By William Henning
SERVO 03.2016 57
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• 1.5A- 2.0A peak current (for a short time)
• Built-in clamp diodes
The datasheet for the L293D can be found at
www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/l293.pdf. There is also an
SN754410 that is largely compatible with the L293D.
However, its ESD diodes are not meant to be used as
clamping diodes. The datasheet for the SN754410 can be
found at www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn754410.pdf. The
L293D and SN754410 can use two or three wires to control
each motor.
The L298N
There are a lot of boards available with L298N motor
drivers. These drivers have the following specifications:
• Supply voltage 4.8V-46V
• 2A continuous operating current with heatsink
• 2.5A-3A peak current (for a short time)
• Requires external clamp diodes
• Over-temperature protection
• Optional current sense pins
You can find an L298N datasheet at
www.st.com/web/en/resource/technical/document/
datasheet/CD00000240.pdf. The L298N uses two or three
wires to control each motor.
Figure 2. Mikronauts’ robot controller board using
L293D driver.
Figure 3. Adafruit’s Arduino motor shield uses 2x
L293D chips.
Figures 5A and 5B. Two
typical L298N modules.
B.A.
Figure 4. SN754410 motor driver chip.
