Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with 0.1"-Pitch Through-Holes (No Headers)

Overview

The Motoron M3T453 controllers make it easy to control three bidirectional, brushed DC motors using an I²C interface. These compact boards support motor supply voltages from 4.5 V to 44 V and can deliver output currents up to 0.8 A continuous (2 A peak) per motor. Multiple Motoron controllers can be configured to work on a single I²C bus, allowing independent control of many motors. Unlike most of our motor drivers, the Motoron does not require any PWM outputs or timers on your microcontroller. Instead, only a single I²C interface is needed regardless of how many Motorons you connect.

Four M3T453 versions are available to provide different connector options:

• M3T453 with JST SH-style connectors:
  • with VIN terminal block
  • without VIN connector
• M3T453 with 0.1″-pitch through-holes:
  • with soldered headers
  • without headers

Details for item #5085

This version of the M3T453 has 0.1″-spaced pins for the logic and motor connections, and it ships without any headers included.

The I²C connection to the Motoron can be made either through the board’s 0.1″-spaced pins or through its JST SH-style 4-pin connector, which works with our 4-pin JST SH-style cables and is compatible with SparkFun’s Qwiic and Adafruit’s STEMMA QT.

Features and specifications

• Three motor control channels allow for independent control of up to three bidirectional brushed DC motors per Motoron
• Wide motor supply voltage range: 4.5 V to 44 V (absolute maximum)
• Maximum output current per motor: 0.8 A continuous, 2 A peak for <1 second
• Reverse-voltage protection on motor power supply (down to −40 V)
• Logic voltage range: 3.0 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
• Current sensing (motor channels 1 and 2 only)
• Command timeout feature stops motors if the Motoron stops receiving commands
• Configurable automatic error response
• Motor power supply (VIN) voltage measurement
• Two status LEDs
• Motor direction indicator LEDs
• Error output for easier detection of error conditions (0.1″-pitch through-hole version only)
• Motoron Arduino library simplifies using the Motoron with an Arduino or compatible controller
• Motoron Python library simplifies using the Motoron with Python or MicroPython
• Comprehensive user’s guide
• Compact size:
  • M3T453 with JST SH-style connectors: 0.85″ × 1.0″
  • M3T453 with 0.1″-pitch through-holes: 0.7″ × 0.9″

The Motoron family

The tables below list the members of the Motoron family and show the key differences among them. Each type is available in several versions to provide different options for the through-hole connectors: they can be purchased as an assembled product with connectors soldered in, as a kit with connectors included but not soldered in, or (for Arduino and Raspberry Pi expansions) as a standalone board without connectors.

Motoron motor controllers micro versions
	M3T453 w/JST connectors M3T453 w/0.1″ headers	M1T550 M1U550	M2T550 M2U550	M1T256 M1U256	M2T256 M2U256
Control interface:	I²C	I²C or UART serial
Motor channels:	3 (triple)	1 (single)	2 (dual)	1 (single)	2 (dual)
Minimum motor supply voltage:	4.5 V	1.8 V		4.5 V
Absolute max motor supply voltage:	44 V	22 V		48 V
Recommended max nominal battery voltage:	32 V	16 V		36 V
Max continuous current per channel:	0.8 A	1.8 A	1.6 A	2.2 A	1.8 A
Logic voltage range:	3.0 V to 5.5 V	3.0 V to 4.9 V(1)		3.0 V to 5.5 V
Current sensing:	channels 1 & 2 only	–	–	–	–
Current limiting:	–	–	–	–	–
Available versions with I²C:	JST SH, VIN terminal block JST SH, no VIN connector soldered headers no headers	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included
Available versions with UART serial:	–	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included	headers soldered headers included
Price:	$18.95 – $19.95	$14.24 – $16.19	$18.67 – $20.69	$19.71 – $21.72	$28.72 – $30.73
1 The M1x550 and M2x550 are not recommended for use with 5V nominal logic.

Motoron motor controllers Arduino and Raspberry Pi form factor versions
	M3S550 M3H550	M3S256 M3H256	M2S24v14 M2H24v14	M2S24v16 M2H24v16	M2S18v18 M2H18v18	M2S18v20 M2H18v20
Control interface:	I²C
Motor channels:	3 (triple)		2 (dual)
Minimum motor supply voltage:	1.8 V	4.5 V	6.5 V
Absolute max motor supply voltage:	22 V	48 V	40 V		30 V
Recommended max nominal battery voltage:	16 V	36 V	28 V		18 V
Max continuous current per channel:	1.7 A	2 A	14 A	16 A	18 A	20 A
Logic voltage range:	M3S550 3.1 V to 5.5 V	3.0 V to 5.5 V	3.0 V to 5.5 V
	M3H550 3.0 V to 4.9 V(1)
Current sensing/limiting:	–	–
Available versions for Arduino:	M3S550 assembled kit board only	M3S256 assembled kit board only	M2S24v14 assembled kit board only	M2S24v16 assembled kit board only	M2S18v18 assembled kit board only	M2S18v20 assembled kit board only
Available versions for Raspberry Pi:	M3H550 assembled kit board only	M3H256 assembled kit board only	M2H24v14 assembled kit board only	M2H24v16 assembled kit board only	M2H18v18 assembled kit board only	M2H18v20 assembled kit board only
Price:	$25.26 – $36.14	$42.01 – $52.94	$71.67 – $83.56	$96.51 – $108.41	$71.67 – $83.56	$96.51 – $108.41
1 The M3H550 is not recommended for use with 5V nominal logic.

Dimensions

General specifications

Identifying markings

Notes:

1

Absolute maximum; higher voltages can permanently destroy the motor drivers. Recommended maximum nominal battery voltage is approximately 32 V, which leaves a safety margin for ripple voltage on the supply line.

2

Current limiting threshold is equal to logic voltage times 0.625 A/V.

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 M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with JST SH-Style Connectors (339k pdf)

• Dimension diagram of the Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with 0.1"-Pitch Through-Holes (299k pdf)

• 3D model of the Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with JST SH-Style Connectors (7MB step)

• 3D model of the Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with 0.1"-Pitch Through-Holes (8MB step)

• Drill guide for the Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with JST SH-Style Connectors (17k dxf)

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

• Drill guide for the Motoron M3T453 Triple I²C Motor Controller with 0.1"-Pitch Through-Holes (19k dxf)

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