Which Motor For Kinetic Sculptures Workshop?

[lizzyB]

Hello Adafruit!

Can anyone advise me on a simple and affordable (under $10?) motor that I can use without a controller? Movement can be very basic, anything that goes on/off.

I am teaching a two day workshop in kinetic sculptures and I'd like to incorporate a light motor to power something like a mobile (continuous motion sculpture). My students will not have coding experience and I am hoping to avoid using Arduino-- both for the increased cost and also because I think we'll get bogged down in tech. We will have circuit/soldering supplies and batteries.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Lizzy

[adafruit_support_bill]

You might want start with a read through this guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-mot ... -of-motors

A couple of very basic questions you will need to consider are: How massive are these sculptures and how fast do you want them to move?

Since you are avoiding any kind of control, you will need a motor that when connected to a power source will simply run at a reasonable speed and with reasonable torque to move your sculptures. That probably means some sort of gearmotor.

For small and relatively lightweight sculptures, these may work for you.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2941

Pololu has a much wider range of gearmotors of various sizes and gear ratios: https://www.pololu.com/category/22/motors-and-gearboxes

[lizzyB]

Thank you! This is perfect. I will experiment :)