The following are the technical specifications of the HW-130 Motor Control Shield:
Despite these limitations, the shield shines in its simplicity. The AFMotor library is simple to use, and the plug-and-play nature means less time troubleshooting wiring and more time coding.
The shield can also control a single bipolar or unipolar stepper motor using the AF_Stepper class.
Because the shield drives multiple motors simultaneously, it uses a shift register to save microcontroller pins. Understanding which pins are utilized by the shield is essential to prevent GPIO conflicts when adding sensors. Dedicated Board Pinouts Using L293D 4 DC Motors Shield for Arduino UNO and Mega hw 130 motor control shield for arduino datasheet better
| Parameter | Rating | Notes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | L293D | Provides bi-directional control. | | Operating Voltage | 4.5V – 25V | Supplied via the External Power Terminal block. | | Logic Voltage | 5V | Supplied by the Arduino via the USB or Vin. | | Output Current (Per Channel) | 0.6A (Continuous) | Max peak current is 1.2A per channel. | | Total Max Current | ~1.2A – 1.5A | The L293D gets hot quickly above 0.5A. | | Number of Motors | 4 DC Motors OR 2 Stepper Motors | Cannot run 4 steppers, only 2. | | Servo Ports | 2 | Connected directly to Arduino Pins 9 and 10. | | Thermal Protection | Yes | Built into the L293D, but use a heatsink for high loads. |
void setup() // Set all control pins to outputs pinMode(ENA, OUTPUT); pinMode(IN1, OUTPUT); pinMode(IN2, OUTPUT);
delay(2000); // Run for 2 seconds
A: The most common reason is insufficient voltage or current from your power supply. Ensure your battery pack is fully charged and capable of delivering the required current. You can also try increasing the speed in your code beyond 150 to 255.
// Release motors to a stop state motor1.run(RELEASE); motor2.run(RELEASE);
There are usually jumpers near the power terminals. The following are the technical specifications of the
While the HW-130 board simplifies the process, its heart is the L293D chip. Knowing its capabilities is key to understanding the shield's limitations:
The HW-130 is an based on the L293D motor driver IC. It allows you to stack the board directly onto an Arduino Uno, Mega, or Diecimila. It is designed to control a combination of DC motors, stepper motors, and hobby servos. Key Features
AF_DCMotor motor1(1); AF_DCMotor motor2(2); SoftwareSerial BT(10, 11); // RX, TX char command; Because the shield drives multiple motors simultaneously, it