I'm thinking of using two of these motors with this motor driver. However, one thing concerns me: the stall current of the motor is 3.3A, and the motor driver has a peak current output of 3A.
The motor would be used in a robotics situation involving rapid changes of direction, and potential stalling.
Could this cause an issue, and do I need to get a lower power motor / better driver, or will it still work?
EDIT:
What will happen if I DO exceed that thing's current rating, given that it has temperature protection? Will it blow the microcontroller, the motor chip, or the motors?
Best Answer
You should not use that driver if you think you'll be pulling that much current. For one, it's rated for 3A for a maximum of 10ms per the datasheet and you'll certainly try to draw for longer than 10ms in a stalled condition. And that is the maximum rating for the device which the datasheet says is not to be exceeded under any circumstance. It sounds to me like you'll be abusing the poor thing. Find a beefier driver, or if you're feeling really adventurous, parallel two of them. Is that a good idea? I've never done it, never heard of it being done, and wouldn't do it myself, but you could certainly try :)
I would just find another motor driver on pololu's site. It looks like there's plenty of them. Make sure their maximum CONTINUOUS current is greater than your stall current.