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Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)

The Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG) can drive two DC motors up to 12V/1.2A or drive one stepper motor up to 12V/1.2A. With the on-board MCU, it can work with Arduino easily via the Grove I2C interface.

This diver board is based on TB6612FNG, which is a driver IC for DC motor and stepper motor with output transistor in LD MOS structure with low ON-resistor. Two input signals, IN1 and IN2, can choose one of four modes such as CW, CCW, short brake, and stop mode.

Version​

Product VersionChangesReleased Date
Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)InitialSep 2018

Features​

  • On board MCU
  • CW/CCW/short brake/stop function modes
  • Built-in thermal shutdown circuit and low voltage detecting circuit
  • Standby (Power save) system

Specification​

ItemValue
MCU Operating Voltage3.3V / 5V
Motor Supply Voltage2.5 ~ 13.5 (5V Typical, 15V Max.)
Output Current1.2 A(ave)/3.2 A (peak)
Switching Frequency100kHz
Logic InterfaceI2C
I2C Address0x14 (default)
I2C Address Range0x01 ~ 0x7f (Configurable)
SizeL: 60mm W: 40mm H: 12mm
Weight13g
Package sizeL: 140mm W: 90mm H: 12mm
Gross Weight20g

Typical applications​

  • DC motor control
  • Stepper motor control

Hardware Overview​

Pin Out​

Hardware Detail​

I2C Interface

This board uses the I2C interface to allow the on-board MCU to communicate with the host computer.

GND: connect this module to the system GND
VCC: you can use 5V or 3.3V for this module
SDA: I2C serial data
SCL: I2C serial clock

Power In

Provide DC power to the motors, input range 2.5V ~ 13.5V.

GND: Connect to the system GND, plug the power "-"
VM: Plug the power "+", supply power for the motor.

DC Motor Output

This board has two channel DC Motor Output, it can output 12V/1.2A per channel. You can use this driver board control two DC motors at the same time.

A1: Channel A output 1
A2: Channel A output 2
B1: Channel B output 1
B2: Channel B output 2

Steperp Motor Output

You can use this board to control the 4-wire stepper motor as well, it can output up to 12V/1.2A.

OUT1: Connected to one input of the stepper motor coil 1.
OUT2: Connected to the other input of the stepper motor coil 1.
OUT3: Connected to one input of the stepper motor coil 2.
OUT4: Connected to the other input of the stepper motor coil 2.

note
    Actually the DC port and the stepper port are physically connected together. The connection diagram is as follows:
DC PortStepper Port
A1OUT1
A2OUT2
B1OUT3
B2OUT4

Platforms Supported​

ArduinoRaspberry Pi
caution
The platforms mentioned above as supported is/are an indication of the module's software or theoritical compatibility. We only provide software library or code examples for Arduino platform in most cases. It is not possible to provide software library / demo code for all possible MCU platforms. Hence, users have to write their own software library.

Getting Started​

Play With Arduino​

Hardware​

Materials required

DC Motor Demo

Seeeduino V4.2Base ShieldGrove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)DC Motor
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here
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note
**1** Please plug the USB cable gently, otherwise you may damage the port. Please use the USB cable with 4 wires inside, the 2 wires cable can't transfer data. If you are not sure about the wire you have, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/Micro-USB-Cable-48cm-p-1475.html) to buy

**2** Each Grove module comes with a Grove cable when you buy. In case you lose the Grove cable, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/Grove-Universal-4-Pin-Buckled-20cm-Cable-%285-PCs-pack%29-p-936.html) to buy.

**3** You also need prepare at least 2 jumpers, in case you do not have, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/1-Pin-Female-Male-Jumper-Wire-125mm-50pcs-pac-p-1319.html) to buy.

  • Step 1. Plu the DC motor into the DC Motor Output port of the driver board, plug the external DC power into the Power In port.

  • Step 2. Connect the Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG) to port I^2^C of Grove-Base Shield.

  • Step 3. Plug Grove - Base Shield into Seeeduino.

  • Step 4. Connect Seeeduino to PC via a USB cable.

Stepper Motor Demo

Seeeduino V4.2Base ShieldGrove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)Stepper Motor
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here
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  • Step 1. Connect the stepper motor with Stepper Motor Output port of the driver board, plug the external DC power into the Power In port.
tip
    This driver board is suitable for 4-wire stepper motors. Depending on the stepper motor you use, the wiring color is different. We use the motor 24BYJ48 , the wiring is as shown in the table below:
Pin NameWire of Stepper MotorWire color(24BYJ48)
OUT1one end of coil 1Orange
OUT2the other end of coil 1Blue
OUT3one end of coil 2Pink
OUT4the other end of coil 2Yellow

  • Step 2. Connect the Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG) to port I^2^C of Grove-Base Shield.

  • Step 3. Plug Grove - Base Shield into Seeeduino.

