Week 10: Output Devices - Fab Academy 2026

Documentation update — 21 October 2026

I used a servo as an output, wired its signal to D9, and recorded its movement. My source and video are below. I have corrected the code download and linked the board design/fabrication in Week 6 and Week 8.

I still need to record any actual faults and fixes and identify the exact board revision used. The power values below are attributed to the group measurements, not presented as additional measurements I made alone.

Group Assignment

As a group we measured the power consumption of an output device. We put a multimeter in series with the device and read the current it draws when it is idle and when it is active, so we could see what each output actually costs the power supply. The results are on our group page: group assignment page.

individual assignment

add an output device to a microcontroller board you've designed, and program it to do something

summary

his week, I studied output devices, especially a micro servo motor. I connected it to an RP2040 microcontroller board and programmed it to move to different positions at 0°, 90°, and 180°. The system also worked with input data

Connection

I connected the micro servo motor using the following pin:

Orange wire to D9 for data
Red wire to 5V
Brown wire to GND

I connected the servo motor to D9, 5V, and GND

What the program does

I attach the servo signal to D9 with myservo.attach(D9). The loop requests 0°, 90° and 180°, holding each position for one second before repeating. These are commanded positions; I have not recorded an independent angle measurement.

What I took from the group power test

The group assignment page records a 5 V supply and servo currents of 10 mA idle, 220 mA moving and 550 mA at stall/peak. Using P = V × I gives 0.05 W, 1.10 W and 2.75 W respectively. The important implication for my wiring is that the power source must handle the moving/peak load, and the servo and board need a common ground.

I need to identify my actual 5 V source and compare it with these measurements before claiming a verified power budget for this setup.

My source code is:

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo;

void setup() {
  myservo.attach(D9);   
}

void loop() {
  myservo.write(0);
  delay(1000);

  myservo.write(90);
  delay(1000);

  myservo.write(180);
  delay(1000);
}

Next, I programmed the micro servo motor using the Arduino IDE to control its movement.

#include Servo myservo; void setup() { myservo.attach(D9); } void loop() { myservo.write(0); delay(1000); myservo.write(90);

Final video result showing the micro servo motor rotating to different angles

arduino code