This breakout board for the MPS MP6500 microstepping bipolar stepper motor driver has a pinout and interface that are very similar to that of our popular A4988 carriers, so it can be used as a drop-in replacement for those boards in many applications. The MP6500 offers up to 1/8-step microstepping, operates from 4.5 V to 35 V, and can deliver up to approximately 1.5 A per phase continuously without a heat sink or forced air flow (up to 2.5 A peak). This version of the board uses an on-board trimmer potentiometer for setting the current limit, and the board ships with 0.1″ male header pins included but not soldered in.
This product is a carrier board or breakout board for the MP6500 stepper motor driver from Monolithic Power Systems (MPS); we therefore recommend careful reading of the MP6500 datasheet (1MB pdf) before using this product. This stepper motor driver lets you control one bipolar stepper motor at up to approximately 1.5 A per phase continuously without a heat sink or forced air flow (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
- Four different step resolutions: full-step, half-step, 1/4-step, and 1/8-step
- Adjustable current control lets you set the maximum current output, which lets you use voltages above your stepper motor’s rated voltage to achieve higher step rates
- Internal current sensing allows the driver to automatically adjust the decay mode as necessary to provide the smoothest current waveform
- 4.5 V to 35 V supply voltage range
- Can deliver 1.5 A per phase continuously without additional cooling
- 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, short circuit protection, and under-voltage lockout
- 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
This product ships with all surface-mount components—including the MP6500 driver IC—installed as shown in the product picture.
More technical information at Pololu.
