Motoron M3S256 Triple Motor Controller Shield Kit for Arduino

Overview

The Motoron M3S256 shield makes it easy to control up to three bidirectional, brushed DC motors with an Arduino or compatible board, such as the A-Star 32U4 Prime. It operates from 4.5 V to 48 V and can deliver continuous output currents up to 2 A per motor. Multiple Motoron controllers can be stacked on top of each other, allowing independent control of many motors. Unlike most of our motor drivers and motor driver shields, the Motoron does not require any PWM outputs or timers on your Arduino. Instead, the Arduino communicates with the Motoron using I²C, so only two I/O lines are needed regardless of how many Motorons you connect.

Three M3S256 versions are available to provide different options for the through-hole connectors:

• Motoron M3S256 with soldered stackable headers and terminal blocks
• Motoron M3S256 with headers and terminal blocks included but not soldered in
• Motoron M3S256 without any headers or terminal blocks included

Details for item #5031

This version of the Motoron is a kit that ships with the following connectors included but not soldered in:

• One 1×10 stackable female header
• One 1×8 stackable female header
• Four 2-pin 3.5mm terminal blocks
• Four 2-pin 5mm screw terminal blocks
• One 1×25 breakaway male header (you can cut or break this into smaller header strips to install as desired)

There are more parts included than can be soldered to the board, providing different assembly options to suit a variety of applications. Additional connector options are available separately, and you can also solder wires directly to the board for more compact installations.

Note: For applications where the Motoron will be used as a standalone board or at the top of a shield stack, it can be assembled with the included 0.1″ male header pins and larger (5.0mm-pitch) blue terminal blocks. For applications where the Motoron will be one of the intermediate members of a stack of shields, we recommend assembling it with the stackable headers and smaller (3.5mm-pitch) green terminal blocks (just like our version with connectors already soldered). The terminal blocks are intended to be soldered to the larger through-holes for the power and motor connections, and the blue ones should get locked together prior to installation (see our short video on terminal block installation).

Features and specifications

• Wide operating voltage range: 4.5 V to 48 V
• Maximum output current per motor: 2.0 A continuous, 6.4 A peak for <1 second
• Reverse-voltage protection on motor power supply (down to -40 V)
• Logic voltage range: 2.8 V to 5.5 V
• Control interface: I²C
• I²C clock speed: up to 400 kHz
• Optional cyclic redundancy checking (CRC)
• Configurable motion parameters:
  • Max acceleration/deceleration forward/reverse
  • Starting speed forward/reverse
  • Direction change delay forward/reverse
• PWM frequency: eight options available from 1 kHz to 80 kHz
• Command timeout feature stops motors if the Arduino stops functioning
• Configurable automatic error response
• Motor power supply (VIN) voltage measurement
• Optional pins make it easy to power the Arduino from reverse-protected motor power, either directly or through an external regulator (not included)
• Two status LEDs
• Motor direction indicator LEDs
• Motoron Arduino library simplifies getting started using the Motoron with an Arduino or compatible controller
• Comprehensive user’s guide

Dimensions

General specifications

Identifying markings

Notes:

1

PCB assembly only, without optional included headers and terminal blocks.

2

Not recommended for use with 48V batteries.

3

Note: Reverse voltage protection only works up to 40 V.

Documentation and other information

• 

  Pololu Motoron Motor Controller User’s Guide

  User’s manual for the Pololu Motoron Motor Controllers.

File downloads

• Dimension diagram of the Motoron M3S256 Triple Motor Controller Shield for Arduino (330k pdf)

• 3D model of the Motoron M3S256 Triple Motor Controller Shield for Arduino (12MB step)

• Drill guide for the Motoron M3S256 Triple Motor Controller Shield for Arduino (83k dxf)

  This DXF drawing shows the locations of all of the board’s holes.

Recommended links

• Motoron Motor Controller library for Arduino