Arduino shield for easier stepper motor driver designs

The Arduino-based evaluation kit (EVK) is said to supports the evaluation of ROHM Semiconductor’s motor driver devices and enables, facilitates and accelerates customers’ developments. Designed as a ‘shield’ to plug directly into the Arduino main board, the EVK integrates a HTSSOP-B28 packaged stepper motor drive IC and complements the company’s rapid prototyping ecosystem.

The EVK comes in 15 different variants for stepper motor driver ICs – from standard, micro step, low voltage to high voltage. This comprehensive solution covers supply voltages from 8 to 42V, enables up to 2.5A per phase, as well as micro-stepping and single- or multi-phase control of one or two stepper motors.

The kit is suited to drive bipolar stepper motors available in a range of supply voltages and current capabilities.

It drives with CLK-IN or PARA-IN variants and is said to provide high efficiency, easier power control and comprehensive protection functionalities in a robust and compact design, enabling accurate fine-tuning of the motor performances. Designed to be stackable, a second shield can be added on top to drive two motors.

The ‘easy to adapt’ kit is supplied with a software library, an extensive user guide and example programs to facilitate a rapid learning curve. BOM and Gerber-based PCB layouts are also provided.