2x DRV8871 Breakout Boards

Each DRV8871 breakout board contains a single H-bridge.  Since the stepper motor has 2 sets of windings, we will need two of them:  One DRV8871 for each winding.

A Microcontroller

We are using an Arduino UNO R3.  But most Arduino compatibles will work as well.

Breadboard

We are using a full-size board here.  But the circuit would fit on a half-size breadboard just as well.

Hookup Wire or Jumpers

A Stepper Motor

In the example circuit, we are using a bipolar stepper with the following specs:

• NEMA 17
• Torque: 76 oz-in - 5.47 kg-cm
• Step Angle: 1.8
• Winding Resistance: 1.8 Ohms/Phase
• DC 2 A/Phase
• 12-24VDC (Recommended)

But this tutorial will work with many NEMA-17 and NEMA-23 bipolar stepper motors -including the NEMA-17 motor from our store.

A Power Supply

We are using a 12v/5A supply in our example circuit.

Using our example motor with a 1.8 ohm phase resistance, this would draw 6.7A per phase and would quickly burn out a V1 or V2 motor shield.  

But the DRV8871 breakout is configured to automatically limit the current to a maximum of 2A.  This is a safe level for both the motor and the driver.