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Controlling Signals (2019)
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Controlling Signals (2019)

Relays: High and Low Signals (Part 2)

Mini Project Powering a motor (Part 2)

Required items and tools

Find the following components in your kit:

  • Arduino Uno Arduino Uno
  • Arduino Software Arduino Software
  • USB A-to-B cable USB A-to-B cable
  • Computer with USB port Computer with USB port
  • Motor with two leads Motor with two leads
  • 22 AWG wire 22 AWG wire
  • Header Pins Header Pins
  • Header Pin Housings Header Pin Housings
  • Header Pin Wire Crimper Header Pin Wire Crimper
  • 1 Alligator Clip 1 Alligator Clip
  • Uninsulated Crimper Uninsulated Crimper
  • 9 Volt Battery 9 Volt Battery
  • 9 Volt Battery Connector 9 Volt Battery Connector
  • Small phillips screwdriver screwdriver Small phillips screwdriver screwdriver
  • 16 AWG Wire 16 AWG Wire
  • Relay Board Relay Board
Step 1: Separate Wires
wires-separated

Take the 22 AWG 5 pin wire and separate the wires so that you only have red, black, and green wires.

Step 2: Create Wires with Male Header Pins
headerpins-male

Attach Male Header Pins to one side of each of the three wires.

(Optional) Module: Create Wires with Header Pins

Use the following steps to refresh yourself on attaching male header pins to wires.

Attaching Header Pins Connector: Required items and tools

To begin attaching and crimping spade connectors, you will need the following:

  • 22 AWG Wire 22 AWG Wire
  • Wire Cutter/Stripper Wire Cutter/Stripper
  • Header Pin Crimper Header Pin Crimper
  • Male or Female Header Crimps Male or Female Header Crimps
  • Header pin housings or shells Header pin housings or shells
  • Needle nose pliers or Wire Cutter / Stripper Needle nose pliers or Wire Cutter / Stripper
Note: Extra Components are very Usefull!

You may want to have extra crimps and wires. These crimps are small, require a special crimping tool, precise techniques and practice to create a proper crimp.

Understanding Header Pins

Header pin crimps are made up of three distinct portions: The mating pin zone is the portion of the crimp that interfaces with the component that you are connecting to. The other two portions interface with the wire. There is the conductor crimp zone which is the portion of the cimp that forms around the conductor and makes the electrical connection. The final part is the insulation crimp zone, where this part of the crimp forms around the wire’s insulation. This further securies the wire and creates a strain release. Both male and female header pins are crimped using the same process.

Step 1: Cut wire to length and separate

Cut a piece of the wire to the needed length and separate the number of wire you need from the .

Step 2: Strip the individual wires

Strip the ends of the wire so that 0.10 in or 2.5 mm of wire is exposed. It may be easier to strip the wires longer and trim the exposed wires to 0.10 in or 2.5 mm.

Step 3: Cut off a male or female connector

Cut off the male or female pin off of their connector strips. Keep the metal tab connected to the crimp, it will be used to align the crimp into the header pin crimper.

Step 4: Insert the wire into crimp

Place the wire into the crimp. Make sure the exposed wire is not in the mating pin zone.

Step 5: Fold over the Insulation-crimp

To give your crimp a better chance to be successful use your wire cutters or needle nose pliers to start to fold over the tabs on the insulation crimp zone.

Understanding the Crimper

The recommended crimper has 2 different crimping areas the larger anvil crimps the insulation zone while the smaller anvil crimps the conductor zone. Make sure to line up the zones correctly or the crimp will not crimp properly.

Step 6: Crimp the connector

Use the crimping tool to crimp the conductor crimp zone and the insulation crimp zone. Make sure the Mating pin zone is extended completely out of the crimping tool. If you crimp this part it will deform and will not function

After crimping, if you inspect the connection and see that the crimped parts are not fully compressed onto the wire you may want to crimp the connection a second time.

Step 7: Remove the metal carrier strip

Once the crimp is successfully attached to the wire you can remove the metal carrier strip by bending or cutting it off. After removing that, the crimp is ready to be placed into the plastic housing.

Step 8: Adding the housing

The plastic housing, or shields as they are sometimes called, add structure and support to make the crimp more durable. The plastic housings come in various sizes that can hold multiple connections in one block. Some projects will have all the connections next to each other which make the multi-connection block very convenient to use. Using single pin housing is easier to learn on and creates wires that have more flexibility in how they can be connected.

Both the male and female header pins have a small square or rectangle of metal in the pin mating zone. This metal “tab” will lock itself into the square opening or “slot” in the housing. Make sure the tab and the slot are facing the same direction and push the crimp into the larger opening in the housing. If done successfully the crimp will lock itself in the housing.

