Elecrow
4 Channel I2C Motor Shield-V1.1
This motor shield uses dual TB6612 MOSFET drivers and a PCA9685PW I2C PWM controller to drive up to 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors from an Arduino or compat...
This motor shield uses dual TB6612 MOSFET drivers and a PCA9685PW I2C PWM controller to drive up to 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors from an Arduino or compatible board. All motor control and speed management is handled via the I2C bus, freeing up digital pins for other uses.
The stackable design with 5 address-select pins allows up to 32 shields to be stacked, controlling up to 128 DC motors or 64 stepper motors. It also includes 2 servo connections tied to the Arduino's dedicated timer for high-resolution control.
Key Features
- I2C Control – PCA9685PW PWM driver handles all motor control on the I2C bus
- TB6612 Drivers – 1.2A per channel continuous (3A peak for ~20ms), with built-in thermal shutdown and flyback diodes
- 4 DC Motors or 2 Steppers – Bi-directional DC with 8-bit speed control, or unipolar/bipolar steppers with multiple stepping modes
- 2 Servo Outputs – Connected to Arduino's dedicated timer
- Stackable – Up to 32 shields (5 address-select pins) for massive motor arrays
- Safe Power-Up – Motors automatically disabled on power-up
- Terminal Block Connectors – Easy wire hookup (18–26 AWG)
Specifications
- Motor Driver – TB6612
- PWM Controller – PCA9685PW
- Chip Working Voltage – 5V
- Motor Voltage Range – 4.5–13.5V DC
- Current per Channel – 1.2A continuous, 3A peak (~20ms)
- Speed Resolution – 8-bit (~0.5%)
- Interface – I2C (compatible with other I2C devices on the same bus)
- Dimensions – 70 × 53 × 23mm
- Weight – 27g
Stepper Motor Modes
- Single coil
- Double coil
- Interleaved
- Micro-stepping
Ideal For
- Robotics projects with multiple motors
- CNC and motion control
- Arduino motor control applications
- Large-scale motor arrays (stackable)
Package Contents
- 1× 4-channel I2C motor shield V1.1
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- AWG
- American Wire Gauge is a numbering system for wire thickness, where a lower number means a thicker wire. The AWG rating matters because thicker wire can usually carry more current with less voltage drop and heating.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- motor driver
- An electronic circuit that lets a low-power controller switch and control a motor that needs more current than the controller pins can safely provide. Checking motor driver support matters because pumps and motors usually cannot be connected directly to a microcontroller output.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- servo
- A servo is a motor with built-in position control, usually told to move to a specific angle by a control signal. It matters when you need repeatable movement, such as steering, arms, flaps, or linkages, rather than continuous spinning.
- Shield
- An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.
- Terminal block
- A connector used to join wires together in a neat, removable, or serviceable way. For this product, it helps split one power input into several outputs without soldering.
Find this product in
Brands
Robotics & Motion
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
