The width of each PWM pulse is set by the program code to adjust the amount of energy for the controller board to send to the attached motor. A pulse with a long duration imparts more energy to the motor, increasing the speed of the motor. A short duration pulse reduces the available energy and the motor spins more slowly. The motor sees changes in pulse energy just like when batteries are added or removed. With a little math, the pulse energy can be expressed as an “equivalent voltage” similar to battery voltage.

When a controller is sending the full voltage of the power source to the motor, the motor sees a PWM signal with a duty cycle of 100%. For example, if the controller output is always at the power supply voltage level, the duty cycle is 100%; if at full voltage for 5 milliseconds (ms) during a 10ms interval period , the duty cycle calculates to 50%. A full voltage pulse for 2ms during the 10ms period has a duty cycle of 20%.

PWM equivalent voltage is equal to the power supply voltage times the duty cycle. If the power source is 5 volts, a duty cycle of 100% has an equivalent voltage of:

5v * (100% / 100) = 5 volts

A duty cycle of 20% produces the equivalent voltage:

5v * (20% / 100) = 1.0 volts

As the PWM duty cycle changes, the motor reacts to the equivalent voltage and spins the motor at a speed that is proportional to that value. A lower duty cycle slows the motor; a higher duty cycle increases motor speed.

In CircuitPython's motor control libraries, the motor’s PWM duty cycle ratio is usually called the motor’s throttle, expressed as a numeric value between 0 and 1.0 where a value of 0 stops the motor and 1.0 runs the motor at full speed. Forward motor direction is a positive throttle value (0 to +1.0). Reverse direction is a negative value (0 to -1.0).

While duty cycle controls the motor’s speed, the controller’s motor current decay mode and the PWM signal’s frequency can dramatically effect the efficiency of a brushed DC motor, particularly when the PWM duty cycle is less than 30%. Why does the decay mode and PWM frequency play such an important role? Next we’ll look at the how motor recirculation current decay mode can help control motor performance.