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I have a motor controller that operates at 10-50V and draws 5A controlling a 3V motor that draws less than 1A.

I had a an idea where I want to try to use a microcontroller to control this set up.

The motor controller has an auxiliary 5V output that can support loads that draw less than 10mA.

If I find a suitable microcontroller, can I use the motor controller to power it? Should I use the motor controller to power it?

More info: I am working on a design for a robot build. My system currently has two motors one that runs at 48V (and around 3A) and the aforementioned one (3V) both using the same type of motor controller. I'd prefer not to have two power supply lines running, so can I run the smaller motor system on the motor controller powered at 50V? Is that safe? (the motor controller can take a 56V max)

Thank you for reading, any input would be highly appreciated.

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    $\begingroup$ Sure. Absolutely. Why not? As long as your microcontroller uses less than 10mA. (10mA seems pretty low, by the way, I'd expect it to be more like 100mA. But there are microcontrollers that use less than 10mA) $\endgroup$ – user253751 Nov 12 '20 at 15:27
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    $\begingroup$ by the way, your motor controller won't draw 5A at 50V if it's outputting 1A at 3V. $\endgroup$ – user253751 Nov 12 '20 at 15:28
  • $\begingroup$ Perhaps some data sheets about the motor controller and the two motors? Would be helpful to know that this "auxiliary" output is not controlled as well. $\endgroup$ – Petrus1904 Nov 12 '20 at 15:43
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you so much for your replies, all this information was very helpful $\endgroup$ – gunter Nov 13 '20 at 9:23
  • $\begingroup$ 10mA is nothing, especially if you want the micontroller to do something on your robot. This appears to be an motor controller controllable output and not a power source. You night get it to work, but a lot of work for minimal return. $\endgroup$ – StainlessSteelRat Nov 15 '20 at 3:54
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If I find a suitable microcontroller, can I use the motor controller to power it? Should I use the motor controller to power it?

Yes, if your controller provide 5V 10mA (supposing sufficient quality in the DC output), you can run several MCU (e.g. I use the STM32F103, known for the arduinos, which consume around 10mA if configured at 8MHz).

Note, however that most low-power MCU run under 5V, so you can gain some mA by a proper conversion.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you so much for this information $\endgroup$ – gunter Nov 13 '20 at 9:23

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