The L293 motor driver chip is a 16-Pin Motor Driver IC mainly used for driving motors. A single chip can run two DC motors simultaneously and can control the direction of each of the engines independently. The L293 chip is, therefore, best if you have motors of an operating current of less than 600mA and an operating voltage of not more than 36V.
The chip uses the Half H-Bridge principle, a set-up used to run motors in both the anti-clockwise and clockwise direction. With this motor circuit, the voltage can flow in any direction. When driving motors, the chip has a separate source of motor supply; hence does not use its VCC but uses the VSS.
L293 Datasheet
According to the datasheet, some of the main aspects of the L293 chip are:
- Motor Voltage Vcc2 4.5V-36V
- Maximum pick motor current 1.2A
- Maximum Continuous Motor Current 600mA
- Supply Voltage 4.5V-7V
- Transition time is 300ns (5V-2V)
- Automatic Thermal shutdown
The following are the key application areas for the chip:
- Driving high current motors
- Relay Driver module
- Drive Stepper motors
- Drive high current LED
L293 pinout
The l293 chip has 16 pins, and each plays a different role from the other. For example, for effective functioning, all the ground pins have to be grounded. It also has two power pins, one which supplies voltage for the motors to run while the other supplies voltage for the IC to function correctly. More description of the pins is as seen from the l293 pin diagram.
Have a look at the l293 chip pinout diagram below.
L293 Equivalents and Replacement Details
You can make the L293 chip a control circuit in various ways, including making use of relays and transistors, among other things. Moreover, as a h bridge motor driver chip, it can drive both big and small motors. Equivalents of the L293 chip include the ULN 2003, SN754410 and LB1909MC.
