonly used components you'll encounter is the servo motor. These small but powerful motors play a vital role in various projects, from robotics to automation systems. Whether you're a hobbyist or a seasoned engineer, understanding how to connect and control a servo motor with your Arduino Uno can unlock new possibilities in your designs.
A servo motor is a special type of motor used for precise control of angular position. Unlike regular motors that rotate continuously, servo motors are designed to rotate to a specific angle, and they can hold that position until told to do otherwise. This makes them perfect for applications requiring exact movement, such as controlling the position of robotic arms, steering mechanisms, or even camera gimbals.
There are two main types of servo motors: standard and continuous. The standard servo motor can rotate between 0° and 180°, while the continuous servo can rotate endlessly in either direction, similar to a DC motor. In this guide, we’ll focus on the standard servo motor, which is ideal for tasks that need specific positional control.
The Arduino Uno is an open-source microcontroller board that serves as the heart of many electronics projects. Its versatility, ease of use, and wide community support make it the go-to choice for hobbyists and professionals alike. The Arduino Uno features a powerful ATmega328P microcontroller, allowing it to interact with a variety of components, including sensors, motors, LEDs, and more.
When combined with a servo motor, the Arduino Uno becomes a powerful tool for controlling the motor's position. The ease of programming in Arduino’s simple C-based language is one of the key reasons it's so popular. The Arduino can send precise PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signals to the servo, which is how the motor’s position is controlled.
Before we get started with the wiring and programming, let's list the components you'll need for this project:
Arduino Uno Board: This will serve as the controller.
Servo Motor: A standard 180° servo motor (e.g., SG90).
Jumper Wires: To connect the components.
Breadboard (Optional): For organizing and making connections.
External Power Supply (Optional): If your servo motor requires more current than the Arduino can provide.
These components are easily available and relatively inexpensive, making them ideal for experimenting with motion control projects.
Wiring the Servo Motor to Arduino Uno
Now that we have an understanding of the components, let’s start by wiring the servo motor to the Arduino Uno. This process is fairly straightforward and only requires a few simple connections.
Connecting the Servo Motor to the Arduino Uno:
Red Wire (Power): Connect the red wire from the servo to the 5V pin on the Arduino Uno. This provides the motor with the necessary power.
Brown Wire (Ground): Connect the brown (or black) wire from the servo to the GND pin on the Arduino Uno.
Orange Wire (Signal): The orange or yellow wire from the servo should be connected to a PWM pin on the Arduino, usually pins 9 or 10. This will send the PWM signal, which controls the position of the servo.
Double-Check Connections: Ensure that all connections are secure, especially the power and ground wires. A loose connection can lead to unstable behavior or even damage the components.
Why PWM Signals Are Important
Servo motors are controlled by PWM signals, which consist of a series of on/off pulses. The width of each pulse (the time it stays "on") determines the position of the motor. For example, a 1.5 ms pulse typically corresponds to the servo's center position (90°), while a shorter pulse (around 1 ms) will rotate it to 0°, and a longer pulse (around 2 ms) will rotate it to 180°.
In the next part of the guide, we’ll go over how to program your Arduino Uno to send these PWM signals to the servo motor.
Programming the Arduino Uno to Control the Servo Motor
With the hardware connections in place, it’s time to turn to the programming side. Arduino Uno uses the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to write and upload code to the board. The programming process is simple and consists of just a few lines of code to control the servo motor’s movement.
Setting Up the Arduino IDE
Before diving into the code, make sure you have the Arduino IDE installed on your computer. The IDE is compatible with both Windows and macOS and can be downloaded from the official Arduino website.
Once you’ve installed the IDE, connect your Arduino Uno to your computer via a USB cable. In the IDE, select the correct board (Arduino Uno) and port under the Tools menu to establish a connection with the board.
Writing the Servo Motor Control Code
The Arduino IDE comes with a Servo library, which simplifies the process of controlling servo motors. Here’s how you can use it to control your servo:
Include the Servo Library:
First, we need to tell the Arduino IDE that we’re going to use the Servo library. Add this line to the beginning of your sketch (code):
Declare the Servo Object:
Next, create a servo object that will control the motor. This tells the Arduino that you're going to control one servo.
In the setup() function, initialize the servo motor and specify the pin it is connected to (in our case, pin 9).
myServo.attach(9); // Connect the servo to pin 9
Inside the loop() function, use the write() method to control the servo's position. You can provide a value between 0 and 180 to set the angle of the servo motor.
myServo.write(0); // Move servo to 0 degrees
delay(1000); // Wait for 1 second
myServo.write(90); // Move servo to 90 degrees (center position)
delay(1000); // Wait for 1 second
myServo.write(180); // Move servo to 180 degrees
delay(1000); // Wait for 1 second
In this simple code, the servo moves between 0°, 90°, and 180° with a 1-second delay at each position. The delay() function pauses the program for a set amount of time (in milliseconds).
Uploading the Code to Arduino Uno
After writing your code, upload it to the Arduino Uno by clicking the Upload button in the Arduino IDE. If everything is set up correctly, the servo motor will begin moving between the specified positions.
Once the program is running, your servo motor should start to move to different positions, controlled by the code you uploaded. You can experiment with different angles and delays to create more complex movements or use sensors (like a potentiometer) to dynamically adjust the servo’s position.
Connecting a servo motor to an Arduino Uno is an excellent way to get started with robotics, automation, and motor control projects. By following the steps in this guide, you've learned not only how to wire a servo motor to the Arduino but also how to write simple code to control its movement.
From here, you can explore more complex projects like robotic arms, automated doors, or even integrating multiple servos for coordinated movement. The possibilities are endless with this powerful combination of Arduino and servo motors!
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Update：2025-10-15
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