What is a motor controller? Excellent question! These controllers work to regulate the operation of an electric motor and is responsible on your robot for making motors move. For brushed DC motors, the motor controller regulates the voltage that the motor receives, much like a light bulb. For brushless motor controllers such as the Spark Max, the controller regulates the power delivered to each “phase” of the motor.
Only certain types of motor controllers are legal in FRC.
Brushless Motor Controllers:
- TalonFX (Integrated into a Falcon 500 or a Kraken X60)
- Spark Max
- Spark Flex
Brushed Motor Controllers: Many of these are depreciated, but you might see them on old robots or around the shop!