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MKR Motor Shield

This documentation includes hardware info, installation guidelines and sample code for your hardware.

Overall Info

Turta MKR Motor Shield is two channel DC motor driver for small size robots. It has powerful, low ESR capacitors for efficient operation, and onboard regulator to supply Arduino from the external power source.

Illustration

Connections

  • Left Motor Terminal
    • #1: Left Motor Out 1
    • #2: Left Motor Out 2
  • Right Motor Terminal
    • #1: Right Motor Out 1
    • #2: Right Motor Out 2
  • Power Input Terminal
    • +7 ~ 12V: Power Input
    • GND: GND Connection
  • Stackable Headers
Terminals are capable of max 3A of current. Do not overload a terminal port more than 3A.

Specifications

Turta MKR Motor Shield's specifications are as follows:

Dual Toshiba TC78H630FNG H-Bridge Motor Driver ICs

The TC78H630FNG is H-bridge driver IC for DC motor which incorporates DMOS in output transistors.
  • Input Voltage: 15V Max.
  • Output Current: 1.6A Max.
  • Control Logic Frequency: 500kHz Max.
Please refer to the IC datasheet for more detailed information.

Panasonic Low ESR Capacitors

Six high-performance aluminum electrolytic capacitors ensure stable motor driving experience.
  • Voltage Rating: 35V.
  • Capacitence: 150uF (x6).
  • Ripple Current: 600mA.
  • ESR: 160 mOhms.

Power Regulator

The onboard regulator powers the Arduino board when there is no USB power available.
  • Output Current: 1.35A Max.
  • Input Voltage: 15V Max.

Protection Diodes

There are 8 diodes to protect motor drivers from damage in case of reverse current comes from the DC motors.
  • Forward Current: 2A.
  • Repetitive Reverse Voltage: 60V.

Direction LEDs

There are two direction LEDs for each channel to indicate motor speed and direction.
  • Blue LED: Indicates forward direction.
  • Red LED: Indicates reverse direction.

Prerequisites

To get maximum performance from your hardware, please make sure you'll meet the following requirements.

Compatibility

This shield works with Arduino MKR series boards.
Board
Compatibility
Notes
Arduino MKR WiFi 1000
Not tested
Arduino MKR WiFi 1010
Yes

Software

To program your device, a recent version of the Arduino IDE should be installed on your computer. Go to www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software and then select your operating system to download and run Arduino IDE.

Arduino Libraries

A library is responsible for controlling motor drivers on the board. The shield comes with easy to use methods and examples.

Set-up

  1. 1.
    To download the library content, go to github.com/Turta-io/MKR_MotorShield address and download the library files to your computer.
  2. 2.
    Locate the "libraries" folder inside the Arduino sketch folder.
  3. 3.
    Copy the library folders inside the "libraries" folder.
  4. 4.
    To check the installation, start the Arduino IDE and go to File > Examples folder. You should see the library names you copied in Examples folder.

Programming

You can find detailed documentation of each module in the subsections.

Troubleshooting

If you're experiencing difficulties while working with your device, please try the following steps.
Problem: The libraries do not communicate with the drivers or the LEDs blink randomly. Cause: There may be an incompatible shield connected between Arduino and the shield. Solution: Please make sure the shield is the only one board connected to the Arduino, and temporarily remove all the connections from any pins. Retry uploading the sketch again.