Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Shield - I2C Interface

Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Shield - I2C Interface

If you want to create a cool Arduino robot, perhaps a six-legged walker, or an art piece with many moving parts, you might discover that Arduino has only a few PWM outputs, and these outputs may conflict with another shield you want to use. What do you do now? You can either give up or get our handy PWM and Servo driver shield. It's just like our popular PWM/Servo Breakout but now Arduino-ready and compatible with any Arduino that uses shields: Uno, Leo, Mega, ADK, they all work well.

When we saw this chip, we immediately recognized what an excellent addition it would be. You can control 16 independent PWM outputs using just two I2C pins! You can even stack up to 62 shields to control up to 992 PWM outputs (we'd really like to see that because it would be awesome and over 4 feet tall). Since I2C is a shared data bus, you can also connect other I2C devices and sensors to the SCL/SDA pins as long as their addresses don't conflict (this shield has an address of 0x40).

• It has a built-in clock and I2C-controlled PWM driver. Unlike the TLC5940 family, you don't need to continuously send signals by connecting your microcontroller; it operates completely independently!

• It's 5V compliant, so you can control it from a 3.3V Arduino and safely drive outputs up to 6V (which is good for controlling 3.4+ forward voltage white or blue LEDs).

• You can stack up to 62 of them to control up to 992 PWM outputs with just two I2C pins!

• You can set the PWM frequency to approximately 1.6 KHz.

• Each output has 12-bit resolution, which means you can control servos with approximately 4us resolution at a 60Hz update rate.

• It's configurable to be a push-pull output, an open-drain output, or an open-drain output with a pull-up resistor.

• We've wrapped this fantastic chip with a few nice extras

• Terminal block for power input (or you can use the side 0.1" connectors)

• Reverse-polarity protection on the terminal block input

• Green and red power-good LEDs

• 4-pin extra-terminal block plug for servo/LED connectors. This is handy for connecting to many servos that come with a 0.1" pitch connector, without needing to modify the cable.

• Stackable design. You'll need to pick up stacking headers and right angle 3x4 headers to stack on top.

• A spot to place a big capacitor on the V+ line (in case you need it)

• All PWM output lines have a 220-ohm series resistor and are driven by an N-channel MOSFET. The default output is open-drain, but you can solder a jumper on the bottom of the board to make it push-pull.

• 6 address select pins so you can stack up to 62 of these on a single I2C bus, a total of 992 outputs - that's a lot of servos or LEDs

• Adjustable frequency PWM up to about 1.6 KHz

• 12-bit resolution for each output - for servos, that means about 4us resolution at 60Hz update rate

• Configurable push-pull or open-drain output

• Terminal block for power input (or you can use the 0.1" breakouts on the side)

• Reverse-polarity protection on the terminal block input

• Green and red power-good LEDs

• 4-pin terminal block for the servo connectors. Plugs in so you can use any of our many 3-pin-type servo cables.

• Stackable design. You'll need to pick up stacking headers and right-angle 3x4 headers in order to stack on top of this shield without bending the 3x4 headers.

• A spot to place a big capacitor on the V+ line (in case you need it)

• All PWM output lines have 220-ohm series resistors and are driven by N-channel MOSFETs.

• 6 address select pins so you can stack up to 62 of these on a single I2C bus, a total of 992 outputs - that's a lot of servos or LEDs!

This product comes with a fully assembled and tested shield along with four 3x4 male straight header (for servo/LED plugs), a 2-pin terminal block (for power), and a 0.1" header you can use to plug into breadboards or perfboards. A little light soldering will be necessary to assemble and customize the shield by adding the desired headers. Even beginners can complete this in about 15 minutes. If you want to use right-angle 3x4 headers, we carry them in the store. Please note that servos and Arduino are not included, but we have a wide range of different servos available in our store, so you can pick up a few while you're here.

Note: The terminal blocks included with your product may be blue or black.

Check out the Arduino tutorial and the documented Arduino library with both PWM and Servo examples to get started.

Datasheets, EagleCAD PCB files, Fritzing object, and more in the Servo Shield tutorial..

You can order the Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Shield - I2C Interface from the Adafruit category at SAMM Market for a competitive price, same-day shipping, and fast delivery.