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A5984 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier, Adjustable Current

Pololu item #: 5342
Brand: Pololu supply outlook
Status: Active and Preferred 
RoHS 3 compliant


Price break Unit price (US$)
1 3.75
5 3.53
25 3.31
100 3.11


backorders allowed

This is a carrier board for Allegro’s A5984 microstepping bipolar stepper motor driver. It offers eight different microstep resolutions (down to 1/32-step) and has over-current and over-temperature protection, and it features an adaptive decay algorithm that automatically optimizes the motor current waveform. This version has an adjustable current limit that can be set with an on-board potentiometer and can deliver up to approximately 1 A continuous per phase without a heat sink or forced air flow (2 A peak).

Alternatives available with variations in these parameter(s): current limit header pins Select variant…

 Description Specs (14) Pictures (9) Resources (6) FAQs (3) On the blog (1) 
How do I connect my stepper motor to a bipolar stepper motor driver?
The answer to this question depends on the type of your stepper motor and how many wires it has. We have an application note that details possible methods for connecting stepper motors to bipolar drivers and controllers and the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
I want to control a 3.9 V, 600 mA bipolar stepper motor, but this driver has a minimum operating voltage above 3.9 V. Can I use this driver without damaging the stepper motor?

Yes. To avoid damaging your stepper motor, you want to avoid exceeding the rated current, which is 600 mA in this instance. All of our stepper motor drivers let you limit the maximum current, so as long as you set the limit below the rated current, you will be within spec for your motor, even if the voltage exceeds the rated voltage. The voltage rating is just the voltage at which each coil draws the rated current, so the coils of your stepper motor will draw 600 mA at 3.9 V. By using a higher voltage along with active current limiting, the current is able to ramp up faster, which lets you achieve higher step rates than you could using the rated voltage.

If you do want to use a lower motor supply voltage for other reasons, consider using our DRV8834 or STSPIN-220 low-voltage stepper motor drivers.

My stepper motor driver is overheating, but my power supply shows it’s drawing significantly less than the continuous current rating listed on the product page. What gives?
Measuring the current draw at the power supply does not necessarily provide an accurate measure of the coil current. Since the input voltage to the driver can be significantly higher than the coil voltage, the measured current on the power supply can be quite a bit lower than the coil current (the driver and coil basically act like a switching step-down power supply). Also, if the supply voltage is very high compared to what the motor needs to achieve the set current, the duty cycle will be very low, which also leads to significant differences between average and RMS currents: RMS current is what is relevant for power dissipation in the chip but many power supplies won’t show that. You should base your assessment of the coil current on the set current limit or by measuring the actual coil currents.

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Related Categories

A5984 Stepper Motor Driver Carriers
16-pin Stepper Motor Drivers
Stepper Motor Drivers
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Stepper Motors
Solderless Breadboards
Premium Jumper Wires
Wires with Pre-Crimped Terminals
Crimp Connector Housings
0.1″ (2.54 mm) Male Headers
0.1″ (2.54 mm) Female Headers
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