We love motors here at Pololu, and we are committed to offering you the best selection so that you can find just the right drive solution for your project. Our latest efforts have gone into expanding our selection of 20D gearmotors to include 12 V versions, which have approximately the same performance at 12 V as our 6 V versions do at 6 V, just with half the current draw. This in turn enables the use of lower-current (and typically lower-cost) motor drivers in applications with access to higher voltages.

Additionally, we noticed that our original 6 V versions do not last as long as we would like in some applications, so we made these new 12 V versions with long-life carbon brushes instead of precious metal brushes, and we released new versions of our 6 V motors with long-life carbon brushes as well. These versions have “CB” in their names, and they can be differentiated from versions with precious metal brushes by their copper-colored terminals.

20D mm metal gearmotor precious metal brushes (left) next to 20D 6V CB and 12V CB long-life carbon brushes.

Please note that making the brushes more robust can just move the failure point to the windings or gears if you try to push the motors too hard, but if you use them around their nominal voltages and keep the continuous load low (under around 20% of the stall torque or 1 kg-cm, whichever is lower), the carbon brushes allow the motors to last several times longer than versions with precious metal brushes.

Changing the brushes does affect the performance in ways beyond lifetime (e.g. the starting voltage is generally a little higher with the carbon brushes), so we are continuing to offer precious metal versions of our 6 V motors for now, but we might phase those out in the future. Please contact us or post a comment below if continued availability of the precious metal versions is important to you.

Currently, only the 6V versions with precious metal brushes are available with a rear motor shaft that can be used to add an encoder, like our magnetic encoder for 20D mm metal gearmotors, but the 6V CB and 12V CB motors should be available with this rear shaft option by the end of November.

With the addition of these new units, our selection of 20D gearmotors now spans nearly fifty options:

Rated Voltage	Brush Type	Stall Current @ Rated Voltage	No-Load Speed @ Rated Voltage	Approximate Stall Torque @ Rated Voltage	Single-Shaft (Gearbox Only)	Dual-Shaft (Gearbox & Motor)
12 V	long-life carbon (CB)	1.6 A	570 RPM	26 oz-in	25:1 12V CB
			450 RPM	33 oz-in	31:1 12V CB
			225 RPM	58 oz-in	63:1 12V CB
			180 RPM	75 oz-in	78:1 12V CB
			140 RPM	85 oz-in	100:1 12V CB
			110 RPM	110 oz-in	125:1 12V CB
			90 RPM	130 oz-in	156:1 12V CB
			72 RPM	160 oz-in	195:1 12V CB
			57 RPM	200 oz-in	250:1 12V CB
			45 RPM	250 oz-in	313:1 12V CB
			36 RPM	290 oz-in	391:1 12V CB
			29 RPM	350 oz-in	488:1 12V CB
6 V	long-life carbon (CB)	2.9 A	590 RPM	22 oz-in	25:1 6V CB
			470 RPM	28 oz-in	31:1 6V CB
			230 RPM	54 oz-in	63:1 6V CB
			190 RPM	62 oz-in	78:1 6V CB
			150 RPM	72 oz-in	100:1 6V CB
			120 RPM	87 oz-in	125:1 6V CB
			93 RPM	110 oz-in	156:1 6V CB
			75 RPM	130 oz-in	195:1 6V CB
			60 RPM	170 oz-in	250:1 6V CB
			46 RPM	220 oz-in	313:1 6V CB
			37 RPM	260 oz-in	391:1 6V CB
			30 RPM	310 oz-in	488:1 6V CB
6 V	precious metal	2.9 A	590 RPM	22 oz-in	25:1 6V	25:1 6V dual-shaft
			470 RPM	28 oz-in	31:1 6V	31:1 6V dual-shaft
			230 RPM	54 oz-in	63:1 6V	63:1 6V dual-shaft
			190 RPM	62 oz-in	78:1 6V	78:1 6V dual-shaft
			150 RPM	72 oz-in	100:1 6V	100:1 6V dual-shaft
			120 RPM	87 oz-in	125:1 6V	125:1 6V dual-shaft
			93 RPM	110 oz-in	156:1 6V	156:1 6V dual-shaft
			75 RPM	130 oz-in	195:1 6V	195:1 6V dual-shaft
			60 RPM	170 oz-in	250:1 6V	250:1 6V dual-shaft
			46 RPM	220 oz-in	313:1 6V	313:1 6V dual-shaft
			37 RPM	260 oz-in	391:1 6V	391:1 6V dual-shaft
			30 RPM	310 oz-in	488:1 6V	488:1 6V dual-shaft

