I’m interested in making use of the Prowler which has four DC motors. I’ll base the control and operation system around a Raspberry Pi 3. Can anybody suggest an appropriate motor drive? I imagine it will take multiple boards.
Hello @AndrewMcD and welcome to the forum,
The Prowler 4WD Robot Kit comes with 4 Planetary Gear Motors with the following specs:
| Voltage (Nominal) | 12V |
|---|---|
| Voltage Range (Recommended) | 6V - 12V |
| Speed (No Load)* | 313 rpm |
| Current (No Load)* | 0.52A |
| Current (Stall)* | 20A |
In order to choose a motor driver you have to consider the nominal voltage and the continuous current. As the specs of the motors used in the Prowler don’t mention continuous operating current, we can estimate it at about 25% of the stall current, so around 5A. If you want to know more about what to have in mind when choosing a motor driver I suggest checking the following tutorial
You will need a motor controller that can work between 6-12V and can provide 5A continuously and if possible 20A peak in case the motors stall. If you want to run the 4 motors independently you could either use a 4-channel motor controller with those specs or if you don’t mind running each motor independently you could connect two motors in parallel and use a dual motor driver that can provide 10A continuously (and if possible 40A peak).
Here are some good options:
But you can find many more options in the Brushed DC Motor Controllers section.
Let us know if you have more questions!