This product is a carrier board or breakout board for Allegro’s A4988 DMOS Microstepping Driver with Translator and Overcurrent Protection; we therefore recommend careful reading of the A4988 datasheet (380k pdf) before using this product. This stepper motor driver lets you control one bipolar stepper motor at up to 2 A output current per coil (see the Power Dissipation Considerations section below for more information). Here are some of the driver’s key features:
Simple step and direction control interface
Five different step resolutions: full-step, half-step, quarter-step, eighth-step, and sixteenth-step
Adjustable current control lets you set the maximum current output with a potentiometer, which lets you use voltages above your stepper motor’s rated voltage to achieve higher step rates
Intelligent chopping control that automatically selects the correct current decay mode (fast decay or slow decay)
Over-temperature thermal shutdown, under-voltage lockout, and crossover-current protection
Short-to-ground and shorted-load protection
This product ships with all surface-mount components—including the A4988 driver IC—installed as shown in the product picture.


Note that we carry several stepper motor drivers that can be used as alternatives for this module. The Black Edition A4988 stepper motor driver carrier is available with approximately 20% better performance; except for thermal characteristics, the Black Edition and this (green) board are interchangeable. We also sell a larger version of the A4988 carrier that has reverse power protection on the main power input and built-in 5 V and 3.3 V voltage regulators that eliminate the need for separate logic and motor supplies. Our DRV8825 carrier offers approximately 50% better performance over a wider voltage range and with a few additional features, while our DRV8834 carrier works with motor supply voltages as low as 2.5 V; either of these boards can be used as a drop-in replacement for this driver in many applications.

Note: Some unipolar stepper motors (e.g. those with six or eight leads) can be controlled by this driver as bipolar stepper motors. For more information, please see the frequently asked questions. Unipolar motors with five leads cannot be used with this driver.