Note: Stalling or overloading gearmotors can greatly decrease their lifetimes and even result in immediate damage. In order to avoid damaging the gearbox, we recommend keeping continuously applied loads under 50 oz-in (3.5 kg*cm) for the versions with precious metal brushes and under 70 oz-in (5 kg-cm) for the versions with carbon brushes (the ones with “CB” in the name). Stalls can also result in rapid (potentially on the order of a second) thermal damage to the motor windings and brushes, especially for motors like this that can deliver a lot of power for their size; a general recommendation for brushed DC motors is to limit continuous current to approximately 25% of the stall current.

We are now carrying the Parallax Boe-Bot Robot Kit - USB, which incorporates a USB-to-serial adapter into the board, so it does not require a separate serial adapter.

The Boe-Bot Robot Kit is an educational kit complete with parts and a textbook for building and programming your own robot. No previous robotics, electronics, or programming experience is required; the kit does not require soldering.

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Parallax Boe-Bot Robot Kit - USB (with USB A to Mini-B cable) #28832

Get a FREE copy of Circuit Cellar magazine’s October 2017 issue issue with your order, while supplies last. To get your free issue, enter the coupon code CIRCUIT1017 to your shopping cart, or click the link. The magazine will add 6 ounces to your order weight when calculating your shipping options.

For back issues and more information, see our free Circuit Cellar magazine offers.

Related products

Free Circuit Cellar magazine October 2017

Premium Jumper Wire 60-Piece 6-Color Assortment M-F 2".

Wires with Pre-crimped Terminals 60-Piece 6-Color Assortment M-F 2".

Our popular premium jumper wires and wires with pre-crimped terminals are a convenient way to make quick, neat connections to 0.1″ (2.54 mm) connectors and solderless breadboards, and they are now available in shorter 1″ and 2″ lengths. Each new length is available in three gender combinations (female-female, male-female, and male-male) and seven color combinations:

• black 10-pack
• red 10-pack
• yellow 10-pack
• green 10-pack
• blue 10-pack
• white 10-pack
• multi-color 60-pack (10 each of all six colors)

Our wires with pre-crimped terminals work with our 0.1″ crimp connector housings to make custom cables with the pin arrangement of your choosing. You can easily make cable harnesses or assemblies that branch from one connector on one side to multiple connectors on the other, and you can also cut off one pre-crimped end and solder the wires directly to components to make swapping connections easy:

The premium jumper wires are just wires with pre-crimped terminals that have 1×1 crimp connector housings already installed over the crimp pins.

You can use the following selection boxes to get to a specific pack of premium jumper wires:

Alternatives available with variations in these parameter(s): gender length color Select variant…

and you can use the following selection boxes to get to a specific pack of wires with pre-crimped terminals:

Alternatives available with variations in these parameter(s): gender length color Select variant…

Pololu 22T Track Set – Red.

We have replaced our original Pololu track sets with new versions featuring our newer style of spoked Zumo sprockets. The sprockets are available in three colors, and like our original sets, we have two different track lengths to choose from:

• 22T tracks with black sprockets
• 22T tracks with red sprockets
• 22T tracks with white sprockets
• 30T tracks with black sprockets
• 30T tracks with red sprockets
• 30T tracks with white sprockets

Each track is made of a single piece of flexible silicone, and the drive sprockets are designed to work with 3mm D-shafts, such as those on our micro metal gearmotors and most of our mini plastic gearmotors.

