Animation Fundamentals: Speed Control

Most animations will/should run at a fixed speed. But on that rare occasion when you might want to vary the speed, there are plenty of solutions available these days. Just search eBay for PWM Speed Controller and thousands of these little guys will pop up, available for less than $2 each.

The units accept a wide range of supply voltages, from less than 2 to more than 12 volts, and can handle up to two amps of current, which is far more than any animation project requires. They're simple to wire, and some have built-in direction control. I've used dozens of them, and they're better than any commercial "power pack."

If all of this sounds familiar, yes, it's almost the very same text for LED dimmers. The circuits are pretty much identical, and in fact I was using LED dimmers as throttles for years.

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