Pololu Motoron M3H550 Triple Motor Controller for Raspberry Pi

The Pololu Motoron M3H550 Triple Motor Controller makes it easy to control DC motors from a Raspberry Pi (any 40-pin model) through an I²C interface.

Each module can independently control up to three motors, and multiple Motoron boards can be stacked on top of the same Raspberry Pi for projects that need to control even more motors. The M3H550 supports motor supply voltages from 1.8V to 22V and can deliver continuous output currents up to 1.7A per motor.

This version of the Motoron M3H550 ships with pre-soldered stackable headers and terminal blocks. It includes a set of two M2.5 standoffs (11 mm length), screws, and nuts that can be used to secure the board at the proper height for the GPIO connector.

The Motoron M3H550 add-on board makes it easy to control up to three bidirectional, brushed DC motors with a compatible Raspberry Pi (Model B+ or newer). It supports motor supply voltages from 1.8 V to 22 V and can deliver continuous output currents up to 1.7 A per motor.

The M3H550 is designed to stack on top of a Raspberry Pi (Model B+ or newer), similar to a HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), and multiple Motoron controllers can be stacked on top of each other, allowing independent control of many motors. Unlike most Pololu motor drivers and motor driver expansion boards for Raspberry Pi, the Motoron does not require any PWM outputs on your Raspberry Pi. Instead, the Raspberry Pi communicates with the Motoron using I²C, so only two GPIO pins are needed regardless of how many Motorons you connect.

Connection Example

Features

• Three motor control channels allow for independent control of up to three bidirectional brushed DC motors per Motoron
• Wide motor supply voltage range: 1.8 V to 22 V (absolute maximum)
• Maximum output current per motor: 1.7 A continuous, 5 A peak for <1 second
• Reverse-voltage protection on motor power supply (down to −20 V)
• Logic voltage range: 3.0 V to 4.9 V (5V nominal not recommended)
• Control interface: I²C
• I²C clock speed: up to 400 kHz
• Optional cyclic redundancy checking (CRC)
• Configurable motion parameters:
  • Max acceleration/deceleration forward/reverse
  • Starting speed forward/reverse
  • Direction change delay forward/reverse
• PWM frequency: eight options available from 1 kHz to 80 kHz
• Command timeout feature stops motors if the Raspberry Pi stops communicating
• Configurable automatic error response
• Motor power supply (VIN) voltage measurement
• Optional pins make it easy to power the Raspberry Pi from reverse-protected motor power through an external regulator (not included)
• Two status LEDs
• Motor direction indicator LEDs
• Motoron Python library simplifies using the Motoron with Python or MicroPython
• Comprehensive user’s guide

Specifications

Resources

• User guide
• Python library
• Dimensions
• 3D Model
• Drill guide

Package Contents

• 1x Motoron M3H550 Triple Motor Controller for Raspberry Pi (Connectors Soldered)
• 2x M2.5 standoffs (11 mm length)
• 2x Screws
• 2x Nuts

Raspberry Pi not included