Dimensions of the Pololu 22T track set.

Dimensions of the Pololu 30T track set.

Additionally, we are offering sprockets by themselves (without tracks or fasteners) for use as replacements for the black sprockets included with our Zumo robots: you can use the red sprockets to add a splash of color, and you can use the white sprockets for painting (or just leave them white!).

Zumo 32U4 robot with red sprockets.

Zumo 32U4 robot with white sprockets.

Related products

	Pololu 22T Track Set - Black
	Pololu 22T Track Set - Red
	Pololu 22T Track Set - White
	Pololu 30T Track Set - Black
	Pololu 30T Track Set - Red
	Pololu 30T Track Set - White
	Replacement Sprocket Set for Zumo Chassis - Red
	Replacement Sprocket Set for Zumo Chassis - White

I am excited to announce our new product, the Tic T825 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller. The Tic makes basic speed or position control of a stepper motor easy, with support for six high-level control interfaces:

• USB for direct connection to a computer
• TTL serial operating at 5 V for use with a microcontroller
• I²C for use with a microcontroller
• RC hobby servo pulses for use in an RC system
• Analog voltage for use with a potentiometer or analog joystick
• Quadrature encoder input for use with a rotary encoder dial, allowing full rotation without limits (not for position feedback)

You can select which of these interfaces you want to use and configure the other settings of the Tic over USB using our free software.

The Status tab of the Pololu Tic Control Center.

The Input and Motor Settings tab of the Pololu Tic Control Center.

The Tic T825 can operate from 8.5 V to 45 V and deliver up to approximately 1.5 A per phase continuously without a heat sink or forced air flow. With a digitally adjustable current limit that can be set over USB, serial, or I²C, you can save power while holding position or increase the motor’s torque while it is moving. The Tic offers six different step resolutions, from full step through 1/32-step (32 microsteps per full step). We designed the Tic’s firmware to be capable of taking up to 50,000 microsteps per second, which lets you use those finer microstepping modes while still keeping a high motor speed. The Tic also supports acceleration and deceleration limiting for smooth movements, and very slow speeds down to 1 step every 200 seconds (or 1 step every 1428 seconds with reduced resolution). The Tic T825 is based on the DRV8825 stepper motor driver IC from Texas Instruments (for which we also have a basic carrier board), and we plan to make other versions of the Tic that are based on different drivers with different performance characteristics.

Tic T825 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller, bottom view with dimensions.

The Tic T825 is available with connectors soldered in or without connectors soldered in.

For RC/hobby servos, we have a similar family of products called the Maestro servo controllers. For brushed DC motors, we offer the Simple Motor Controllers and the Jrk Motor Controllers.

Related products

	Tic T825 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller (Connectors Soldered)
	Tic T825 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller
	DRV8825 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier, High Current

We’re excited to offer a series of addressable LED strips and addressable LED panels based on the new SK9822 integrated circuit. Like the APA102C, the SK9822 combines an RGB LED and driver into a single 5050-size package, allowing each pixel to be individually controlled using a simple two-wire SPI protocol.

The SK9822 is almost (see the notes below) a drop-in replacement for the APA102C and is better than it in a few ways, most importantly its built-in constant current control. If you’ve ever tried to power a long chain of LED strips and only connected power at one end, you might have noticed that the far end of the LED strip has a lower voltage across its power rails because of resistance in the long power connections. For LED strips based on the APA102C and WS2812B, the lower voltage makes the light dimmer and redder. With the SK9822, voltage drops like that are less likely to have a visible effect as long as the voltage stays above 3.5 V.

