Motors

Motors provide a way for our devices to interact with us and the environment. They can provide haptic feedback for notification, add movement to your robot, help 3D print a model, or CNC mill a material. Some basic motors types include DC brush, servos, brushless, stepper, linear motors. Not sure what motor to select? Check out Motors and Selecting the Right One and the hobby servo tutorial for more information to start.

Light-Seeking Robot

November 28, 2017

We use parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0 to create a light-seeking robot that mimics the behavior of single-celled organisms.

ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield Hookup Guide

June 9, 2017

This tutorial shows you how to get started with the ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield.

How to Build a Remote Kill Switch

May 31, 2016

Learn how to build a wireless controller to kill power when things go... sentient.

Red Box Robot Hookup Guide

November 23, 2016

Turn an iconic SparkFun red box into an obstacle-avoiding robot.

Setting Up the Pi Zero Wireless Pan-Tilt Camera

September 14, 2017

This tutorial will show you how to assemble, program, and access the Raspberry Pi Zero as a headless wireless pan-tilt camera.

MP3 Player Shield Music Box

January 21, 2013

Music Box Project based on the Dr. Who TARDIS.

Actobotics Basic Differential Platform

December 22, 2014

Get started with Actobotics with this simple vehicle. Then expand and customize it for your own evil robot empire.

LilyPad Vibe Board Hookup Guide

January 16, 2019

The LilyPad Vibe Board is a small vibration motor that can be sewn into projects with conductive thread and controlled by a LilyPad Arduino. The board can be used as a physical indicator on clothing and costumes for haptic feedback.

ReconBot with the Tessel 2

October 13, 2016

Build a robot with the Tessel 2 that you can control from a browser on your phone or laptop.

Spectacle Example: Super Mario Bros. Diorama

May 4, 2017

A study in building an animated diorama (with sound!) using Spectacle electronics.

Continuous Rotation Servo Trigger Hookup Guide

May 26, 2016

How to use the SparkFun Continuous Rotation Servo Trigger with continuous rotation servos, without any programming!

Shapeoko Assembly Guide

April 21, 2016

A guide for attaching the Stepoko Add-on kit to a Shapeoko Mechanical kit.

Servo Trigger Programming Guide

May 26, 2016

Looking under the hood of the Servo Trigger -- using the development environment and some finer details of the firmware.

Shapeoko Coaster Project

November 20, 2015

A step-by-step guide to cutting and engraving a coaster with the Shapeoko.
Viewing 63 Motors Tutorials. View All Tutorials.

Old Tutorials

Looking for the old, archived tutorials? Head on over to the archived tutorials on the main SparkFun site.
Please be aware that the tutorials you find there are no longer actively maintained.