mbed shield board accelerates brushed DC motor development

8th February 2016

Mick Elliott

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The MAXREFDES89# full-bridge DC motor driver ARM mbed shield from Maxim Integrated is now in stock at distributor Mouser Electronics. The MAXREFDES89# provides developers with a rapid prototyping and development platform for driving up to four brushed DC motors. The board is an mbed-compatible, Arduino-form-factor shield for the rapid development of brushed DC motor applications.

The shield contains four MAX14871 full-bridge DC motor drivers, one MAX17501 DC-DC converter, four MAX4704 low-voltage 4:1 analogue multiplexers, two MAX5387 low-voltage digital potentiometers, and one MAX7300 I/O expander.

Each MAX14871 driver provides the necessary functions to drive a brushed DC motor, while the additional parts allow for complete testing and operation in a variety of configurations.

The MAXREFDES89# features a supply voltage range of 7V to 36VDC, depending on the motors used, which can have a continuous current of up to 2A per driver.

Developers can use an available mbed shield library, which abstracts the details of interfacing with the supporting hardware of the reference design, to simplify development.

The simplicity of brushed motors and the robustness of the MAXREFDES89# shield combine for an ideal solution for prototyping robotics, gaming machines, and industrial automation projects.