INTRODUCTION
Since the advent of micro:bit, its simple and practical way of programming is widely loved by makers, students and teachers. Its sample design, coupled with a wealth of pin resources, give it infinite possibilities. This expansion board not only leads to 9 micro:bit onboard GPIO interfaces, but also comes with 4-way motor drives and 8 servo interfaces, of which 4-way motor drives can be reused as 2-way stepper motor drives.
Micro:bit Driver Expansion Board adopts IIC external drive chip to control the motor and servo motor, only takes up two IIC pins and can complete the motor and servo dual control without occupying other resources. Using HR8833 motor driver, the maximum continuous operating current is 1.5A, it can drive the ordinary small motor and N20 mini metal motor. Each motor port comes with a positive and negative rotating indicator to identify the motor running direction conveniently, which is very suitable for students and makers to make small projects. Both the extended GPIO and the servo interface use the DFRobot-Gravity standard interface, supporting a large number of modules and sensors. The servo interface is directly connected to the Vin power supply, thus increasing the supply current which can support multiple servos to work at the same time.
This expansion board supports 3.5V to 5.5V power supply. It provides a DC 2.1 plug and a wiring terminal which can be connected directly to three dry battery boxes. It comes with a USB to DC 2.1 adapter cable, which can be powered by power bank and is more economical and environment-friendly.
| Product Name | 2x1A DC Motor Shield for Arduino | Micro:bit Driver Expansion Board | Gravity: Dual Bipolar Stepper Motor Shield for Arduino (DRV8825) | Quad DC Motor Driver Shield for Arduino |
| SKU | DRI0001 | DFR0548 | DRI0023 | DRI0039 |
| Chip | L293B | HR8833 | DRV8825 | TB6612FNG |
| Operating voltage | 5V DC | / | 3.3V/5V | 2.7~5.5V |
| Motor drive voltage | 7-12V DC | 3.5~5.5V DC | 8.2-45VDC | 2.5V-13.5V |
| Maximum drive current | 1A each way | 1.5A | 1.6A | 1.2A continuous current (per channel) 2A (continuous pulse) 3.2A (single pulse) |
| Motor drive using pins | PIN4/5/6/7 (Arduino Controllor) | / | D4，D5，D6 D7，D8，D12 | D3,4,5,6,7,8,11,12 |
| Dimension | 56x57mm | 63 x 58mm | 83*55*25mm | 52mm * 53mm |
| Weight (g) | 60 | 64 | 48 | 24 |
| Frequently used With | FIT0278/FIT0503 | |||
| Key Features | With motor indicator | 8-way servo interface DC motor x4/stepper motor x2(multiplexed with motor interface) | Full step, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 step mode | High-speed drive capability, can drive ordinary 2-phase stepper motor to 5000RPM, and drive quad DC at the same time |
| Product Name | Gravity: IO Expansion & Motor Driver Shield | Gravity: 2x2A Motor Shield for Arduino Twin | TMC260 Stepper Motor Driver Shield | 2x2A DC Motor Shield for Arduino |
| SKU | DFR0502 | DRI0017 | DRI0035 | DRI0009 |
| Chip | TB6612FNG | L298 | TMC260 | L298P |
| Operating voltage | 2.7~5.5V | 5V | 5V | 5V |
| Motor drive voltage | 12V (peak value) | 4.8 ～ 35V | 40V max | 6.5~12v(VIN Power Supply),4.8~35V (External Power Source) |
| Maximum drive current | 1.2A continuous current (per channel) 2A (continuous pulse) 3.2A (single pulse) | up to 2A/channel | up to 2A per motor coil | 2A |
| Motor drive using pins | D4 D5 D6 D7 | D10,11,12,13 | / | Pin 4,5,6,7 are used to drive two DC motor |
| Dimension | 68.5mm×53.3mm | 56x57mm | 55x55mm | |
| Weight (g) | 36 | 35 | 35 | 60 |
| Frequently used With | FIT0278/FIT0503 | |||
| Key Features | Integrated XBee Slot, XBee, WiFi Bee, Bluetooth Bee, IIC. | Mirrored version of DRI0009. Drive pins: 10, 11, 12, 13 Not compatible with IO expansion board V7.1. The control port is four, which reduces the overhead of the Arduino digital ports, and easy to program. | Suitable for driving bipolar stepper motors. SPI serial bus control or STEP/DIR signal control. Controllers such as Mega with full port expansion. 256 times microstep subdivision. | Use mirror motor to drive DRI0017 to aviod the conflicts . Support PWM speed control. Support PLL advance speed control |