I decided to compile the most used dc motor drivers. I don’t know how long it will take to write this post. However, as someone who has worked with various DC motor driver modules, I have always felt the absence of such an article on the web.
When we are going to work with a project, we make a plan according to the material we have. If we get a good result from a material, we continue to use the same material for all projects. But how true is such an act? How can we be sure that the material we use is the best choice for all projects?
Knowing the materials is very important in terms of choosing the right material. The circuit with the most current rating may not be the best circuit you can choose. For example; If the DC motor you will use draws 0.2 Ampere current, which DC motor driver will you use? Is it the 0.5 USD driver withstands up to 1A current pass or the 5 USD driver withstands up to 10A? It is clear that the best choice in such a situation is the 0.5 USD drive that can withstand up to 1A.
I think you understand what I mean. Now we can come to the point. In this article, I will choose the materials I will compile from those sold in common web stores. Still, if there is material that I missed, if you warn me in the comment section, I will add it to the topic later.
1. L298N DC Motor Driver Module
L298N is one of most used DC motor modules. It can drive 2 DC motor at the same time. The module can deliver up to 2 Amperes for each motor. You can use 2 DC motors having 5Volt – 35Volt.
Price: 2.35 USD (Ebay)
2. L293D Motor Driver Shield
L293D Motor driver shields is more than a DC motor driver. You can use 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors or 2 servo motors with one L293D motor shield. You can use between 4.5 V – 25 V Dc motors. Each channels can deliver up to 600 mA. (for DC motors)
If you want to use a motor shield in various projects then you can buy L293D module.
Price: 2.65 USD (Ebay)
3. Â BTS7960B DC and stepper Motor Driver
Double BTS7960 has large current value: 43 Ampere. MCU is using 5V and isolated for protection. You can drive one DC motor with one BTS7960. It can reverse the motor forward with 2 input frequency up to 25 KHz. The supply voltage between at 5.5V – 27V.
BTS7960 price: 6.7 USD
4. L298 Mini DC and Stepper Motor Driver Shield
L298 Driver Shield can 2 DC motors or 1 step motor same time. Â The two motor’s working voltage must be between 2 – 10V
Price: 1.73 USD
5. VNH2SP30 – 30A Mini Arduino Motor Driver
VNH2SP30 is full bridge motor driver circuit. Max. voltage: 16 V. Max. current is 30A. Continuous current is 14A. Max. pwm frequency is 20 Khz. Over-low voltage protection.
Price: 2.23 USD
6. L9110 DC Motor Driver
Price: 1.49 USD
7. TB6612FNG Dual Dc Motor Driver
TB6612FNG is my favorite dc motor driver. I am using it for line follower robots. Reasons of my using it; simplicity, cheapness and etc…
TB6612FNG is a motor driver board that you can controll 2 dc motors separately and two ways. Usually It used as DC motor driver but it can be use as bipolar stepper motor driver. It can give 1 A continuosly (1 channel) or 3A for short time. Motor Voltage: 4.5 – 13.5 V
– Logic High Signal: 2,7-5,5 V. Max PWM frequency: 100 kHz.
Price: 2.95 USD
8. MC33926 Motor Driver Board
There is MC33926 motor driver IC on this board. If you need a powerfull dc motor driver, you can use MC33926 dc motor driver. MC33926 can drive 2 dc motor same time. MC33926 supports between 5-28V motors. It can give 3A for each channel continuously and 5A for short time. It support until 20 kHz PWM frequency.
Price: 18 USD
9. DRV8833 DC Motor Driver
DRV8833 is very similar with TB6612FNG.
DRV8833 Dc motor driver uses for small power motor projects. For example, I am using it for line follower projects sometimes. I used for 3D printer. You can driver 2 Dc motors seperatelly. It supports 2.7V – 10.8 V voltage values. It can give 1.2A continuously and 2A for short time. It is very usefull board with reverse voltage, high temperature and high current protections.
Texas Instrument firm is producting DRV series. A lot of DRV Dc motor drivers. If you want to different DC motors then you can look at TI catalogues. For example DRV8871 has 3.6 A current value.
Price: 1.38 USD
10. L298NH DC motor driver
L298NH DC motor driver uses L293N IC. As it’s shape, L298NH can setup arduino uno directly. It is similar L293D driver module with this spec. It’s other name is L298P driver module. L298NH is a full bridge driver module. It can drive 2 dc motors or 1 stepper motor same time. It can give 2 Amperes for each channels. But It can give 4 Amperes for short time.
Price: 5.30 USD
Which dc motor driver you must choose?
I wrote all commonly used dc motor drivers on this post. There were some else high powered dc motor drivers. But They had specialised design usually. And most of them wasn’t has a name.
When choosing the DC motor driver, the most important thing is the current values. Voltage values are generally suitable. However, the driver’s current values should be higher than the current value of the dc motor. If you are using Arduino, you can choose option 2 (If the current is higher than 600mA, select 10) You can use TB6612FNG or DRVxxx drivers for most robotic applications.
Another important thing is “library support”. If you can’t find libraries and sample codes about the driver, then you have to find everything yourself. It take a lot of time and effort.
