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A project log for ESP32 Mini-Bot

A small proof-of-concept ESP32 Bot

matthew-james-bellafaireMatthew James Bellafaire 02/21/2019 at 19:590 Comments

The goal here is to build a proof of concept, so I went a little cheap on the motors and found whatever came in at the lowest price on amazon. That doesn't affect the hardware too much, since the intention is still to make a cheap-proof of concept that can use more powerful motors. However, it does come into play in the design of the body and this is the best place to mention it. The hardware is simple and to the point: 

The upper-left corner contains all the power circuitry, power comes in from the battery through the lithium ion battery module then gets fed into a boost converter. The output of the boost converter, is then fed into both a LM7805 and the L239 motor driver. While it would be possible to connect the ESP32 Board directly to the 12V output through the EXT_5V pin, it's not ideal. Pins 12, 14, 25, 26, 27, and 33 on the ESP32 are connected directly to the L293. The outputs of the L293 then connect to the motors with proper diode protection as shown in the IC's datasheet. 

This circuit was assembled on perf-board and works properly. Utilizing the boost converter and lithium ion battery modules saved a great deal of time soldering.

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