The SK9822’s protocol is very similar to that of the APA102C, but it updates the color that is being shown at a different time. If you replace APA102C LEDs with SK9822 LEDs in a low frame-rate application, you might have to update the code you are using to control the LEDs. The latest version of our APA102 Arduino library works with the SK9822 so you can either use it directly or use it as a reference when writing your own code. The colors generated by the SK9822 look different from the colors generated by the APA102C, so we would not recommend mixing the APA102C and the SK9822 in a single project.

We offer six different kinds of SK9822 LED strip with different LED densities and lengths:

• 1 meter, 30 LEDs (30 LEDs/m)
• 2 meters, 60 LEDs (30 LEDs/m)
• 5 meters, 150 LEDs (30 LEDs/m)
• 1 meter, 60 LEDs (60 LEDs/m)
• 2 meters, 120 LEDs (60 LEDs/m)
• 0.5 meters, 72 LEDs (144 LEDs/m)

We offer SK9822 LED panels in three different sizes:

• 8×8-LED flexible panel
• 16×16-LED flexible panel
• 8×32-LED flexible panel

These new SK9822-based products will replace our older APA102C-based products.

We continue to offer SK6812-based LED strips which also have constant current control but are controlled with a one-wire protocol.

Close up of an SK9822, with the red, green, and blue LEDs on at a low brightness.

An addressable RGB LED strip (APA102C or SK9822) displaying a rainbow animation.

Related products

	Addressable RGB 30-LED Strip, 5V, 1m (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 60-LED Strip, 5V, 2m (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 150-LED Strip, 5V, 5m (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 60-LED Strip, 5V, 1m (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 120-LED Strip, 5V, 2m (SK9822)
	Addressable High-Density RGB 72-LED Strip, 5V, 0.5m (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 8x8-LED Flexible Panel, 5V, 10mm Grid (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 16x16-LED Flexible Panel, 5V, 10mm Grid (SK9822)
	Addressable RGB 8x32-LED Flexible Panel, 5V, 10mm Grid (SK9822)

We are now offering two new NEMA 17-size pancake bipolar stepper motors from Sanyo, each featuring an integrated high-resolution quadrature encoder and home channel for absolute positioning.

Side view of the SS2422-50XE100 42×31.5mm Sanyo pancake stepper motor.

Side view of the SS2421-50XE100 42×24.5mm Sanyo pancake stepper motor.

The integrated quadrature encoder operates from 5 V and has a resolution of 1000 P/R, which allows for 4000 counts per revolution (CPR) of the output shaft when counting both edges (i.e. rising and falling) of both channels (i.e. A and B). In addition to the A and B channel outputs, the encoder has a home channel, Z, that pulses once per revolution and can be used for absolute positioning. The encoder also has outputs for the inverse of A, B, and Z. A 15 cm (6″) encoder cable is included.

Related products

	Sanyo Pancake Stepper Motor with Encoder: Bipolar, 200 Steps/Rev, 42×24.5mm, 3.5V, 1 A/Phase, 4000 CPR
	Sanyo Pancake Stepper Motor with Encoder: Bipolar, 200 Steps/Rev, 42×31.5mm, 5.4V, 1 A/Phase, 4000 CPR

We’ve replaced our original 12 V 1 A wall power adapter with a lighter, smaller version. This UL-listed 12 W, “wall wart”-style switching power adapter supplies up to 1 A at a regulated 12 VDC. The AC adapter works with input voltages of 100 to 240 VAC and has a 1.5 m (5 ft) DC power cord that is terminated by a center-positive, 5.5 × 2.1 mm barrel connector.

Related products

Wall Power Adapter: 12VDC, 1A, 5.5×2.1mm Barrel Jack, Center-Positive

Get a FREE copy of Circuit Cellar magazine’s April 2017 issue issue with your order, while supplies last. To get your free issue, enter the coupon code CIRCUIT0417 to your shopping cart, or click the link. The magazine will add 6 ounces to your order weight when calculating your shipping options.

For back issues and more information, see our free Circuit Cellar magazine offers.

Related products

Free Circuit Cellar magazine April 2017