Pololu Dual MC33926 Motor Driver Shield for Arduino

Description

This motor driver shield and its corresponding Arduino library make it easy to control two bidirectional, brushed DC motors with an Arduino or compatible board, such as the A-Star 32U4 Prime. The board features a pair of Freescale MC33926 motor drivers, which operate from 5 to 28 V and can deliver a continuous 3 A per channel, and includes current sense circuitry, protection resistors, a FET for reverse battery protection, and logic gates to reduce the required number of I/O pins. It ships fully populated with its SMD components, including the two MC33926 ICs, as shown in the picture to the right; stackable Arduino headers and terminal blocks for connecting motors and motor power are included but are not soldered in (see the Included Hardware section below).

This versatile motor driver is intended for a wide range of users, from beginners who just want a plug-and-play motor control solution for their Arduinos (and are okay with a little soldering) to more advanced users who want a dual MC33926 carrier that requires fewer I/O pins to control. The Arduino pin mappings can all be customized if the defaults are not convenient, and the simplified MC33926 control lines are broken out along the left side of the board, providing a convenient interface point for other microcontroller boards (see the right connection diagram below). This versatility, along with an option to power the Arduino directly from the shield, sets this board apart from similar competing motor shields.

Using the dual MC33926 motor driver shield with an Arduino (shield and Arduino powered separately).

Using the dual MC33926 motor driver shield with a microcontroller (gray connections are optional).

For a higher-power alternative to this shield, please consider the dual VNH5019 motor driver shield, which can deliver a continuous 12 A per channel. For lower-power, lower-cost alternatives, consider the DRV8835 dual motor driver shield or A4990 dual motor driver shield.
Features

Pololu dual MC33926 motor driver shield, assembled and connected to an Arduino Leonardo.

Pololu dual MC33926 motor driver shield for Arduino, bottom view with board dimensions.

Wide operating voltage range: 5 – 28 V 1
Output current: 3 A continuous (5 A peak 2) per motor
Inputs compatible with both 5 V and 3.3 V systems
PWM operation up to 20 kHz, which is ultrasonic and allows for quieter motor operation
Current sense voltage output proportional to motor current (approx. 525 mV/A)
Motor indicator LEDs show what the outputs are doing even when no motor is connected
Can be used with an Arduino or Arduino clone (through shield headers) or other microcontroller boards (through 0.1? header along the left side)
When used as a shield, the motor power supply can optionally be used to power the Arduino base as well
Arduino pin mappings can be customized if the default mappings are not convenient
Arduino library makes it easy to get started using this board as a motor driver shield
Detailed user’s guide
Reverse-voltage protection on motor supply 3
Robust drivers:

Transient operation up to 40 V
Over-current limiting via internal PWM
Over-temperature shutdown and hysteresis
Under-voltage shutdown
Output short-to-ground and short-to-Vcc protection

1 The board supports transient (