Fire four solenoids, spin two DC motors or step one bi-polar or uni-polar stepper with 1.2A per channel (3A peak) using the TB6612.

 We really like these dual H-bridges, so if you want to control motors without a shield or HAT these are easy to include on any solderless breadboard or perma-proto.

We solder on TB6612 onto a breakout board for you here, with a polarity protection FET on the motor voltage input and a pullup on the "standby" enable pin. Each breakout chip contains two full H-bridges (four half H-bridges). That means you can drive four solenoids, two DC motors bi-directionally, or one stepper motor. Just make sure they're good for 1.2 Amp or less of current, since that's the limit of this chip. They do handle a peak of 3A but that's just for a short amount of time. What we like most about this particular driver is that it comes with built in kick-back diodes internally so you dont have to worry about the inductive kick damaging your project or driver!

There's two digital inputs per H-bridge (one for each half of the bridge) as well as a PWM input per driver so you can control motor speed. Runs at 2.7V-5V logic. The motor voltage is separate from the logic voltage. Good for motor voltages from 4.5V up to 13.5V! This wont work well for 3V motors.

Comes as one assembled and tested breakout plus a small strip of header. You'll need to do some light soldering to attach the header onto the breakout PCB. Arduino, motors, and power supply not included. Check out the handy tutorial on assembly and wiring!

• The ULN2803APG / AFWG Series are high−voltage,high−current darlington drivers comprised of eight NPN darlington pairs.
• All units feature integral clamp diodes for switching inductive loads.
• Applications include relays, hammer, solenoid, unipolar steppers, lamp and display (LED) drivers etc.
• Output current (single output): 500 mA (max)
• High sustaining voltage output: 50 V (min)
• Output clamp diodes
• Inputs compatible with various types of logic.
• Package Type−APG : DIP−18pin

Downloads

ULN2803 Data Sheet

Tutorials

How to Control a Stepper Motor using your Raspberry Pi & the ULN2803 Driver Chip

• Dual H-Bridges - run four solenoids, two DC motors, or one uni-polar or bi-polar stepper motor
• Output Current: 600mA per channel (1.2A Max)
• No of Channels: 4
• Input: 5V Logic
• Supply Voltage Range: 4.5V to 36V
• No. of Pins: 16
• Operating Temperature Range: 0°C to +70°C

Downloads

L293DNE Data Sheet

Tutorials

Controlling a Stepper Motor with the L293D

Raspberry Pi: Controlling a DC Motor

Arduino: Stepper Motors

Arduino: DC Motor Reversing

Control 16 Servos with perfect timing!

This HAT can also do PWM up to 1.6 KHz with 12 bit precision, all completely free-running.

For use with Raspberry Pi Model A+ or B+, can be used with the Model A or B if you use a tall 2x13 header instead of the included 2x20.

• drive up to 16 servos or PWM outputs over I2C with only 2 pins.
• The on-board PWM controller will drive all 16 channels simultaneously with no additional Raspberry Pi processing overhead.
• stack up to 62 HATs to control up to 992 servos - all with the same 2 pins!

Best of all, Adafruit even have a Python library you can use, so you'll be up and running instantly, to make your robotic creation com to life. The Adafruit PWM/Servo HAT is the perfect solution for any project that requires a lot of servos or PWM outputs! Check out Adafruits detailed tutorial for lots more information including diagrams, schematics, installation instructions and more

Each order contains

• a Servo HAT
• a 2-pin terminal block
• four 3x4 headers
• a 2x20 socket header

You'll need to do some light through-hole soldering to attach the headers onto the HAT circuit board. If you would like to stack multiple HATs onto one Pi, you can also pick up a 2x20 stacking header and a set of right-angle 3x4 headers that should be soldered on instead.

Please note! This kit does not come with Raspberry Pi, servos, or required 5V power supply.