using-motor-controllers.rst

Using Motor Controllers in Code

Motor controllers come in two main flavors: CAN and PWM. A CAN controller can send more detailed status information back to the roboRIO, whereas a PWM controller can only be set to a value. For information on using these motors with the WPILib drivetrain classes, see wpi-drive-classes.

Using PWM Motor Controllers

PWM motor controllers can be controlled in the same way as a CAN motor controller. For a more detailed background on how they work, see pwm-controllers. To use a PWM motor controller, simply use the appropriate motor controller class provided by WPILib and supply it the port the motor controller(s) are plugged into on the roboRIO. All approved motor controllers have WPILib classes provided for them.

Note

The Spark and VictorSP classes are used here as an example; other PWM motor controller classes have exactly the same API.

Spark spark = new Spark(0); // 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

spark.set(-0.75); // the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

VictorSP victor = new VictorSP(0); // 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

victor.set(0.6); // the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

frc::Spark spark{0}; // 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

spark.Set(-0.75); // the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

frc::VictorSP victor{0}; // 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

victor.Set(0.6); // the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

spark = wpilib.Spark(0) # 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

spark.set(-0.75) # the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

victor = wpilib.VictorSP(0) # 0 is the RIO PWM port this is connected to

victor.set(0.6) # the % output of the motor, between -1 and 1

CAN Motor Controllers

A handful of CAN motor controllers are available through vendors such as CTR Electronics, REV Robotics, and Playing with Fusion. See /docs/software/can-devices/third-party-devices, /docs/software/vscode-overview/3rd-party-libraries, and /docs/software/examples-tutorials/third-party-examples for more information.