It works … sort of

Okay, piggybacking the IC seems to improve the performance.

I’ve been trying to run this code:

#include <AFMotor.h>
 
AF_DCMotor motorR(1, MOTOR12_1KHZ);
AF_DCMotor motorL(2, MOTOR12_1KHZ);
 
void setup() {
  motorR.setSpeed(200);
  motorR.run(RELEASE);
 
  motorL.setSpeed(200);
  motorL.run(RELEASE);
  }
 
void loop() {
  motorR.setSpeed(200);
  motorL.setSpeed(200);
  motorR.run(BACKWARD);
  motorL.run(BACKWARD);
}

The motors start turning enough to turn the screws as well. After about 5 seconds the screws stop, but I can still hear the motors trying to turn them. Currently I have no idea why they can’t.

The L293 ICs are becoming quite hot, so I grabbed the first heat dispenser I could find in my assortment, it may be oversized but it should suffice.

That’s it for today, let’s see what I can do about it over the weekend.