A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Module RepRap 3D Printer Pololu StepStick Arduino Compatible

This stepper motor driver module is a breakout/carrier board for Allegro's A4988 DMOS Microstepping Driver with Translator and Overcurrent Protection and is Pololu / StepStick compatible. This stepper motor driver lets you control a bipolar stepper motor at 1 A continuous current per phase without a heatsink or cooling, and at up to 2 A maximum output current per coil if additional cooling is provided. An onboard potentiometer is used to adjust the current output.

This driver can control the stepper motor with just 2 pins from the controller, one for controlling the rotation direction and the other for controlling the steps. Stepper motors typically have a step size specification (e.g. 1.8° or 200 steps per revolution), which applies to full steps. This microstepping driver allows higher resolutions by providing intermediate step locations, which are achieved by energizing the coils with intermediate current levels. For instance, driving a motor in quarter-step mode will give the 200-step-per-revolution motor 800 microsteps per revolution by using four different current levels. This driver module provides five different step resolutions: Full-step, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 step.

The translator is the key to the easy implementation of the A4988. Simply inputting one pulse on the STEP input drives the motor one microstep, while the MS1 through MS3 input pins control the microstep resolution. There are no phase sequence tables, high frequency control lines, or complex interfaces to program. The A4988 interface is ideal for applications that do not have a complex microprocessor available, and pairs well with Arduino microcontrollers.

Specifications:

• Minimum operating voltage: 8V
• Maximum operating voltage: 35V
• Continuous current per phase: 1A
• Maximum current per phase: 2A (with cooling)
• Minimum logic voltage: 3V
• Maximum logic voltage: 5.5V
• Thermal shutdown circuitry
• Ground fault protection
• Load short-circuit protection
• Microstep resolutions: Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16

Package contents:

• 1 x A4988 Stepper motor driver module
• 1 x Heatsink
• Link to Online Printed Operation and Programming Instructions