Make it Move with Crickit

by Anne Barela and

published July 04, 2018, last edited July 04, 2018

posted in MakeCode CircuitPython Crickit

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Beginner

Skill guide

CircuitPython

CircuitPython for Hobby Servo Motors

You can learn the basics of CircuitPython with CircuitPlayground Express here.

You will need install the special Crickit-optimized CircuitPython version, which will give you all the libraries already built in! See this guide on doing so.

With the special Crickit support in CircuitPython, the adafruit_crickit, adafruit_seesaw and adafruit_motor library is built in, which saves you tons of space and makes it really fast to get started. No extra libraries required!

For in-depth information on using servo motors with CircuitPython, see this page

Only the Feather Crickit, Crickit HAT and the Crickit for Circuit Playground Express support CircuitPython, the micro:bit does not support CircuitPython at present. There is no Crickit support in programming the micro:bit in MicroPython which is different than CircuitPython.

Moving the Servo via Buttons

We want to turn the servo horn on command from one side (0 degrees) to the other (180 degrees).

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import time
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Pull, Direction
from adafruit_crickit import crickit
import board
 
# Two onboard CPX buttons for input (low level saves memory)
button_a = DigitalInOut(board.BUTTON_A)
button_a.direction = Direction.INPUT
button_a.pull = Pull.DOWN

button_b = DigitalInOut(board.BUTTON_B)
button_b.direction = Direction.INPUT
button_b.pull = Pull.DOWN 
 
# Create one servo on Crickit's servo port #1
servo = crickit.servo_1
 
while True:
    if button_a.value:
        print("Button A pressed!")
        servo.angle = 180      # about 180 degrees
        time.sleep(0.1)        # give crickit some time to move
 
    if button_b.value:
        print("Button B pressed!")
        servo.angle = 0        # about 0 degrees
        time.sleep(0.1)        # give crickit some time to move

import time
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Pull, Direction
from adafruit_crickit import crickit
import board
 
# Two onboard CPX buttons for input (low level saves memory)
button_a = DigitalInOut(board.BUTTON_A)
button_a.direction = Direction.INPUT
button_a.pull = Pull.DOWN

button_b = DigitalInOut(board.BUTTON_B)
button_b.direction = Direction.INPUT
button_b.pull = Pull.DOWN 
 
# Create one servo on Crickit's servo port #1
servo = crickit.servo_1
 
while True:
    if button_a.value:
        print("Button A pressed!")
        servo.angle = 180      # about 180 degrees
        time.sleep(0.1)        # give crickit some time to move
 
    if button_b.value:
        print("Button B pressed!")
        servo.angle = 0        # about 0 degrees
        time.sleep(0.1)        # give crickit some time to move

This program will move a servo to the zero degree point when the Circuit Playground Express button A is pressed. It will move the servo to 180 degrees when button B is pressed.

Depending on your servo, you may find the angle of motion isn't a full 180 degrees!

This trips up everyone the first time they use a servo - while the servos are often talked about in terms of 0 to 180 degree motion, there can be variation from servo to servo. Some metal gear servos only move 90 degrees. Others may need longer 'pulse lengths' and we won't go into that there. There's nothing wrong with your servo just because it doesn't move a full 180 degrees! Visit https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-crickit-creative-robotic-interactive-construction-kit/circuitpython-servos for more details on how to customize the pulse lengths!

Moving a Servo in a Slower, Controlled Fashion

The code below creates a stepped movement from 0 to 180 and back again. The timing is variable with short time.sleep()s. This is a common use in terms of things like wings flapping or other movements.

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import time
from adafruit_crickit import crickit

# Create one servo on seesaw servo port #1
servo = crickit.servo_1

while True:
    for angle in range(0, 180, 1):   # from 0 to 180, 1 degree at a time
        servo.angle = angle
        time.sleep(0.01)             # do nothing for a 1/100 second

    for angle in range(180, 0, -1):  # from 180 to 0, -1 deg at a time
        servo.angle = angle
        time.sleep(0.01)             # do nothing for a 1/100 second

import time
from adafruit_crickit import crickit

# Create one servo on seesaw servo port #1
servo = crickit.servo_1

while True:
    for angle in range(0, 180, 1):   # from 0 to 180, 1 degree at a time
        servo.angle = angle
        time.sleep(0.01)             # do nothing for a 1/100 second

    for angle in range(180, 0, -1):  # from 180 to 0, -1 deg at a time
        servo.angle = angle
        time.sleep(0.01)             # do nothing for a 1/100 second

You can make the code slower by increasing the number in time.sleep() to have more delay for every small movement. If you increase the range step from 1 to say 5 or 10 (and the same for the negative movement in the second for loop) ,you'll start to see jitter as the servo snaps to each movement creating some momentum that causes a small backwards motion when it stops.

Page last edited March 08, 2024