High Amp Motor Driver Chip!

Hi,

Was wondering if someone could give me a bit of information on my problem. I'm using an arduino mega 2560 and I want to use it with motors with can potentially draw 3 amps.

If possible, I'd like to use an H Bridge chip to control the motors instead of relays. The problem I seem to have is finding a suitable motor driver chip. My question is, would I be able to use the VN770K chip (data sheet attached) to drive 2 of my motors, and interface with an arduino?

VN770k.pdf (652 KB)

You may try this...
IC H-BRIDGE 5A DC MOTOR TO220-7 - TLE5206-2

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/577889-ic-h-bridge-5a-dc-motor-to220-7-tle5206-2.html
http://support.technologicalarts.ca/docs/NanoCore12/SSMI/tle5206-2_20010619.pdf

The VN770K chip looks interesting but I can't find anyone that stocks it. It also looks as though it would be difficult to heatsink properly. BillHo's suggestion looks good or you might try this one: http://www.national.com/ds/LM/LMD18200.pdf

I have been happy with these -- Pololu - VNH2SP30 Motor Driver Carrier MD01B
The ST VNH2SP30 is good for over 10 amps without a heatsink and has an RDSon of on the order of 20 mOhm.
It is probably a better choice than the VN770K, but it's still a SO-dip package with all the hassles those bring.
Mouser prices them at $12.

The TLE5206-2 has been out of stock for a long time and production may have ended.

Cheers for the suggestions folks. I didn't expect the chips to be as expensive as that - I need 6!

Hmm, one question:

It is probably a better choice than the VN770K, but it's still a SO-dip package with all the hassles those bring.

What do you mean by SO-dip package? And what sort of other hassles am I going to face?

Given I need 6, I might be forced to go with relays to keep the cost down. :frowning: The VN7770K is around £4 and, would I be right in saying I would be able to run 2 motors off of one chip??

Looking at page 10 of the datasheet for the VNH3SP30 I see it can be configured to operate 3 motors. So it looks like you would need only 2 chips. Better?

Ooops! I'm mistaken. It will take 2 chips for 3 motors. :blush:

Yea, I thought I was onto a winner there, except in that configuration, I can only run one motor at a time per chip.

I could potentially be running all motors at once. Hmm...

are there any that are ESD protected?

Hmm.

I'm using an arduino mega and 6 motors. I would have liked to, but don't need to, preserve PWM capability. The motors are 12v DC, and must be capable of going both forward and reverse.

I keep discovering alternative methods - motor driver chips, h bridges, h bridge relays, relays, solid state relays.. What would you recommend is the best way of interfacing the motors and arduino?

(Maybe mods could move this thread to the motors section of the forum?)

I keep discovering alternative methods - motor driver chips, h bridges, h bridge relays, relays, solid state relays.. What would you recommend is the best way of interfacing the motors and arduino?

Unfortunately there is no single 'best way'. It depends on things like you budget, time to implement, your software and electronics experience level, size restrictions, etc, etc.

You have done some research, that's a start, so now you need to list the pluses and negatives for each method as applies to you and your project, and then make your decision.

Lefty