PIGPIO PWM Unreliable

Question

I have written a small C application to do PWM for some motors connected to a Raspberry Pi. I am using the PiGPIO library. The code as follows:

int[] FWD = {MOTOR1_FWD, MOTOR2_FWD};
int[] BCK = {MOTOR1_BCK, MOTOR2_BCK};

void setMotorSpeed(int motorIndex, int speed)
{
    if (speed > 0) //forward
    {
        gpioPWM(FWD[motorIndex], speed);
        gpioPWM(BCK[motorIndex], 0);
    }
    else if (speed < 0) //back
    {
         gpioPWM(FWD[motorIndex], 0);
         gpioPWM(BCK[motorIndex], -speed);
    }
    else /* stop */
    {
        gpioPWM(FWD[motorIndex], 0);
        gpioPWM(BCK[motorIndex], 0);
    }
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
   double start;

   if (gpioInitialise() < 0)
   {
      fprintf(stderr, "pigpio initialisation failed\n");
      return 1;
   }

   char *p;
   int speed = strtol(argv[2],&p, 10);

   /* Set GPIO modes */
   int i = 0;
   for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
      gpioSetMode(FWD[i], PI_OUTPUT);
      gpioSetMode(BCK[i], PI_OUTPUT);
      gpioSetMode(EN[i], PI_OUTPUT);

      setMotorSpeed(i, 0);
      gpioWrite(EN[i], ON);
   }

   if (argc <= 1)
   {
      printf("STOP\n");
   } else {
      if (strcmp(argv[1], "l") == 0 || strcmp(argv[1], "lr") == 0)
      {
         printf("LEFT ON: %d\n", speed);
         setMotorSpeed(0, speed);
      }
      if (strcmp(argv[1], "r") == 0 || strcmp(argv[1], "lr") == 0)
      {
         printf("RIGHT ON: %d\n", speed);
         setMotorSpeed(1, speed);
      }
   }
   gpioTerminate();
   return 0;
}

Works fine, but if I change MAX to 255 and use gpioPWM(motorX, MAX) it only works sometimes, and when it does work only the left will run. What should I do to make them both be able to work, and work consistently?

This does not work consistently when I compile and run as follows:

gcc -o drive drive.c -lpigpio -lrt -lpthread
sudo ./drive lr 150

Currently I just have the pins connected to LED's and sometimes the LED's get power, other times they do not.

Answer 1

A DC motor is normally controlled with a motor driver using two GPIO. A typical motor driver allows control of two DC motors using pins 1A/1B for one motor and pins 2A/2B for the other.

I assume that MOTOR_1_A is a constant whose value is the GPIO connected to pin 1A etc.

void setMotorSpeed(int gpioA, int gpioB, int speed)
{
   if (speed > 0) /* clockwise */
   {
      gpioPWM(gpioA, speed);
      gpioPWM(gpioB, 0);
   }
   else if (speed < 0) /* counter clockwise */
   {
      gpioPWM(gpioA, 0);
      gpioPWM(gpioB, -speed);
   }
   else /* stop */
   {
      gpioPWM(gpioA, 0);
      gpioPWM(gpioB, 0);
   }
}

To make a two wheel buggy go forward

setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_1_A, MOTOR_1_B, speed);
setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_2_A, MOTOR_2_B, -speed);

To make a two wheel buggy go backward

setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_1_A, MOTOR_1_B, -speed);
setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_2_A, MOTOR_2_B, speed);

To make a two wheel buggy spin clockwise

setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_1_A, MOTOR_1_B, speed);
setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_2_A, MOTOR_2_B, speed);

To make a two wheel buggy spin counter clockwise

setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_1_A, MOTOR_1_B, -speed);
setMotorSpeed(MOTOR_2_A, MOTOR_2_B, -speed);

The actual movements made by your buggy will depend on the way the motors are wired (you might need to change the signs).

Answer 2

I have since moved on from this technique. But the problem with this code is that the c program sets the PWM and then exits, meaning that any memory and control is released from the application. Therefore the GPIO pins just retain their state when the application terminates.