Motor Drivers

1. How to use a L298n motor driver?

• The L298N is a dual-channel H-Bridge motor driver capable of driving a pair of DC motors. That means it can individually drive up to two motors making it ideal for building two-wheel robot platforms. It consists of pins for motor power supply(Vs), ground and 5V logic power supply(Vss).

2. What does a motor driver do?

• A motor driver interfaces a motor with a microcontroller and external power source, with safety features built in to prevent back emf that may be generated by the motor. A motor driver is essentially an IC (Integrated circuit) chip which used to control the motors in robots in varied applications

3. Which motor driver is the best for a robotics project?

• Motor drivers come in all forms of shapes and sizes, depending on the rating, maximum supported voltage and current, number of motor connections required, safety features, etc. For a robotics project, you may need a motor driver that supports at least 4 motors.

4. What is the difference between a motor driver and a motor controller?

• Motor driver acts as an interface between motor and microcontrollers while also providing external power source to the motors, while motor controllers also have built in microprocessors to control the motors thereby eliminating the need of a microcontroller to run the motor.

5. How do I choose and buy a motor driver?

Motor drivers must be chosen based on the power rating, number of available motor connections and safety features. Motor drivers are classified on the basis of:-

• Maximum Supply Voltage
• Maximum Output Current
• Rated Power Dissipation
• Load Voltage
• Packaging Type
• Number Of Outputs.

6. What is an Arduino motor driver?

• A motor driver made for Arduinos is typically referred to as an Arduino motor driver. These drivers will operate at 5V while having provisions to connect external power supply for the motors itself 

7. Why do I need a motor driver?

• Motors can generally effectively be used if it gets adequate voltage and current that typical microcontrollers do not provide. Thus motor drivers are used to overcome, as it supplies power for all the motors with an external power source.