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I'm building a robotic arm with 3 MG996R servos using Arduino Uno R3 board. I'm using this 16 channel servo motor driver for the project. I'd like to use an AC-DC adapter to power the servos. Is that possible? If not what can I do?

PS: I'm a mechanical engineer who's got no idea about electronics (at least for now).

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  • $\begingroup$ what else would you use for power? $\endgroup$
    – jsotola
    Feb 10 at 22:24
  • $\begingroup$ technically, the module you are using is a servo motor controller with an integrated power distribution bus ... the motor driver is inside each servo motor enclosure $\endgroup$
    – jsotola
    Feb 10 at 22:29
  • $\begingroup$ @jsotola what current rating should the adapter have? $\endgroup$
    – Abhishek A Udupa
    Feb 11 at 6:06
  • $\begingroup$ the power supply should be able to source at least 10 A ... the motors have 2.5 A stall current ... duckduckgo.com/… $\endgroup$
    – jsotola
    Feb 11 at 7:06
  • $\begingroup$ @jsotola can I use this: amzn.eu/d/3g6W9ER $\endgroup$
    – Abhishek A Udupa
    Feb 11 at 9:27

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Let's say you operate the servo at 5V nominal, then it can draw up to 3A and 3A being the stall current for a typical MG996R servo.

So you need at least 9A, to account for inrush current let's add 1.6x as a safety factor to the current requirement (which is 14.4A), and hence an AC to Dc power supply of 5V @15A (Approx) should be adequate enough to run 3x MG996R servos.

The power supply in the comments section is unreasonably overkill and expensive. I would suggest going with adapters like this which are cheap and easy to find on amazon.

Note: Also make sure to check the max. current per channel capability on your controller board to support at least 3A draw.

Hope this answer helps in answering your question.

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