Motor Driver Circuits

Motor driver circuits are essential components in robotics and embedded systems, used to control the operation of motors. They enable the microcontroller to drive motors with higher voltages and currents than it can handle directly.

Motor drivers can be categorized into two main types:

• DC Motor Drivers
• Stepper Motor Drivers

Each type has unique characteristics and applications.

A typical motor driver circuit consists of the following components:

• Microcontroller (e.g., Arduino)
• Motor (DC, stepper, etc.)
• Transistors or MOSFETs
• Diodes (for back EMF protection)
• Power Supply

Below is a simple wiring diagram for a DC motor driver:

graph TD;
    A[Microcontroller] -->|PWM Signal| B[Motor Driver]
    B -->|Power| C[DC Motor]
    C -->|Feedback| A
    B --> D[Power Supply]
    D -->|Ground| C
            

A basic Arduino code snippet to control a DC motor:

#define MOTOR_PIN 9

void setup() {
    pinMode(MOTOR_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
    digitalWrite(MOTOR_PIN, HIGH); // Motor ON
    delay(1000);                    // Run for 1 second
    digitalWrite(MOTOR_PIN, LOW);  // Motor OFF
    delay(1000);                    // Pause for 1 second
}