  • Step 4. Connect Seeeduino to PC via a USB cable.

note
    Since the DC port and the stepper port are physically connected together, you can also use the two DC port to control your stepper motor. The connection diagram is as follows:

note
    If we don't have Grove Base Shield, We also can directly connect this module to Seeeduino as below.
SeeeduinoGrove CableGrove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)
GNDBlackGND
5V or 3.3VRedVCC
SDAWhiteSDA
SCLYellowSCL

Software​

caution
    If this is the first time you work with Arduino, we strongly recommend you to see [Getting Started with Arduino](https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Getting_Started_with_Arduino/) before the start.

dc_motor: Demo for DC motor
stepper_motor_2phase: Demo for 4-wire, 2phase stepper motor.

You can open them in the following two ways(take the dc_motor for example)： 

1. Open it directly in the Arduino IDE via the path: **File --> Examples --> Grove - Motor Driver(TB6612FNG) --> dc_motor**.
![](https://files.seeedstudio.com/wiki/Grove-I2C_Motor_Driver-TB6612FNG/img/path1.jpg)  
2. Open it in your computer by click the **dc_motor.ino** which you can find in the folder **XXXX\Arduino\libraries\Grove_Motor_Driver_TB6612FNG-master\examples\dc_motor**, **XXXX** is the location you installed the Arduino IDE.
![](https://files.seeedstudio.com/wiki/Grove-I2C_Motor_Driver-TB6612FNG/img/path2.jpg)
  • Step 4. Upload the demo. If you do not know how to upload the code, please check How to upload code.
tip
    If every thing goes well, when you power up the external power port, the motor will run.

Play With Raspberry Pi 4 Computer​

Hardware​

Materials required

DC Motor Demo

Raspberry Pi 4 ComputerGrove Base Hat for Raspberry PiGrove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG)DC Motor
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here
Get One NowGet One NowGet One NowGet One Now
note
**1** Please plug the USB cable gently, otherwise you may damage the port. Please use the USB cable with 4 wires inside, the 2 wires cable can't transfer data. If you are not sure about the wire you have, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/Micro-USB-Cable-48cm-p-1475.html) to buy

**2** Each Grove module comes with a Grove cable when you buy. In case you lose the Grove cable, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/Grove-Universal-4-Pin-Buckled-20cm-Cable-%285-PCs-pack%29-p-936.html) to buy.

**3** You also need prepare at least 2 jumpers, in case you do not have, you can click [here](https://www.seeedstudio.com/1-Pin-Female-Male-Jumper-Wire-125mm-50pcs-pac-p-1319.html) to buy.
  • Step 1. Plu the DC motor into the DC Motor Output port of the driver board, plug the external DC power into the Power In port.

  • Step 2. Connect the Grove - I2C Motor Driver (TB6612FNG) to port I^2^C of Grove Base Hat for Raspberry Pi.

  • Step 3. Plug Grove Base Hat for Raspberry Pi into Raspberry Pi 4 Computer.

  • Step 4. Connect Raspberry Pi 4 Computer to a display.

note
    If this is your first time use Raspberry Pi, please refer to [Getting started with Raspberry](https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Grove_Base_Kit_for_Raspberry_Pi/#getting-started) before the start.

Software​

caution
 If you are using **Raspberry Pi with Raspberrypi OS >= Bullseye**, you have to use this command line **only with Python3**.

Thanks MarkusBansky provide software library and learning resource for the Grove_Motor_Driver_TB6612FNG to Raspberry Pi 4 and python3. This is a port of Grove Arduino LIbrary for Grove I2C Motor Driver on TB6612FNG.

Requirements​

  • RaspberryPi linux image
  • Python 3.6+
  • smbus library
  • time library
  • math library
note
The library contains 6 easing functions for the smooth start of motors.
Easing functions currently can only be used on a single motor at once.
Containing IN and OUT functions.

How to use the library​

caution
 If you are using **Raspberry Pi with Raspberrypi OS >= Bullseye**, you have to use this command line **only with Python3**.

First of all make sure you are running the latest released version of pip.This library requires you to add an additionalindex-url to pip.conf in order to install it. You can do this by editing your config file with sudo nano/etc/pip.conf and inserting this line just after the [global] section:

index-url=https://pypi.python.org/

Now you can install the package as usual, for python3 use something for example:

python3 -m pip install raspberry-i2c-tb6612fng

After you install the library successful, please enter the raspberry-i2c-tb6612fng file use below code.

cd raspberry-i2c-tb6612fng

The last step is to run the test code.

python3 test.py

tip
    If every thing goes well, when you type `python3 test.py`, the motor will run.

Schematic Online Viewer​

Resources​

Tech Support & Product Discussion​

Thank you for choosing our products! We are here to provide you with different support to ensure that your experience with our products is as smooth as possible. We offer several communication channels to cater to different preferences and needs.

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