What is the advantage of placing an opto isolator between the motor and the microcontroller?

What is the advantage of placing an opto isolator between the motor and the microcontroller?

The main advantage of opto-couplers is their high electrical isolation between the input and output terminals allowing relatively small digital signals to control much large AC voltages, currents and power.

Why are transistors needed to run a DC motor?

Add a Motor and Transistor. The transistor allows you to control a circuit that’s carrying higher current and voltage from the a lower voltage and current. It acts as an electronic switch.

Which transistor is used in speed control of DC motor?

If you need to control the speed of a DC motor the easiest way to do it is using a transistor. This is possible thanks to the PWM. The PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation ) is a signal with a variable duty cycle. If we use this signal and a transistor we can control the speed of a motor.

When to use opto-transistors when controlling a DC motor?

So if the controller & the source/emitter of the switch is at a different reference then yes an OPTO (or XFMR) will be required.

How is a transistor used to control a microcontroller?

These pins are meant to send control signals, not to act as power supplies. The most common way to control another direct current device from a microcontroller is to use a transistor. Transistors allow you to control the flow of a high-current circuit from a low-current source.

Can a microcontroller control a high current load?

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to control a high-current DC load such as a DC motor or an incandescent light from a microcontroller. Microcontrollers can only output a very small amount of current from their output pins. These pins are meant to send control signals, not to act as power supplies.

How is a transistor used to control high current loads?

It’s designed for switching high-current loads. It has three connections, the base, the collector, and the emitter. The base is connected to the microcontroller’s output through a resistor. The high-current load (i.e. the motor or light) is attached to its power source, and then to the collector of the transistor.