Overview
This product is a carrier board or breakout board for TI’s DRV8825 stepper motor driver; we therefore recommend careful reading of the DRV8825 datasheet (1MB pdf) before using this product. This stepper motor driver lets you control one bipolar stepper motor at up to 2.2 A output current per coil (see the Power Dissipation Considerations section below for more information). Here are some of the driver’s key features:
- Simple step and direction control interface
- Six different step resolutions: full-step, half-step, 1/4-step, 1/8-step, 1/16-step, and 1/32-step
- Adjustable current control lets you set the maximum current output with a potentiometer, which lets you use voltages above your stepper motor’s rated voltage to achieve higher step rates
- Intelligent chopping control that automatically selects the correct current decay mode (fast decay or slow decay)
- 45 V maximum supply voltage
- Built-in regulator (no external logic voltage supply needed)
- Can interface directly with 3.3 V and 5 V systems
- Over-temperature thermal shutdown, over-current shutdown, and under-voltage lockout
- Short-to-ground and shorted-load protection
- 4-layer, 2 oz copper PCB for improved heat dissipation
- Exposed solderable ground pad below the driver IC on the bottom of the PCB
- Module size, pinout, and interface match those of our A4988 stepper motor driver carriers in most respects (see the bottom of this page for more information)
We also carry a DRV8824 stepper motor driver carrier that can serve as a direct substitute for the DRV8825 carrier when using lower-current stepper motors. The DRV8824 can only deliver up to 0.75 A per coil without a heat sink (1.2 A max with proper cooling), but it has larger current-sense resistors that allow for better microstepping performance than the DRV8825 carrier at low currents. The only way to tell our DRV8824 carrier apart from the DRV8825 carrier is by the markings on the driver IC; if you have a mix of the two, you might consider marking them (there is a blank square on the bottom silkscreen you can use for this).
Note that we carry several other stepper motor drivers that can be used as alternatives for this module (and drop-in replacements in many applications):
- The DRV8834 carrier works with motor supply voltages as low as 2.5 V, making it suitable for low-voltage applications.
- The DRV8880 carrier offers dynamically scalable current limiting and “AutoTune”, which automatically selects the decay mode each PWM cycle for optimal current regulation performance based on factors like the motor winding resistance and inductance and the motor’s dynamic speed and load.
- The Black Edition A4988 stepper motor driver carrier is a higher performance version of our original A4988 carrier.
This product ships with all surface-mount components—including the DRV8825 driver IC—installed as shown in the product picture.
This product ships individually packaged with 0.1? male header pins included but not soldered in; we also carry a version with male header pins already soldered in. For customers interested in higher volumes at lower unit costs, we offer a bulk-packaged version without header pins and a bulk-packaged version with header pins installed.
Some unipolar stepper motors (e.g. those with six or eight leads) can be controlled by this driver as bipolar stepper motors. For more information, please see the frequently asked questions. Unipolar motors with five leads cannot be used with this driver.
Included hardware
The DRV8825 stepper motor driver carrier ships with one 1×16-pin breakaway 0.1"" male header. The headers can be soldered in for use with solderless breadboards or 0.1"" female connectors. You can also solder your motor leads and other connections directly to the board. (A version of this board with headers already installed is also available.)
Caution: Installing the header pins so that the silkscreen side is up and the components are down can limit the range of motion of the trimpot used to set the current limit. If you plan on installing the header pins in this orientation, please set the current limit before soldering in the pins.