If the crimp is having trouble fitting into the housing you may want to use your wire cutters or needle nose pliers to compress the insulation crimp.

Step 9: Test the connection

Perform a pull test to confirm that the crimp will not slip out of the housing. If the housing does not easly slip off you have successfully made a crimp!

Step 3: Expose Other Ends
wires-separated

Using a Wire Stripper, expose the other end of the three wires.

Step 4: Connect Wires to Arduino
arduino-pins

Connect the black wire’s header pin to the GND port, the red wire’s header pin to the 3.3V port, and the green wire’s header pin to Port 13.

Step 5: Connect Wires to Relay
relay-connected

Using the screw terminals connect the other end of the black wire to the DC- port, the other end of the red wire to the DC+ port, and the other end of the green wire to the IN port.

Step 6: Create a wire to connect to the battery
battery-connector

Attach the alligator clip to both sides of a peice of 16 AWG wire. This wire will connect the battery to the motor.

(Optional) Module: Prepare Alligator Clips

Follow along with this module to prepare wires with alligator clips.

Alligator Clip Connector: Required items and tools

To begin crimping clips, you will need the following:

  • Alligator Clip Alligator Clip
  • Wire Wire
  • Alligator Clip Crimper Alligator Clip Crimper
  • Wire Stripper Wire Stripper
Step 1: Prepare wire for alligator clip

Take the end of the wire, and make sure there is enough conductor exposed to attach the connector -- about 1 cm, or half an inch is good for this type of clip.

  • If you need to expose more conductor, use a wire cutter.
  • If you have a wire cutter with gauge holes, find the hole that matches the size of wire you have, place the wire through the hole, and squeeze the handle firmly. Twist the wire back and forth until the insulator is cut, and the conductor slides out smoothly.
  • If you have a wire cutter without gauge holes, place the cutting head where you want to trim to, and cut "around" the outside by squeezing the blade down gently on the outside of the insulator, and rotating the blade and wire back and forth to saw through the insulation without damaging the conductor inside.
  • If you have too much conductor, use a wire cutter to cut off the excess length.
Step 2: Insert conductive core into alligator clip

Insert the exposed conductor through the small loop on the back of the alligator clip.

Note: If the connection is too loose, strip off some more of the insulator and fold the conductor together to create an extra "thick" wire for the alligator clip slot.

Tip: Twist the ends of the conductor strands so they stay together more easily.

Step 3: Insert clip and wire into crimper slot

Insert the loop + conductor into the slot on your crimper that matches the size of the loop.

Step 4: Crimp the connection

Firmly squeeze the handle of the crimper to press the loop closed around the conductor. Many crimper designs will not open back up until you have squeezed far enough -- if the crimper won't open, keep squeezing until it does.

Tip: You can squeeze harder if you grip toward the ends of the handles.

Tip: If you really need the crimper to open early, there is usually a small release latch inside the handle.

Step 5: Crimp both sides

To ensure the fit is good on all sides, rotate the connector 90 degrees, and squeeze the handle closed again.

Step 6: Complete alligator clip crimping

The alligator head connector should now be securely attached to your wire!

Step 7: Attach 9V Wire to Relay
battery-relay

Attach the Red wire from the 9V battery connector to the Common (COM) terminal of the relay. Also clip one of the alligator clips to the black 9V wire.

Step 8: Connect the Motor
motor-relay

Screw down the red motor wire into the Normally Open (NO) terminal. Clip the other alligator crimp to the black motor wire. This should connect your motor to your battery.

Circuit Check
full-relay-circuit

Your circuit should look like this!

Step 9: Power the Arduino
arduino-powered

Connect the Arduino to your computer using the USB A-to-B cable.

Step 10: Set the Board to Uno
arduino-board-selection

Open up the Arduino software, and go to the Tools menu and select Board < "Arduino/Genuino Uno". This lets the Arduino software know which Arduino board you are using (there are several types!).

Step 11: Open Blink Program
arduino-open-blink

On the menu bar, select “Open”, and in “01. Basic”, select “Blink”.

Step 12: Upload the Program
arduino-upload-blink

Click on the Upload button to upload and run the “Blink” program to the Arduino Uno.

What happens?

relay-circuit-1

The motor should turn on and off every second!

Explanation

The motor can now run every second because it is being powered by an external battery instead of the 5 volts from Port 13! It does this by using the Relay to act like a switch.

A Relay is an electromagnetic switch that uses a small electric current to turn on or off a larger electric current.

The main component of a relay is an electromagnet.

An electromagnet is a coil of wire that becomes a magnet temporarily when electricity flows through it.

relay-connected-1

When electricity flows through the relay, the “arm” inside makes a connection and closes a circuit. When electricity is not flowing through, the circuit is open.

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