Adafruit16CServoDriver

This is a MyRobotLab service to support the Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Driver attached to an Arduino or a Raspberry PI. It can be used with any board that use the PCA9685 circuit. It is dedicated to do PWM ( Pulse Width Modulation ) and it uses the i2c protocol. Since it can do PWM it can also be used to control a Motor driver. The pins can also be used as digital output pins or analog output pins. When used as analog output pins they are not true analog, but pwm. 

Go to Adafruit product page for more descriptions on details of the driver.

Some examples of other boards that also can be used:

Adafruit 16-Channel PWM / Servo HAT for Raspberry Pi

Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Shield for Arduino

8-Channel PWM or Servo FeatherWing Add-on For All Feather Boards

Steps to control Servo Driver using the Arduino.

1. Attach the Arduino to the computer running MRL (USB, Bluetooth, or other serial method)
2. Attach the servo driver to the Arduino
3. Attach the servo to the servo driver and connect power
4. Follow the steps on this page to install MRLComm. http://myrobotlab.org/service/Arduino  If it already has been done, you don't need to do it again. 
5. Once uploaded, I would highly recommend restarting MRL after the upload
6. Download the example script and execute it from the Python tab. You need to change some parameters in the script to fit your configuration. They are all docmented in the script: 

Steps to use the Servo Driver using the Raspberry PI.

1. Attach the servo driver to the Raspberry PI
2. Attach the servo to the servo driver and connect power
3. Download the example script and execute it from the Python tab. You need to change some parameters in the script to fit your configuration. They are all docmented in the script: 

References

• Adafruit product page

#########################################
# Adafruit16CServoDriver.py
# description: servo driver
# categories: servo shield
# more info @: http://myrobotlab.org/service/Adafruit16CServoDriver
#########################################
# From version 1.0.2316 use attach instead of setController
# An example of how to use the Adafruit16CServoDriver to 
# drive a motor.
#
# config
port = "COM99"

# Runtime.start("WebGui", "WebGui");
arduino = Runtime.start("Arduino", "Arduino");
arduino.connect(port)
sleep(5)
ada = Runtime.start("Ada","Adafruit16CServoDriver")

# ada.setController(arduino,"1","0x40")
ada.attach(arduino,"1","0x40")
sleep(2)
motor01 = Runtime.start("motor01", "Motor");
motor01.setPwmPins(0,1);
motor01.attach(ada);
motor01.move(0.3);

# From version 1.0.2316 use attach instead of setController
# This script is if you use the GPOI pins of the Raspberry PI
raspi = Runtime.start("raspi","RasPi")
# adaFruit16c.setController("RasPi","1","0x40")
adaFruit16c = Runtime.start("adaFruit16c","Adafruit16CServoDriver")
adaFruit16c.attach(raspi,"1","0x40")
#
# This part is common for both devices and creates two servo instances
# on port 3 and 8 on the Adafruit16CServoDriver
# Change the names of the servos and the pin numbers to your usage
thumb = Runtime.start("thumb", "Servo")
# attach it to the pwm board - pin 9
thumb.attach(adaFruit16c,9)
# When this script has been executed you should be able to 
# move the servos using the GUI or using python
thumb.setVelocity(40)
thumb.moveToBlocking(0)
thumb.moveToBlocking(180)
thumb.moveToBlocking(0)
thumb.moveToBlocking(180)

Example for develop:

#file : Adafruit16CServoDriver.py edit raw

#########################################
# Adafruit16CServoDriver.py
# description: servo control
# categories: servo control
# more info @: http://myrobotlab.org/service/Adafruit16CServoDriver
#########################################

# This example shows how to use the Adafruit16CServoDriver
# It can be used with Arduino, RasPi or Esp8266_01
# From version 1.0.2316 use attach instead of setController
#
# config
port = "COM3"
# Code to be able to use this script with virtalArduino
if ('virtual' in globals() and virtual):
    virtualArduino = Runtime.start("virtualArduino", "VirtualArduino")
    virtualArduino.connect(port)
# Start the Adafruit16CServodriver that can be used for all PCA9685 devices
adaFruit16c = Runtime.start("AdaFruit16C","Adafruit16CServoDriver")
#
# This part of the script is for the Arduino
# Comment it out the three lines below if you don't use the Arduino
# Change COM3 to the port where your Arduino is connected
arduino = Runtime.start("arduino","Arduino")
arduino.connect(port)
adaFruit16c.attach("arduino","0","0x40")
#
# This part of the script is if you use the GPOI pins of the Raspberry PI
# Uncomment the two lines below if you use the RasPi
# raspi = Runtime.createAndStart("raspi","RasPi")
# adaFruit16c.attach("raspi","1","0x40")
#
# This part of the script is if you use the Esp8266_01 service
# Uncomment it the two lines below if you duse the Esp8266_01
# esp = Runtime.start("esp","Esp8266_01")
# adaFruit16c.attach("esp","1","0x40")
#
# This part is common for both devices and creates two servo instances
# on port 3 and 8 on the Adafruit16CServoDriver
# Change the names of the servos and the pin numbers to your usage
thumb = Runtime.start("Thumb", "Servo")
elbow = Runtime.start("Elbow", "Servo")
# attach it to the pwm board - pin 3 & 8
thumb.attach(adaFruit16c,3)
elbow.attach(adaFruit16c,8)
# When this script has been executed you should be able to
# move the servos using the GUI or using python