In this article, we are going to discuss the L293D motor driver module, why it is used for connecting microcontroller-based development boards with motors.L293D motor shield is shown in this image is basically designed for Arduino Uno, it has 4 channel connection that supports high voltage and high current Dc motor to connect with it.

This module comes with thermal shutdown and internal ESD protection circuits  to prevent damage occurring due to malfunctions 

L293D Motor Driver with arduino

L293D Motor Driver  Shield for Arduino probably one comes with multiple features: It is used to connect  2 servo motors and 4 DC motor or 2 stepper motors.

That makes it a great shield for any robotic project. It drives the DC motor and stepper with the L293D, and it drives the servo with Arduino pin9 and pin10.

The shield contains two L293D motor drivers and one 74HC595 shift register. The shift register expands 3 pins of the Arduino to 8 pins to control the direction of the motor drivers and output enables the L293D to be directly connected to the PWM outputs of the Arduino.

Circuit Diagram to connect l2p3D with different motors

Power supply selection jumper marked as PWD on the board is used to select the two scenarios when it comes to supplying power for the motors through the shield

  1. If you have single powersupply to power the arduino uno and Sheild, you only need to connect the supply to 9v-12V inputy supply point and keeps the jumper in PWD
  2. If you have seperate power supply for l293D motor sheild and Arduino uno , then remove the jumper at PWD point

Features of L293D Motor Driver Shield for Arduino

  • Servoconnections : 2 connections for 5V ‘hobby’ servos connected to the Arduino
  • DC Motor: L293D chipset provides 0.6A per bridge (1.2A peak) with thermal shutdown protection, internal kickback protection diodes. Can run motors on 4.5VDC to 25VDC provided by 4 H-Bridges.
  • Up to 4 bi-directional DC motors with individual 8-bit speed selection (so, about 0.5% resolution)
  • Up to 2 stepper motors (unipolar or bipolar) with single coil, double coil or interleaved stepping.
  • Pull down resistors keep motors disabled during power-up
  • Big terminal block connectors to easily hook up wires (18-26AWG) and power
  • Arduino reset button brought up top
  • 2-pin terminal block and jumper to connect external power, for separate logic/motor supplies
  • Tested compatible with Arduino Mega 1280 & 2560, Diecimila, Duemilanove, and UNO

Power Features L293D Motor Driver Shield

Battery TypeDC
No Of Batteries1
Battery SizeDC
Power SourceDC
Power Consumption5V 

Pin Description L293D Motor Driver Shield

  • VSS: Supply Voltage
  • RST: Reset
  • GND: Ground
  • INPUT 1~4: Input Signal
  • OUTPUT 1~4: Output Voltage
  • ENABLE 1~2: Enables

Applications & Uses L293D Motor Driver:

  • CNC Machines:CNC machines like 3D printers, CNC Cutters, Laser Engravers, etc.
  • Robotics projects used Like line follower , obstacle avoidance or driving the DC motors for robotic vehicles, controlling the Stepper motor in robotic belts, etc.
  • Control Systems
  • DC Motor Drivers

author avatar
Amith G Nair
Experience as a product developer, innovation coach, and electronics lecturer,a seasoned professional driven by passion for designing projects.expertise extends to 3D modelling, hardware designing, and web development using HTML, WordPress, and Django.
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