Adafruit
Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit [v2.3]
The Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield v2.3 is the upgraded successor to the original Motor Shield, delivering higher current, lower voltage drop, and a ful...
The Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield v2.3 is the upgraded successor to the original Motor Shield, delivering higher current, lower voltage drop, and a fully I2C-based design that frees up your Arduino's PWM pins. Drive up to 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors plus 2 hobby servos from a single stackable shield.
The v2 replaces the L293D darlington drivers with TB6612 MOSFET drivers, providing 1.2 A per channel (3 A peak for ~20 ms bursts) with lower voltage drop for more torque from your batteries. A dedicated PWM driver chip handles all motor control over I2C, using only two data pins (SDA & SCL) — making it compatible with any Arduino and fully stackable with up to 32 shields (5 address-select pins).
Key Features
- TB6612 MOSFET Drivers – 1.2 A per channel, 3 A peak, with thermal shutdown and built-in flyback diodes
- 4× DC Motors – Bi-directional with individual 8-bit speed control
- 2× Stepper Motors – Unipolar or bipolar; single coil, double coil, interleaved, or micro-stepping
- 2× Servo Connections – 5 V hobby servos on Arduino's dedicated timer (jitter-free)
- I2C Control – Dedicated PWM chip frees all Arduino PWM pins; only SDA + SCL needed
- Stackable – 5 address-select pins allow up to 32 shields (128 DC motors or 64 steppers)
- 4.5–13.5 V Motor Supply – Polarity-protected 2-pin terminal with jumper for separate logic/motor power
- Large Terminal Blocks – Easy wire connection (18–26 AWG)
- Prototyping Area – Small area on the shield for additional components
Compatibility
- Arduino UNO, Leonardo, Due, Mega/ADK R3, Diecimila, and Duemilanove
- Mega/ADK R2 and earlier with 2 wire jumpers
Ideal For
- Robotics projects with multiple motors
- CNC and 3D printer motion control
- Automated mechanisms with stepper motors
- Pan/tilt servo systems with motor-driven locomotion
Package Contents
- 1× Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield v2.3 (assembled and tested)
- 1× Terminal block set (colour may vary)
- 1× Plain header strip
- 1× Jumper
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.
- Headers
- Rows of metal pins used to plug a module into a breadboard or connect it with jumper wires. Pre-soldered headers make the module easier to use straight away without needing to solder the pins yourself.
- 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.
- 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.
- Torque
- A twisting force that causes something to rotate, usually measured in newton-metres or kilogram-centimetres. It matters when choosing motors, servos, gears, and tools because higher torque is needed to lift heavier loads, turn larger wheels, or move mechanisms without stalling.
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